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Dan Masshardt

Dan Masshardt

Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2013
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4,815
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA
Almost all of my tool purchases have been used. I've gotten some good deals and some nice hand me downs :-)

This is brand new and by far the most expensive tool I've ever bought. I won't call it a gloat because there was no great deal - just a nice, new, full priced lathe.

I started turning right around Christmas after picking up an old (1950s) delta rockwell lathe for $100. That lathe was great to learn on and I made quite a few pens and other things on it in the time since I've had it.

There were some drawbacks though. There was more vibration, it was hard to change the belt speeds. The most frustrating aspect for pen turning was the gap bed that made it difficult to get a tool rest straight and iChat up against a pen blank.

So, I started looking for a new lathe without having much money out of the regular budget to buy one. Fortunately, through some pen sales and the sale of my old lathe and its accessories, I was able to pick this one up without having to use any money from our regular (and tight) budget.

I picked it up from Woodcraft nearby. I could have bought it online and saved on tax, but I wanted to support the local vendor and they've been great there at helping me out with advice etc along the way. Also, there's the instant gratification factor and the elimination of shipping damage that would need to be mailed back.

I'm impressed with this lathe, but I still need to get used to it. I only picked it up yesterday.

I like - having a regular handwheel. Not having a gap bed. No having to take the tail stock quill out to remove the center. (Didn't know there way such a thing as self ejecting tail stock before!).

I like the size and weight of the bed. This bed is wider than just about every lathe at the store, including all the pricey Novas.

None of the employees are store even suggested that I think about a bigger lathe. The long term turners / employees said that there would be no reason for me to consider an upgrade unless I wanted to turn bowls over 12".

I love the electronic variable speed. I like the digital readout. I like the reversing feature.

This purchase means that I've tasted the turning waters and I'm in.

Sorry all the light is over the lathe and not in front of it.
 

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Dan Masshardt said:
Almost all of my tool purchases have been used. I've gotten some good deals and some nice hand me downs :-)

This is brand new and by far the most expensive tool I've ever bought. I won't call it a gloat because there was no great deal - just a nice, new, full priced lathe.

I started turning right around Christmas after picking up an old (1950s) delta rockwell lathe for $100. That lathe was great to learn on and I made quite a few pens and other things on it in the time since I've had it.

There were some drawbacks though. There was more vibration, it was hard to change the belt speeds. The most frustrating aspect for pen turning was the gap bed that made it difficult to get a tool rest straight and iChat up against a pen blank.

So, I started looking for a new lathe without having much money out of the regular budget to buy one. Fortunately, through some pen sales and the sale of my old lathe and its accessories, I was able to pick this one up without having to use any money from our regular (and tight) budget.

I picked it up from Woodcraft nearby. I could have bought it online and saved on tax, but I wanted to support the local vendor and they've been great there at helping me out with advice etc along the way. Also, there's the instant gratification factor and the elimination of shipping damage that would need to be mailed back.

I'm impressed with this lathe, but I still need to get used to it. I only picked it up yesterday.

I like - having a regular handwheel. Not having a gap bed. No having to take the tail stock quill out to remove the center. (Didn't know there way such a thing as self ejecting tail stock before!).

I like the size and weight of the bed. This bed is wider than just about every lathe at the store, including all the pricey Novas.

None of the employees are store even suggested that I think about a bigger lathe. The long term turners / employees said that there would be no reason for me to consider an upgrade unless I wanted to turn bowls over 12".

I love the electronic variable speed. I like the digital readout. I like the reversing feature.

This purchase means that I've tasted the turning waters and I'm in.

Sorry all the light is over the lathe and not in front of it.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your new tool, the excitement is most noticeable from your words and very right so, is a great step forwards for you...!

As for turning bowls out of it sure, they can handle small to medium bowl sizes however, what will kill these type lathes very quickly is the use of big green/wet chunks of wood that just fits there and that is totally out of balance...!

It pays to prepare your bowl blanks, the best way you can before it is mounted in the lathe. Even a 8 to 10" green/wet chunk of unbalanced wood will shake those bearings to bits, and anything around it so yes, you can turn bows up to 12" in diameter but, be careful on what you mount on that headstock...!

This exact same principle, applies to any wood turning lathe size, we and I mean "WE" all tend to push our lathe limits with these big chunks of wood that we get sometimes to damn lazy to work on and cut anything that should't be there, between bandsaw, chainsaw and a axe or handsaw, one of these tools should be used to round and balance the blank the best possible before mounting on the lathe. Lathes that are made to cope with these brute forces, have special features and construction implementations that make them specially suited for any chunk of wood, regardless of shape however, they still have their limitations...!

The exaggeration on my examples to your case are deliberate nevertheless, is the principle behind it that I'm trying to point out to you. There is also a little concern of mine that the lathe base construction you made, wouldn't be any good to cope with large unbalanced chunks of wood mounted of the headstock. It looks quite nice and well thought but, you may get some vibrations from the unsupported/unbraced legs, particularly in Summer time where the wood will shrink slightly at the joints so, if that happens you will need to brace the legs with a "triangle piece on each side of the legs...!

Time will tell but, is not the end of the world, these things can always be easily fixed...!

Now, lets start seeing some stuff made with the new lathe, please...!:wink::biggrin:

Best of luck...!

Cheers
George
 
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Thanks for the comments George. I don't really have big plans for bowl turning, so no worries. I want to do some boxes and small bowls etc but I don't foresee mounting big chunks of green wood as you say. Mostly small sized projects.

Plus bearings are replaceable and warranty is 5 years for bigger problems.
 
Nice lathe Dan, I am jealous!:biggrin:
Have you noticed anything that is in need of adjusting or anything out of alignment.
Some comments from others have been that the centers were out of alignment.

BTW, I think that stand is great!
 
Well CONGRATULATIONS! have to believe it there are pictures. You will love the lathe. I have the little Delta, about the same size and I really like it. I gave up a Nova 1624 full size lathe for it because like you I never turned anything big and needed the room. So far it has worked for me.

Enjoy, nothing as great as a new tool!
 
CONGRATS.......you did it right and grew as you improved. Take care of it and it will last till the next time you are ready to move up again.
I love the stand setup you have.......it tells me you are into thinking things through and making them work for yourself.

Like George said.... GET BACK TO TURNING and show us what the new lathe and you can do. We all are waiting.
 
Dale Allen said:
Nice lathe Dan, I am jealous!:biggrin:
Have you noticed anything that is in need of adjusting or anything out of alignment.
Some comments from others have been that the centers were out of alignment.

BTW, I think that stand is great!
Click to expand...

Center points line up fine.

It will take some getting used to for the lathe to take a few seconds to get up to speed (it's the way it's supposed to)

The only thing I'm not that impressed with is the paint job. It's not
bad - would just be nice if it was powder coated. :-)
 
Judging from the people I know who have them, you will get years of good service from a Jet. Like others have stated previously, I was most impressed with your lathe stand. That is a serious piece of furniture! Excellent design.
 
Congratulations Dan!!!i'm sure you will have a blast with that lathe. That is a great looking stand you built.
 
Congratulations.

Now for the other news, on mine the tailstock on the 46-111 does self eject the live center, drill chuck etc.. The handle was not all the way on to pull the quill in for enough. Once I determined that was the case and fixed, it now works fine.
 
To the couple people who were intrigued by my stand -

It did have some side to side movement. I added diagonal braces and it fixed the issue. If you ever consider making a similar stand, I recommend including such supports in the design.
 

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Congratulations Dan. That's the one I drool over every time I go into Woodcraft - someday....
 
I like Jets new design, controls on the right side and real "beefy"!

About the stand though...have you tripped over it yet?:biggrin: It looks to me like the feet would get in your way, if you spread them out a bit it would help. Or you could shorten the front and bolt the back down. I just think it's a matter of time before you trip over it with a sharp tool in your hand.:wink:
 
rherrell said:
I like Jets new design, controls on the right side and real "beefy"!

About the stand though...have you tripped over it yet?:biggrin: It looks to me like the feet would get in your way, if you spread them out a bit it would help. Or you could shorten the front and bolt the back down. I just think it's a matter of time before you trip over it with a sharp tool in your hand.:wink:
Click to expand...

Not even close to a trip yet. Now that you mentioned it, probably will happen today. :-/. Maybe I can grab my new tool rest for support ;-p

The back legs are longer than the front. I keep my tool chest on the left of the lathe, so I don't really walk much side to side - just right up to the lathe.
 
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