Greetings from a Newbie!

[Cliff Cozzolino]

Hello All!

My wonderful wife surprised me with a new Jet Mini-Lathe for my birthday. Many thanks to Dennis Peacock for the guidance and recommendations on the purchase! So the question is, where to start?? How successful have you been with the Jet Mini and bowl turning?

So many questions, so little time.

[Keith Burns]

Welcome to the Creek Cliff !!! Your wife must be really special :) :) A lot of people have the Jet Mini so I know you will be happy with it. Now, as far as Dennis guiding you all I can say is watch you step:eek: :D

[Cecil Arnold]

Welcome Cliff, sounds like your wife is a keeper. We have a number of folks here who are starting out with a Jet mini. You might want to check post by Ken Fitzgerald, who started making bonkers about 6-9 months ago and Bernie Westphaul, Lee DeRaud, etc (sp?) who have really shown some talent for turning.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Welcome to the spinny world Cliff.

[Dennis Peacock]

Welcome to the world of ROUND Cliff..!!!!!! Thought I'd NEVER see you post on here. You need to update your profile to show where you are located. This in itsself can spur local folks that can help you get started along the way.

Welcome to SMC Buddy!!!!!:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Cliff. Lots of good people and lots of knowledge. So ask away.

[Bob Noles]

Welcome Cliff..... sounds like you are starting out right :D

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome Cliff! Glad to have yah aboard!

corey

[Mark Pruitt]

Welcome Cliff! I have only about a dozen bowls to my name so I'm a relative newbie as well. Congrats on the Jet Mini. It has a proven reputation. Of course, the lathe is just the beginning, and now it's time to take a very good look at your money 'cause soon it'll all be gone--but you'll be having the time of your life with all this spinny stuff!

You did ask where to start. Well, if you have Dennis close by you've got an excellent mentor there. Check out his article on bowl blanks: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=34370

Also, get your hands on Bill Grumbine's DVDs on Bowl turning:
http://wonderfulwood.com/
The second one is now available and I just ordered it. If it's as good as the first--and I know it will be--it'll be money well spent.

...and read, read, read. Last but not least, hang out here often. There's lots of us who are in early learning stages and lots others who are seasoned turners who put out truly inspirational stuff.

Enjoy the vortex!

Mark

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome Cliff, sounds like your wife is a keeper. We have a number of folks here who are starting out with a Jet mini. You might want to check post by Ken Fitzgerald, who started making bonkers about 6-9 months ago and Bernie Westphaul, Lee DeRaud, etc (sp?) who have really shown some talent for turning.

Gee Cecil..........I thought I've shown some improvement too....may be not talented but SOME of my bowls have looked like roughed out bowls......I kinda thought I'd come a long ways from bonkers......:confused: :( :rolleyes: :D


Cliff.........I've put my Jet Mini VS through a lot and it works well. The two things I have against it.....9 1/2" max turning diameter and the 500 rpm minimum speed.......but to learn on and to find out if you want to continue turning........It's great!



I'd recommend a book by Keith Rowley....."Wood Turning - A Foundation Course".....


DVD's .........Turning Wood by Richard Raffan.....It'll get you through the basics of spindle and face plate turning.....

Turned Bowls Made Easy by our own Bill Grumbine. Bill's video is excellent for turning bowls.

PS.....Give your wife a hug! She sounds like she's a keeper!

PPS.....One piece of advice......Don't....I repeat...Don't mount your Jet Mini to a diving board!:D

Also....there are a number of turning videos you can watch at the Woodcraft website.....most are done by Sorby

[Dick Parr]

Welcome to the Creek Cliff. :)

[Barry Stratton]

Welcome ot the Creek! Lots of good info already. Besides, you kow Dennis, what more could a guy need!!! Great gift by the wife also.

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Welcome to the creek, Cliff! It sounds like you've received a great deal of information already. I haven't heard much mention of tools, so I'll give this bit a go:

Make sure you have a sharpening solution. You can spend as little as $40 (HF 6" grinder), or as much as you want on a sharpening solution. Many people have touted the virtues of a sharpening jig/system (like the Wolverine system), and if you want a consistent bevel angle on your tools each time, such would be a good investment. You can build one yourself, however you will still need to invest in the grinder.

Turning tools can be a major expense. If you don't already have some, I would recommend the Harbor Freight set (about $35 or so) of HSS tools as a starter kit. If you want to do bowls, then you must acquire a bowl gouge as well. Also, don't use a spindle roughing gouge to rough out a bowl blank, as disaster can and will occur if you have a catch (would someone be so kind as to post a link to that thread? Thanks).

Also, unless you got the VS package that includes a chuck, you will need one of those as well at some point in the very near future. They are very convenient for doing facework, and essential if you are hollowing endgrain (goblets, etc).

Your Jet Mini will do wonderfully for starting out with bowl turning, even with its limited swing. It will allow you to determine if that is, in fact, the direction in which you wish to go. If you find you want to turn larger diameter pieces, however, do some serious shopping and hands-on testing of various lathes to see which would be best for you.

Hope it helps!

[Mark Pruitt]

PPS.....One piece of advice......Don't....I repeat...Don't mount your Jet Mini to a diving board!:D

I think there may be a story there that I haven't heard. That definitely spiked my curiosity!

[Jim Dunn]

Welcome Cliff. Don't listen to half you read here and take the other with a grain of gold as it's good information.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I think there may be a story there that I haven't heard. That definitely spiked my curiosity!

My Jet Mini VS is mounted on a 2 x 12 between 2 halves of a Little Giant ladder. It was nicknamed by a Creeker "the diving board". It works well for me as I'm nearly deaf. When turning NEs, if the bark starts loosening up, it causes a vibration and I know it instantly.