Lathe Purchase

A couple of points, PI...

I love my Jet mini and my brother was really unhappy with his HF lathe...

The Jet is a known, quality lathe that's easy to work on and get parts for, and a very quiet, unintimidating machine to learn on... I learned on a Shopsmith and just the ROAR was scary.. *g*

As to outgrowing the mini, a lot of us here have... but very few were willing to part with their mini when they upgraded.. I know that I wouldn't give mine up!

Another advantage with the Jet is when you do move to a larger lathe, the accessories that you have added (which will be several times the price of the mini) will usually fit the larger lathe..

When I got my 14" Jet lathe, my lathe chucks, pen mandrels, etc. all fit the new lathe.. no new stuff to buy..

My mini only gets used for turning now when a friend comes over or I have something on the "big" lathe that I'm in the middle of and a quick project is on the schedule, but it gets a lot of use... the Beall buffing system is usually on it to free up the main lathe, and I use it to drill pen blanks, do bowl bottoms with the vacuum chuck, etc... Mac

Thanks to all that have replied to this post!! You've most definately answered my question and I'll be buying the Jet mini as soon as the price is right. $329.99 shipped through Amazon is a great price compared to other places I've checked for the mini vs. Problem is I passed up this lathe when it was priced at right around $280 (though my brain is telling me BUY BUY BUY) so I may hold off and check it out at the woodworking show we've got coming up in Portland, Maine at the end of the month.

Many Thanks! Jeff "P.I._Maine" wrote in message news:kOMXg.8211$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.nyroc.rr.com... > I've been considering purchasing either the Jet 1014VS mini lathe > ($329.99 shipped through Amazon) > or Harbor > Freight's 12" x 33 3/8" lathe ($341.98 > shipped) > I'd be able to work on slightly larger projects with the HF lathe though > as a complete newbie to woodturning (not woodworking) I'm not sure if the > extra capacity is needed and can appreciate the fact that the Jet's mini > lathe is a well made machine and am not so sure about the HF's quality. > (If you own the 34706 and like it or don't let me know!) This maybe a > "no brainer" for some but I sure could use a little help deciding. Jeff >

Jet now is issuing a 5yr warranty on all the mini lathes. I don't know about the larger ones. I just recently purchased my 1014vs and it has a

5yr. Check the box your buying as its a recent change.

Troy

Bruce Barnett wrote:

Jeff,

Go ahead and get it thru Amazon now.

I researched the market thoroughly and word has it that Jet has just passed along a sizable price increase and I doubt we will see it any lower. I received mine from Amazon yesterday and I'm extremely happy with the purchase.

Thanks Bob, that's what I'll do.

Hey good news, price on the Jet mini vs lathe just dropped! It went down a whopping $5 so what else could a thrifty man do? I ordered it tonight, should be in sometime before Christmas... (I hope) ;') Purchase price with free shipping was $324.99.

Another thing to look into is floor models. If you've got a little time, it can really pay to make several visits to your favorite local tool store, and watch for their floor models going up for sale- especially near the Christmas shopping season, when it might be the last one in stock. I've gotten a lot of good deals that way, including my Delta Midi lathe- $260, marked down from $380. It was missing a live center for the tailstock, which I talked them into replacing with the one from a larger Delta at the store, and had one broken handle- which got me a $20 off, and Delta mailed me two replacements, and an extra tool rest (not sure why, but I didn't complain) as soon as I got home and called them. Not everyone can get one, of course, but if you keep looking, they seem to be availible fairly regularly. Don't forget to haggle a bit- the price tag on things in the box may be set, but those display prices are set by an employee's best guess, and if there's anything substandard going on- even just loose bolts or fingerprints, they'll knock more off the price to make room for new stuff.

I'm sure Jet has a similar policy re broken parts on floor models.

When I bought my Jet 1442 vs at the local saw shop, I asked them to match the Amazon price... they agreed if I'd take the floor model..

The floor model had a full warranty starting at purchase date and the stand and everything were already assembled... it was good to go..

I was looking in the manual about a month later and noticed that it was supposed to come with a tool rest extension... called the dealer and got a new one from Jet in about 3 weeks... The new piece was missing the lock handle but I said that it was ok, I didn't really need it... got a new one from Jet a month later and they sent the wrong one, it was a different size... no big deal, I don't use the extension anyway... At our turning meeting a few months later the guy asked me if I got the part and I told him what they sent but that it was ok.. Yeah, he had Jet send the right part..

I'm happy with my floor model and very happy with Jet and my local store...

Mac

That's been my experience, certainly. Going a little OT, it's true of a lot of things, not just tools. If you're willing to stay somewhere between 6 mos and 3 years behind the "latest and greatest" curve, it's amazing how cheap buying top-shelf items gets. Most of all with electronics. They just can't wait to give away yesterday's innovation for pennies on the dollar anymore.

We have a Circuit City store near us and I check their "outlet" page a couple of times a month.. "outlet" is CC is code for "didn't sell well" and they have a lot of great deals on things that they might only have a few of left in stock.. Mac

On the first one the spline gear for the Reeves drive stripped. On the second, the spline gear is smoother than it ever was on the first, but the motor burned out.

So, to get orders out the door, I took the motor from one for the other.

The lathe is not 'flimsy' ... those are cast iron bedways ... although if you are going to deliberately mount a thick section off-center and then flip the switch let me know so I can go get my camera.

600 rpm is too much for a large log mounted off-center, but if you are going to take the reasonable precautions of making certain to mount work solidly and to center the weight reasonably close and to stand to one side when flipping the switch ("the best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft agley" ... or something like that), you should get a lot of good use from this machine while you are trying to decide to get a Stubby for bowls, a Oneway for honking big spindles, or "the whole enchilada" from somewhere else.

If all you want it for is to do spindle work to accent your flat work ... catch it on sale and enjoy. I, personally, think it a good leaqrning / intermittantb use lathe. Also, get their 8 pc set of lathe tools ... don't know who really makes them, but I've only added two tools in almost two years and haven't replaced any of the original set.

I use mine primarily for pens, bowls, canes and trinket turnings. It's more than good enough for this. If I had to turn a mix of bowls and spindles for production I'd spend another $5,000+ and get a Oneway 2436 with the extension bed.

But I don't, so I won't.

Bill

Hello P.I._Maine

My wife bought me a JET Mini for christmas and I haven't stopped turning yet. The only problem I have is changing the speed, because you have to stop the lathe and change the belt. I had never done ANY woodworking so the mini was perfect. I even took a pen turning class at Woodcraft.

William makes a good point though about the tools and attachments. The class I took included a 'pen turners kit' of chisels, which is fine for small spindle work but there are only so many snowman pens you can make before you get sick of them. Needless to say, my christmas list this year includes chisels, chucks, finishes, etc.

The JET mini has been a great introduction to woodturning and I will definately keep this lathe until I am physically unable to turn wood anymore. Unless you want to turn something bigger than 20" diameter, the JET mini should be a good starting point.

- Ed

I know I wish I had a mini but I'm between jobs right now. I've seen them for sale on craigs list once and a while.

At times I d> Hello P.I._Maine

Hi Ed & William, looking forward to receiving the mini. Keeping an eye out for the DHL driver as I type. They're supposed to be delivering today which would be great because I won't be here tonight or tomorrow and I'd hate to have it sitting out in the rain overnight (or for any length of time for that matter) Now I've just got to build a nice sturdy base for it to sit on and I'll be good to go... Jeff

than 20" diameter,

I agree that the Jet is a good little lathe. But if you've found a way to turn a 20" diameter bowl on it, we'd all love to hear how you did it :- ).

(It's limited to 10", not 20".)

Good news, just got it in! I took it out of the box read the instructions and put it to the test. Works great no problems as of yet and the spur center and live center line up. I tested out my eight piece chisel set from Harbor Freight and they seemed to work great out of the box though I'll be touching them up pretty soon to get them a bit sharper. Jeff

Great, Jeff! You're in trouble now... Consider your new lathe the big leap over the precipice which leads to total and complete exhaustion of all available funds. Just kidding... :-o

I got started almost exactly the same way two years ago. Although I subsequently obtained a slightly bigger lathe, I still have the Jet mini and am reluctant to part with it. It is quiet, smooth, fairly trouble free, and with a sturdy base, will turn large items. The only caveat is that with the non-VS model, the slowest speed is

500 RPM, which is a little fast for a 9" out-of-balance green blank. Also, keep the motor vents cleared of wood shavings/dust.

I still use the Harbor Freight tool set as well. Some of them have been reground with totally new profiles, but they hold up OK. My favorite is a round edged bowl scraper made from the big skew.

You will eventually want to consider a few other tools, in addition to the HF set, if you plan to turn projects other than pens/spindles. A bowl gouge - 1/2" or so - is needed, and you might consider making or buying an Oland tool as well, it is very handy. I found a thin 1/16" firmager parting tool pretty useful as well. A cheap curved cabinet scraper set and a burnisher can be had for less than $20. The burnisher can be used to roll a cutting bur onto both standard lathe scrapers and the cabinet scrapers - useful for that tough-to-cut-cleanly endgrain and for fairing curves.

Consider carefully your needs as far as purchasing other cutting tools, as it is easy to be persuaded of a one-trick-pony tool's virtues when something on hand will often work with the proper technique. And at $30-$100+ each, it adds up fast... You can often make your own tools when the need arises if you have the ability and tools to work with metal.

Speaking of adding up fast, you will probably want to get a chuck for turning bowls and vessels. The Oneway Talon and the SuperNova2 are both popular and will fit your lathe.

Yes, you have stepped down the slippery slope...

This is the stand I chose to build. Many have their own favorite, but I chose to build this because it is heavy, knocks down, has a wide stance, and yet I can lean over the bed on either side for hollowing.

This is the last thing I made on the Jet - 9" diameter. Check the web for videos which will demonstrate various tool techniques, and/or join classes or a local woodturning club. Remember that spinning wood can become a flying missile, so try and stay clear of the line of throw, especially when first rounding out an out-of-balance blank. Always make sure your work is secure, and check occasionally. A face shield is recommended.

Good Luck and Be Careful.

Greg G.

Greg G. wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Greg, The first stand I built for my Jet mini was very much like yours (almost identical, but not finished as nicely). Needing a bit of storage for turning tools, chucks, various jigs and measuring devices, I built a lathe stand with drawers etc. that more resembles the workbench in the background of your second picture. This one is finished pretty well. The first stand is waiting for a Nova 3K, or if the ship comes in, a DVR. I have the vs version of the mini. Low speed is the same as the non-vs version. Nine and three quarter inch unbalanced blanks do keep you alert. I recommend the HF turning set and/or the 'Benjamins Best' six piece set from PSI. Great for sharpening practice and for grinding into custom shapes and pretty good tools for turning in general. Funny that I tripped over the first stand today. Is it trying to tell me something? Do I hear foghorns in the distance? Hank