Darn - now I need a lathe . . .

Jim Mattheiss

Member
Messages
467
Location
Long Hill Township, NJ
Hello :

A few weeks ago I posted how my family had seen a turning demonstration at the New Jersey State Fair in Sussex NJ, and how they urged me to take an intro to spindle turning class at my local Woodcraft.

We'll the class was Saturday and it was fun. 4 hours of a quick into to spindle turning - gouge, parting chisel, skew chisel and smaller gouge . . . bang bang bang. . .

I enjoyed the class but I'm a self education kind of guy. I walked away thinking that the logical approach is to get a lathe, tools and sharpening equipment and work at it for a little while. Find out what I need help with and learn however I can - online, videos, classes . . .

Tonight I see a Jet Mini lathe for sale on CL that is the same lathe I used at Woodcraft. It a Jet JML-1014 with an extension bed for $250.

Would this be an appropriate beginner's lathe? At some point i MIGHT outgrow it, but should I go for a electronic variable speed instead of the pulley adjustmet this model has?

Thanks

Jim
 
That whooshing sound you hear is the sucking of the Vortex. Resistance is futile. :D

That sounds like a good price on the little Jet. It's a good lathe, and a lot of people keep them even after they upgrade to bigger machines. The EVS is a nice feature, but for that price, I'd think you could start with that one and sell it for what you paid if you decide later that you want the EVS model. (By then, you might be looking at the 12-20 midi lathe, too.)
 
Dan and Vaughn:

Thanks for the confirmation on what I was thinking . . . :thumb:

The "project" at the end of the class was to turn a dried flower vase from a piece of walnut provided by the teacher. I'm happy with how mine came out for having a 3 whole hours of experience . . .

Cheers

Jim
 

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remember jim, if you stay strong, and don't listen too much to those spinny guys (the cookies arent that good, they have raisins), you can be like me and stay at the event horizon of the spinny zone vortex.... :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Nice-looking little weed pot, Jim. :thumb: It looks a lot better than many of the bonkers a lot of guys turn as their first project -- mine included. :p
 
Welcome Jim...

Nice first go. It's nice when the first one is a keeper, since it'll still be around someday to compare to after you become an expert.

You might want to think about opening a separate checking account to regularly dump money into for your woodworking expenses. It's amazing how many tools 'n things you'll discover that you just can't live without. I mean, you know...stuff that's really, really important. heh heh. (Well, okay, joking...but then again, not joking).

Cheers.
 
Well done Jim!

Ed's advice is spot on, I did that, opened a separate account for my woodworking stuff, a give myself an allowance each month, OK, Emiko does ;) and as long as I got money in the account to cover the credit card bill at the end of each month, she don't care what I spend it on. I also put half of whatever I make doing woodworking stuff into that account, the other half I give to Emiko to do with as she pleases. This works well for us and has reduced both of our stress.

I think the lathe you spoke about on CL sounds like a decent deal, especially if it comes with some "Extras" :D :thumb:
 
You will be very happy with your Jet. I also started out with the same lathe and cant think of any thing I have enjoyed more. Only problem,Jim is there is really no end to the extras you will most defenetly be wanting. More fun than most other wood working project.....because you can finish most turnings in a much shorter time than ....say building a piece of furnature. Nice first turnning. A lot of self satifaction in what you can turn out in a couple of hours.:wave:
 
There is no joy in the lathe department tonight. :(

I went to see the lathe and there was a crack in the side of the bed casting. The crack wrapped under and up into casting around the "gearbox".

The outside was welded and painted but the inside of the crack was open. I don't know enough about lathes to know if it would be an issue. There was white overspray on the motor, which lead me to believe it wasn't a factory fix.

I passed . . . I'll keep my eyes open for another

Thanks for all the encouragement.

Jim
 
The outside was welded and painted but the inside of the crack was open. I don't know enough about lathes to know if it would be an issue. There was white overspray on the motor, which lead me to believe it wasn't a factory fix.

I passed . . . I'll keep my eyes open for another

Thanks for all the encouragement.

Jim
That was smart to pass on that one. Bruce and I both turn on this one. Rikon Mini.jpgIt's $329 at woodcraft. I picked up the chuck with the tommey bars for another $90. You might look into something like it. I have turned 12" Bowls on Mine (just barely).
 
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While the crack (and its apparent repair) might not have caused any problems, I think you were wise to walk away on this one.
 
Well folks - I'm now the owner of a Jet Mini 1014 Lathe with Stand. I picked it up on CL today. It was 75 minutes between my phone call and cash handover. In that time had had taken several calls on the lathe but he knew I was in transit.

It was portrayed as brand new and it appears to be. The ONLY issue is that it did not come with any of the "accessories" to actually facilitate turning.

I need to get the centers for the drive, tailstock and a faceplate. I'll post pictures later - have to head over to Dad's for his 79th Birthday now.

Jim
 
Jim,

I bought the Jet 1014 a few months ago, then went out and cut some logs into bowl blanks. I cut two of them to 8” and 9” on the band saw and rough turned them green. Then, when I got ready to cut the third one down from 12” to less then 10” so I could turn it, The Bride wanted a larger bowl. I am now saving up for the Jet JWL-1642EVS. Wish I would have bought this in the first place. :doh:
 
Chuck - yes going from the 1014 to 1642 is quite a jump. I'm a raw beginner and want to try my hand at turning.

If I understand things - 99% of what I buy except for the lathe itself is reusable if I upgrade to a larger lathe :

turning tools
sharpening equipment
crazy glue (CA)
etc

Cheers

Jim
 
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