I bought my Jet 1014i, part number 708375, January 29, 2018 from an ad on Craigslist Dallas Texas for $150.00. I send an email to Jet support and found out the lathe was manufactured January 2011.
The lathe was in sad shape. The previous owner had CA or Epoxy all over the head stock and on the ways. The motor would not run and was generally funky.
The good news was the only problem with the motor was the start capacitor which was an easy fix.
The lathe was mounted on a Jet stand and had the original face plate and spur drive.
I took the lathe apart and sand blasted the frame and primed and painted it Rustoleom Hammered Gray. Personally I am not a fan of the off white Jet color. I replaced the bearings in the head stock and got a new belt. I kept the old belt for “Just in Case”. I ordered a PSI variable speed motor kit from Penn State. The variable speed motor fit right in with one minor modification to the motor bracket. The original motor bracket has a slot with an open end that the motor is tightened against to set the belt tension. The new motor bracket was closed and I could not get enough adjustment so I just ground out the end of the slot like the original part and hit it with a little black paint.
After the paint job and reassembly the Jet 1014i was very good for turning pens and tops. I have a larger lathe, Nova 16-44, but it is handy to have two lathes. I built a small box and put a drawer in it and mounted below the lathe and above the leg support. I put a plywood square on top to hold my chisels and other objects needed during turning. The box also catches a lot of the chips and saw dust that come off the lathe and is handy for holding lathe accessories but keep the dust out of the drawer.
When I started out wanting to turn I had the classic lament, should I go big or small. Luckily a friend gave me a Shopsmith Mark V and that solved my problem. The Shopsmith is a jack of all trades and does not do any of them exceptionally well except as a lathe. I bought my 1” x 8 TPI PSI Barracuda Chuck and was off and turning. The first touch of the tool to the wood and I was hooked. I sold the Shopsmith and got a Delta 1440 Iron Bed off Craigslist and did not like it very much. I sold the Delta for a small profit and bought the Nova at Woodcraft on sale. The Nova has a 1 1/4” x 8 TPI head stock thread so my PSI Barracuda was moth balled for a while. But when I got the Jet it was in use again.
So as long as I have had the Jet I wanted an extension. I do not need the extension to do longer spindle work, I wanted it to push the tail stock out of the way. Removing the tail stock when turning the ends of tops was a pain and every time you remove it you take the chance of dropping it and damaging it.
The internet was searched countless times for a Jet BE and stand extension but I could never find one. I had read on a Rockler.com review of the Excelsior lathe extension that I fit a Jet 1014. Other reviews said it did not fit the Jet 1014. I took a chance and ordered it with a code I get in email for free shipping. The extension was $79.00. I also ordered a Shopfox HD Lathe Stand Extension from Grizzly for $81.00 extension and shipping. When UPS delivered the two pieces I was excited.
The Excelsior extension is black and very poorly packaged. The extension was rough as a cobb. The machining of the ways was good and even but the casting was so rough. I got some bolts to bolt the lathe and extension together. Rockler does not send any bolts with the extension. Well it was heart break, the two did not match up at the bolt holes. I started to send it back to Rockler but thought what have I got to loose but $79.00. I measured the Jet bolt locations very carefully and put painters tape on the end of the extension. I carefully marked out the new hole locations and used a center punch to mark them. I drilled the holes to 1/2”. It was very easy the cast iron is soft. I lifted the extension up and bolted it right on. The ways matched up perfectly with a little bit of adjustment. I moved the tail stock to the end of the extension and tried to lock it down. The locking handle just spun. I got my calipers out and the ways were 1/32” shorter than the Jet. I adjusted the nut on the bottom of the tail stock and the banjo and both locked up just fine. I will have to adjust the banjo and tail stock each time I move them from the Jet to the extension. The adjust is no big deal.
After I got the extension working I bolted together the stand and adjusted that up to the lathe. The lathe extension has threaded holes in the feet that are 8MM 1.25 TPMM. I got some bolts from Ace and bolted the mounting plate to the stand on the bottom of the lathe and then assembled the rest of the stand and adjusted to meet the extension. I have a 24” machined straight edge and the extension is arrow straight with my Jet lathe ways.
I disassembled the stand and extension and sanded the stand and degreased both the stand and extension. The extension is very rough so I got my angle grander out and smoothed the edges for comfort and looks. I used rattle can primer and Rustoleom Hammered Gray to paint everything. I let it dry for 3 days and reassembled the extension and stand.
So after all the work to get the extension, stand and making it work I think is is worth it. For $160.00 plus about $25.00 nuts, bolts and paint I got Frankenstein, made from various parts and pieces but it Lives!
So far the Jet 1014 has cost me
$150.00 Purchase
$30.00 Misc nuts, bolts and paint
$119.00 Penn State VS Motor
$79.00 Excelsior Extension
$81.00 Shopfox HD Lathe Stand Extension
$459.00
Now I see several Jet 1014 and 1014 VS lathes without stands or extensions for $300.00 to $600.00. I see stands for $150.00 and have yet to see an extension or stand extension.
So overall I think I have a pretty good deal going and the lathe is exactly what I want. One more modification I have made is I got a Robust Safety Center to replace the spur drive in my Jet and Nova. The problem with a spur center is if you get a catch the piece tries to climb off the lathe. With the Safety Center if I get a catch the work is more likely to just spin instead of ejecting off the lathe. I will not count the cost of the safety center because I can use on both lathes and feel safer.
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Nice job with the mods! Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the forum.
Originally Posted by Guy Donham
