The New Jet has arrive safely home!

[Steve Huffman]

The Jet arrived at my taxidermy shop yesterday, back my truck up to the semi and slid it right into my pickup...no troubles! Driving it home 9 miles on a muddy/snowing mountain road,
well that's another story, but at least my truck stayed pretty clean. :mad: The old HF lathe went into the back room under the exhaust fan where I will use it sometimes for spray finishes.
I really tried not to appear excited for the picture which I think went well. :D After turning on the HF for a year, I don't know how to act here.....it's so smooth and quiet.

[daryl moses]

Congrats on your new lathe, it looks great!!
And yes, turning on your new lathe compared to the old HF lathe is a world of difference.
Hope your Jet gives you many years of trouble free service. Enjoy!!!

[Thom Sturgill]

Welcome to the club! Is that the 2hp version? I have the 1 1 /2hp version and it has done pretty much anything I needed though I am looking at a OneWay 1224 for turning finials and doll house stuff. It has a much higher top rpm. Many build storage under them, all I did was add a 2x shelf in both sets of brackets, but leave the lower one back a bit to allow you to get closer to the bed. Very handy for putting the tools used for a given project so that they are at hand. My parting tools are the only ones that live there permanently. I will admit that the shelves can be curly collectors though.

[Steve Huffman]

Thanks guys. Yes Tom, it's the 2 hp 220v as I had a line already just on the other side of the wall in the garage, so all I had to
do is wire up a box/plugin on this side. I will need to build a storage and weight platform underneath and thinking of going with
more of a closed cabinet rather than drawers...unsure at this point. Id like to see what you did with yours if you have a picture.
Also, did you add any weight?

[Thom Sturgill]

What I have now is very simple. There are projections on the inside of the legs - I have 2" boards running between them both below the opening and above. Next to the Headstock I have a pole that brings down power (my lathe is in the center of the shop) on this pole I have a number of pegs that hold my chucks. Behind me is a workbench with drawers.

When I first got the lathe (different shop) I built a cabinet under the bed that used the same lower shelf brackets. Its face was on a slant to allow maximum access to the bed. On top were two largeish drawers. Below that it was divided into thirds. One was a rack for sandpaper, the center was originally open, later had a door and was used for storing larger items. The right hand section was shallow drawers which never seemed to get closed tight and always needed cleaning out.

Problems with that case was why I built the workbench with drawers.

[Steve Huffman]

Just a quick follow up on the Jet, I absolutely love this machine!!!! I just finished up on 3 projects over this last weekend and will photograph on Thursday. I realize that after turning just over a year of on the noisy, vibrating, sometimes walking away, Harbor Freight machine, the Jet or just about any bigger machine would be sweet in comparison. I will never turning again with out a variable speed. I enjoyed walking to the shop every weekend this winter to turn a project, now I run!!! :D I have a few more items on the way to complete the set up, Monster Hollower, buffer system, Robust tool rest and have to complete a ballast box and all that kind of stuff. Looking back, I wish I would have taken a class or been able to turn on a couple different lathes, but I just jumped into the HF without knowing anything about turning other than wanting to just try. No regrets, just would have done things a bit different and the HF still has a good purpose. I'm very happy to have pulled the trigger on this lathe, and sure to be in years to come.

[charlie knighton]

congratulations, enjoy

[Brian Kent]

There is a delightful irony that you love the smooth and quiet lathe - and drive a Harley.

Congratulations! Enjoy!

[David Delo]

There is a delightful irony that you love the smooth and quiet lathe - and drive a Harley.

Congratulations! Enjoy!


Almost spilled my coffee on that comment +1:)

Nice machine Steve, enjoy.

[Steve Huffman]

There is a delightful irony that you love the smooth and quiet lathe - and drive a Harley.

Congratulations! Enjoy!

Now that is a interesting thought indeed! I guess after a day of riding, I can come home and turn wood in peace and quiet! :D

[John Solie]

That photo with the green HF lathe reminds me of a troublesome child who has been sent to the corner for timeout. Congrats on the new lathe!