Jet Mini question

[Ned Bulken]

I've pretty well decided I want a Jet Mini, and have heard conflicting advice, should I get variable speed or no? your thoughts/ & comments appreciated.

[Dale Thompson]

Ned,
There was a lengthy thread on this subject a week or so ago. I would go with the VS "HANDS DOWN"!!! :)

Dale T.

[Dale Thompson]

Ned,
Check Page 6 of this Forum for Stephen Hibbs Thread entitled, "JetminiVS vs. non-VS"! Good Luck!! You will LOVE it!! :) ;) :D
Dale T.

[Ned Bulken]

Thanks Dale, I had checked the prior couple of days, but hadn't delved that far into it. I see convincing arguments for both... but that's OK, I'll just have to wait a bit anyway, still have to iron out the budget for building my shop. I have shop space now, but reallly want my own building instead of shared space. The lathe may wait til spring, but I like doing my research. I waited a year before i pulled the trigger on my tablesaw.

[Doug Jones]

To each there own, the VS cost roughly $100 more than the non. You can change belt speed in less than 20 seconds on the non. was your use to it. Is your time worth the extra cash? Only a question you can answer.
I have the non version and I can't complain.

[Chris Barton]

While I am a proud owner of a Jet VS mini I would suggest that you seriously consider the Rikon mini. I have looked at one of these very closely at our local Woodcraft and it has some great features. A little more swing and bed length, indexing, self ejecting tail stock, and a few others. I would wonder if a router speed controller would allow you to make it a true VS lathe. These can be had for about $30 and would really stack it high against the Jet.

[Jim DeLaney]

...I would wonder if a router speed controller would allow you to make it a true VS lathe. These can be had for about $30 and would really stack it high against the Jet.

NO, it can't be used. The Jet has an induction motor. The router speed controls only work on universal (brush-type) motors.

[Dale Thompson]

You can change belt speed in less than 20 seconds on the non. . Is your time worth the extra cash?

Doug,
For a young guy like you, 20 seconds is nothing! :) For an old guy like me, even the 0 seconds that is takes to change speeds on the VS is usually longer than my attention span! :o I forget whether I am turning or resawing on my Scroll Saw?! :confused: ;)

Whatever, spending an extra $100 on your basic machine seems sort of minimal. Ignoring the cost of a good grinder, sharpening jig, spigot chuck,etc., even the cost of a high-end deep bowl gouge will cost you well over half of that $100 figure. :( :)

Jim,
You're SURE right on the speed control thing. A number of years ago, I tried to convert my grinder into a VS unit. 47,000 fuses later, I checked it out in my old Elec. Engr. textbook. Glueing a couple of old toothbrushes to the armature of the motor didn't work either! :confused: Enough said! :o ;) :)

Dale T.

[Chip Sutherland]

If you are willing to shuck out the $$ for the VS Mini....look at the HF version of the 1236 because you're within that price range. It's bigger and has psuedo-VS by way of a reeves drive. I had the non-VS Mini but I upgraded after 6 months. NOT having VS wasn't the issue. I just wanted more capacity and more HP and a more stable platform. I wish somebody had told me about the HF to begin with. I'm not a real big fan of HF's quality but there are scores of Creekers that will say good things about the HF 1236-wannabe. Price+capabilty of the lathe is hard to beat. I'm not try to sell HF stuff, I'm just telling you what my mistake was in the beginning and what I would have done differently. When I upgraded, I skipped the 1236 wannabe's for the next level.

That's my 2 cents.

[Jim Becker]

I unfortunately don't agree with Chip on this one...I owned the 34706 as my first lathe, but ended up replacing it with something of better quality and real VS only 6 months later. The HF was ok, (especially for the $159 I paid for it) but if I had bought a VS mini (had they been available at the time), I'd still have it in addition to my "big lathe". And in your case with that new, but much smaller shop, I think that the mini is a better fit...until you can invest in a Stubby, of course... :) At the time you started this thread, noone knew about the new smaller shop, either...

[George Conklin]

I have a Jet Mini VS. My Complaint is that it doesn't seem to have enough torque. I'm told that the non vs model doesn't have the problem of not enough torque. In order not to bog down while turning a six inch bowl, the lathe needed to be on it's highest speed.

This lathe was wonderful for pen type projects for me. It was only the larger projects that didn't work so well.

Please keep in mind, I am brand new to this game so it might be operator error on my part:( .

George

[George Troy Hurlburt]

I have a Vicmarc Mini and use my own motor, sure wish I had purchase a variable speed 4 years ago instead of what I had. For the second time I turned on the Woodturners club Jet Mini. I was impressed with how true it run after sizing the outside of a bowl. Also running true with the inside. Sure beats the heck out of the Delta Minis. In my opinion a lathe is only good for what you can get under the tool rest. 8" is my personal limit for a mini of any brand with a ten inch swing. The Jet tool rest is junk. Since I don't turn or demo on cast iron tool rests, I elected to bring my forged steel one I had made with a 5/8" shaft. Go with a variable speed, of course I think this is true for all lathes. GT

[Ned Bulken]

Jim,
true, I didn't fill in all the details. for those who haven't seen my other thread on the off topic section. I'm building a tiny 300sq ft shop, just 12x16 with a loft above it.
Into there I'll be squeezing a largeish workbench, tablesaw jointer, bandsaw, storage cabinet and other goodies. The mini will likely be with me awhile if only for square footage that it doesn't take up. I'm leaning heavily towards the VS if only for resale later. from what I've read the VS still has belts you need to change, but the fine tuning will be welcome (or so I'm presuming by the comments here and over on woodcentral's reviews page). I jokingly told the LOML that I might just be better off looking for a SHopsmith and save a lot of footprint space. I already have the core machines, router, tablesaw etc... tho, so it would be cost prohibative to give them up.
The purchase is still a few weeks away, and I have a bunch of lumbah to purchase first. not to mention, rock, piers, nails, siding, roofing materials...

THanks tho, for the comments, they have helped a LOT!

[Dale Thompson]

I have a Jet Mini VS. My Complaint is that it doesn't seem to have enough torque. I'm told that the non vs model doesn't have the problem of not enough torque. In order not to bog down while turning a six inch bowl, the lathe needed to be on it's highest speed.

This lathe was wonderful for pen type projects for me. It was only the larger projects that didn't work so well.

Please keep in mind, I am brand new to this game so it might be operator error on my part:( .

George

George,
Someone correct me if I am wrong but the motors on the Jet VS and non-VS minis are essentially the same. They are both 1/2 HP which means that they can, on average, generate 225 ft-lb of torque/sec.. This means that both motors will give you the same torque under comparable gearing conditions. ;)

In turning a 6" bowl with the VS OR the non-VS unit, you will want to start at the slowest pulley setting and, as your blank becomes concentric with your axis (more balanced), you will want to change to a higher speed range on either lathe. The VS only has three but that is not a problem of torque. :confused: :D

With a "balanced" blank, you can switch to HI speed and go for it. Depending on how you carve your bowls, you may wish to back off of the pulley setting for the "hollowing out" process.

Your experience with the highest speed on the VS is NOT due to a lack of torque. It is due to the angular momentum of the blank. In fact, the fastest pulley setting actually allows you LESS chisel pressure on the blank because of this constant torque factor. This may not seem to make sense but it is a fact of physics. :cool:

One last thing, George. The sharpness of your chisels is at least as important as the torque of your lathe. Required torque is only one of several reasons for this. I'm certainly NOT an expert turner but I would MUCH rather turn a piece with "properly sharpened" chisels on a 1/2 HP lathe than use a 1 HP lathe with "improperly sharpened" chisels. :cool: :)

Then again, I'm hoping to escape the asylum any day now. If they would just take this ankle bracelet off for a second - I'd be GONE!! ;) :)

Dale T.