Jet mini VS Ricon mini lathes My 2 cents worth (My Review )

[John Cooper2]

I did allot of research on mini lathes before I bought one. Did tonnes of reading this forum and others.

Talked with woodcraft and they pushed the Ricon in a big way, which made me scared of them. Also talked with other dealers, they seamed to push the Jet, of course they didn't sell the ricon either. Dealers kinda cancelled each other out. Woodcraft did sell both the Jet and Ricon, Had only the Jets in thier classrooms, which was strange since they where pushing the Ricons.

So a few weeks back Woodcraft had both on sale and the Ricon worked out to be a tad cheaper. That was the final factor for me. I figured I couldn't go wrong either way, so I could put the extra toward some tools.

Had about two hours on the Ricon and fell into a deal on a Slightly used Jet. Had about two hours on it, and that was from only polishing. The owner had bought a nice 6" metal chuck for holding the metal that he was polishing. The other parts where still in the original plastic.

So now what do I do? Have both lathes that I was flip-flopping over sitting in front of me, can only use one. So I really thought about keeping both of them, but I couldn't. So I put a couple hours on each one and started to really see what I liked best.

Personel Impressions.

Jet..... Little better fit and finish (not much)
Harder to replace Belt, changing speed the same on both.
This one not as smooth as the Ricon ( I was shocked)
No spindle lock, not a problem for a Newbi, but a limitation

Ricon... Little cheaper up front.
Has spindle lock
Good looking and heavy for it's size.
Very very smooth.
Had extras like a tool holder, motor cover, folding handle.

Now I am getting a Delta 1460 from the 40s or 50's so I will end up with two lathes afterall. Not selling the Ricon though.



Final thoughts...

Either would work well,

Preferred the Ricon,

I was pushed by price,

Real glad I had the chance to try both.

Hope it helps someone out there.

John

[Tim A. Mitchell]

Thanks for sharing. It is nice to get feedback from someone that has both in the shop. I have a Rikon, and thinks it is pretty nice. I was price driven as well, but not disapointed by any means.

[Jason Hallowell]

I have the Rikon too. I have used a few jet mini's, and they were nice machines, but I'm happy with mine overall. Here are my impressions, for what it's worth-
Rikon-
Smoother running, less run-out at headstock, terrible spindle lock design (I removed mine), and less side to side play in tailstock, which is more than cancelled out by the very sloppy quill travel.

Jet-
Much more accurate quill travel, more established brand, not quite as smooth or quiet running.

I would guess that most woodcraft stores have jets in the classrooms because the classrooms were set up before the Rikons came out. IIRC they had only been on the market for a couple of months when I got mine less than a year ago.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have the Rikon and found it quieter, has bigger swing and easier to change belts. Also easier to change belts if needed. I have turned on both the Jet and Rikon.

[Wilbur Pan]

Now I am getting a Delta 1460 from the 40s or 50's so I will end up with two lathes afterall. Not selling the Ricon though.

I may be missing something, but if you have a Delta 1460, which has a 12" swing if I remember correctly, why would you also need a mini lathe? Those old 1940's lathes are really nice.

Of course, if you decide to keep your Rikon, and get rid of the Delta, give me a call. ;)

[John Cooper2]

[quote=Wilbur Pan;724687]I may be missing something, but if you have a Delta 1460, which has a 12" swing if I remember correctly, why would you also need a mini lathe? Those old 1940's lathes are really nice.

I really don't have the delta yet, Just found it last week and will pick it up sunday.
Had been thinking about getting an extension for the ricon, but now I will not.

Going to be keeping both lathes. Considering some riser blocks for the delta though. It will need some minor restoration and thinking of some blocks to increase the 12" capacity

John

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

As you will find, in some earlier posts, I had both the Jet and the Ricon - Each for over a year and agree John's assesment.

Bruce