Expanding my Jet 1014 mini?

[Craig Petersen]

New guy here. I've been turning pens, small bowls, and lidded boxes for about 7 years. I learned from a gentleman by the name of Myron Curtis back in Virginia Beach. He is still turning at the grand age of 98! I was fortunate to have the run of his shop and be able to pick his brain for as much information as I could absorb. Unfortunately my wife's mid-life crisis took us away from that area and we now live in Oakland, CA.

I have a Jet mini 1014, with an aftermarket PSI variable speed attachment that continues to serve me well. I recently completed an 8x12 shed in my backyard so I have more space to get back into turning.

A question I have about my lathe, and I've spend several hours reviewing forums and libraries to try to self-help an answer. As currently configured, my lathe will handle a bowl of roughly 10 inch diameter before it starts to bang against the bed / deck rail. Last night I had one of those enlightened moments where I thought "why not just remove the four screws, reverse the headstock so it faces outboard, swap the belt around, and expand the bowl diameter capacity well beyond 10 inches?" Brilliant!

I did just that, and proved the components all turned when I switched the power back on. The only thing I would need would be a sturdy free-standing tool rest.

But then I started thinking, by flipping the headstock, would I now be rotating the bowl chuck in the wrong direction and thus be unable to keep the chuck securely threaded? It is one of those questions that is too deep for me to visualize in my head, and I was afraid to give it a try for fear of the chuck flying off and going through the window of my new shed. Part of me says this should work. But part of me thinks if it did, someone would have already thought of it and Jet would advertise it as an added free feature.

Anyone try this or think it's worth going from concept stage to test and evaluation?

Appreciate the feedback. The photo of the shed uploaded sideways but is upright when opened. Go figure.

rotate.jpg
(I rotated the photo for you. JKJ)

[Steve Eure]

I would think that you would have to turn from the opposite side, (normal back side), of your lathe if the machine is going in it's normal rotation, (forward). From what I've read, using an un-attached tool rest is risky and can be dangerous. Most people I've talked to don't recommend doing it. I've seen some homemade outboard tool rest and even some such as from Laguna that bolt on to the existing ways. Be careful.

[Craig Petersen]

Thanks Steve - I sort of guessed it wouldn't be simple. If I were to try it I would certainly mount the tool rest somehow, either weld it to the lathe or bolt to the floor. Plenty of other projects to attack rather than coming up with another challenge...

[Richard Coers]

If you turn on the outboard side, from the normal rear of the lathe, you'll still unscrew your chuck or faceplate. You need to reverse the motor direction. You could use a scraper on the normal rear, but the tool would have to be used upside down and it can still unscrew the chuck..

[Craig Petersen]

Okay - two votes for "it's a bad idea" is enough for me... Thanks for the input.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Build a riser for the headstock and get a longer belt. The tail stock won't work and the tool rest post will be too short, but an easy fix for both, make a riser for the tailstock and a longer post on the tool rest.

[Don Jarvie]

I’ll be the first to say it but consider a bigger lathe if you want to turn bigger things. More weight, HP, etc. I have the 1014VS and use it for pens and bottle stoppers. I do everything else on my PM 3520. I use both lathes but was limited with the Jet.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

When you turn the headstock around the chuck will unscrew unless you can reverse the motor a setscrew will not be a good way to keep it from that, you also have to change the pulley around, as it sits backwards, large to large rather than large to small size.

But your biggest problem beside the toolrest is the small motor that will be underpowered even more than it is (½ HP) when you want to turn larger pieces, I have a Jet 10-14 and find it underpowered for anything but small pieces and thin spindles as is, I certainly would not want to turn larger pieces with that small motor.

[John K Jordan]

Craig, (I rotated the photo.) It sure is nice to get some shop space! If you can swing it, it would be far better to get a larger and more appropriate lathe for your bowls and either keep or sell the mini. (I have a couple of Jet minis, great to take somewhere or as a second lathe in the shop.)

On some lathes (Nova, etc) the headstock will rotate out for larger work. I have several lathes (a couple of Jet 1642s and a PM3520b) where the entire headstock can be turned around or slid down to the end to turn outboard. My PM has a bed extension that can be mounted low to support an extended tool rest if a 20" bowl isn't big enough. (20" is plenty big enough for me!) but there are some practical problems with that.

If you do turn want to turn outboard, there is nothing wrong with using a free standing tool rest IF you make it sturdy enough, or better yet, make a frame to fasten it to the lathe. A friend of mine turned large bowls on an old Delta lathe that way. He used a sturdy stand then stabilized it with pipe clamps. But I too don't consider the Jet mini a good lathe for outboard turning, not only because of the undersized motor but also because the lathe is too light to absorb vibration from out-of-balance blanks. Parts like the banjo and tool rest/tool rest post are not very sturdy either and might eventually fail with hard use.

JKJ

[Thomas Canfield]

To me the short answer is that it would be a bad idea to invest that much time and money in a bad setup with limited power. Just changing the drive head would not "unwind" a chuck unless the motor can run in reverse. You would just have to turn from the other side of the lathe. You should consider upgrading to a 12" midi with variable speed and reverse with larger motor that would also have lower speed needed for larger bowls also.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

To me the short answer is that it would be a bad idea to invest that much time and money in a bad setup with limited power. Just changing the drive head would not "unwind" a chuck unless the motor can run in reverse. You would just have to turn from the other side of the lathe. You should consider upgrading to a 12" midi with variable speed and reverse with larger motor that would also have lower speed needed for larger bowls also.

It would unwind the chuck, unless he can reverse the motor, old lathes that could not reverse turning, had LH thread on the outside for that reason.

By turning the head around the motor still turns in the forward direction and the outside now has RH thread, this would have the chuck unwind from the spindle if the chuck is stopped or slowed down.

If the motor can run in reverse than the chuck would tighten, not loosen.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Craig

I wonder if it is possible to use a slightly longer belt and twist it in the centre? That would get it turning in the desired direction with the headstock reversed. Of course, this also depends on whether there is room to do this.

I sold my Jet mini 1014 just a few weeks ago, and replaced it with a Nova Saturn DVR. There is a world of difference in their power. I used the Jet for 10 years turning spindles for chairs and table legs using a table extension. It has 1/2 hp, and was barely adequate for the purpose. By contrast, the Nova has 2.3 hp. I could easily stall the Jet. The slowest speed on my manual version was 500 rpm, and at this it just lacked torque.

I think that the Jet is best used for small spindles and pens, and you should consider a larger lathe if you wish to do bowls larger than 10".

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Grant Wilkinson]

I have the Jet 1014 VS. I'm with Leo. Doing all this work on this lathe would be a waste of your time. Even with the motor kit you have added, that lathe is not set up to handle big pieces. Even with heavy 9" bowl blanks, it's all too easy to stall it. I would bet you are also putting strain on the small spindle bearings that they were not designed to handle.

[Craig Petersen]

I’ll be the first to say it but consider a bigger lathe if you want to turn bigger things. More weight, HP, etc. I have the 1014VS and use it for pens and bottle stoppers. I do everything else on my PM 3520. I use both lathes but was limited with the Jet.

Agree, but right now I'm space limited.

[Craig Petersen]

Thanks to all. I'll stick with the mini Jet for now as it serves me well for 95% of what I do. Someone gave me a couple of larger bowl blanks and I was trying to see if I had the capacity. Sounds highly unlikely. I think I'll end up getting a used lather for my Facilities shop at the campus where I work and use it when needed.