Rookie Question

Nov 20, 2005 1 Replies

I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times, but what lathe should I buy. I'm pretty much stuck with a mini since I live in a townhouse and have 0 extra space. As it is, I'm going to have to put a drop sheet under my bench to keep as much off of the carpet as I can. The one that has caught my eye is a Jet Mini. I realize I will be limited to small projects but......


IMHO, you just can't go wrong with a Jet mini... I've turned things as small as 1" tall goblets and big as 10" diameter bowl on mine and it's a very nice machine...

I'll probably catch flack for this, but I'd recommend the regular model for around $225 US over the variable speed model for about $325...

I also have the Jet 1442 with VS and as much as I like quick-change speed, I don't think that it's worth 1/2 as much as the lathe, as in the case of the pricing on the mini.. I find that with the mini, I don't change speeds much.. and when I do, it's easy enough to flip open 2 doors and move the belt... YMMV

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

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