Any thoughts on buying used Jet Mini Lathe

[wyone]

I am going tomorrow to look at a Jet 1015 mini lathe. He has it listed on CL for $100. It sounds like a decent price. It is older, I think he said 10 years, so may not have all the current features, but thinking it is still a good deal. Any thoughts or concerns I should have?

I am thinking it might be ideal for pen turning. Of course I would love a new VS, but hey, until the lotto calls I think this might be good.

Thanks in advance

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Sounds ok.

Just make sure the centers line up perfectly, the tapers are clean...

 

[KenV]

I bet it is a 1014 if it is 10 years old. The 1015 IS A NEW model.

Got one and find it a fine lathe.

 

[wyone]

well he says he used it to turn pens mostly, but is wanting to turn bigger things not so is looking for a bigger lathe. It may be the 1014, but he says it is 15 1/2 between centers so I thought that made it the 1015... but then I could be wrong.. I think I was wrong before

 

[wyone]

I guess I dont know how to make sure the tapers are clean except by visual inspection. Of course I can check centers lining up, but I have no had a lathe that had MT in the headstock, so not sure what to look for there exactly

 

[Ironwood]

I guess you could look inside the tapers for burrs or scores in the metal, but if I was looking, I would probably just look at the male tapers on the centres and mandrels he has been using. If they are clean and perfect looking, then fair chance the female tapers are good too.

 

[wyone]

Looking at the pictures he sent me, I think you are correct that it is the 1014. I can see the method for changing the belt speeds is located on the front of the 1015, and on the back on the 1014

 

[Dan Masshardt]

For tapers - no big scratches. / gouges. Usually these should be clean even if the lathe is dirty.

He should have centers there even if he's not including them. Put a live center in the tailstock and some kind of center with a pin in the center and slide them together.

It would be ideal to maybe check runout but you probably don't have a dial indicator setup.

 

[wyone]

Well I came home with the lathe. It is indeed the 1014. I do need to change the belt as he had it all jacked up. He told me he didn't think he had changed the speed in a couple years. Not sure how you do that when he showed m pens and bowls he had turned on it. But regardless, he had the belt actually twisted so it was not even lined up properly on the corresponding pulleys. Plus he had a twist in it. I am not sure the belt will come back to shape with proper alignment. I am going to look for a source of a new belt, and if so I may replace the bearings at the same time even though they do not seem to have any play. Oh he also must have taken off the wheel on the outboard side and lost the wavy washer that goes between the bearing and the wheel. That might be tougher to find. I used to have a small motor shop in WY I used, but since I moved to CO I do not have the same resources. Oh well, I will find something that will work. I did check to see if the centers ran true and they are better than any I have seen in person. But shocking enough when I slid the spur center he supplied in the headstock it did not run true. But as I ran my hand down the length of the center, it appears he must have had it really stuck in or dropped it or something as the small end of the taper has mushroomed out. I think a little work with the grinder will fix that though

So overall, I think I have a good deal, and if I can find a belt and wavy washer I will be as good as new for a lot less.