New Lathe Jet 1220!

[reeves]

Well the MC900 finally suffered a bit of a death, rounded speed adjustment spindle so its stuck on one speed, the fastest and just replacing the spindle would have left the cause, bogged up crap inside lathes head( i tried several times to clean it with compressor and Rp& etc but its needed pulling apart) that you cant get to without pulling the pullies etc so rather than take lathe out of action for a while and repair (last time took a week), customer orders are pending, cos i am actually earning $$ with it, SWMBO approved immediate purchase of new lathe.

after a few days deliberating the best lathe and cost, a new 3/4 HP Jet midi lathes arrived from Gary Pye via Toowoomba Woodworks, costing about 520 (base cost 480) with freight from the Gold coast and another 50 or so for 1x8TPI inserts for my vicmarc and teknatool chucks.

I coulda got the variable speed unit for another 180 odd bucks but being suspicious of too much electro gadgetry opted for the manual belt speed change variety, a bit of a pain in the butt i know but at least little can go wrong with it and i guess i can always upgrade if i get sick of moving the belt during jobs, which is quite easy and i only use 3 different speeds at the most for any single project, on the smaller works .

Anyways the lathe is a joy to use, as powerful as the bigger MC 900 but smoother, quieter and more proffessional in its fitout with steel handle levers and a great feel. So current orders are being met, woodturner is happy and wife is happy its quieter and $$ are being made with it.

Guess i'll get the 900 fixed up in time to do larger stuff but its needs bearings, speed change spindle and probably drive spindle as its worn ( 3 years of abuse) and rattly, may sell it and activate my longterm plan to own 3 lathes, small, medium and largescale lones for a variety of production purposes.

His some pics of the new lathe and some recent works done in the last couple of days. Its great how a new lathe can lift restrictions and open up some new capabilities and ideas, the high speed, over 3000 rpm was something i really needed so happy days! Alos its doenst rattle as much as the old lathe has been.

The works in the pics are a spalted red ash bowl, small huon pine flower pot and mulga incense holder, purple heart and hairy oak drop spindle, bluegum spindle stand.

[Black Ned]

Congratulations for giving a good home to the new lathe.
Question - the Hairy Oak item - is that the correct colour or have you stained it?

[reeves]

Congratulations for giving a good home to the new lathe.
Question - the Hairy Oak item - is that the correct colour or have you stained it?

cool thanks for the congrats Linden.

The shaft (bit that goes thorugh the whorl) is hairy oak and the whorl (round flatish bit that weights the spindle) is purpleheart.

cheeeeers
john

[TTIT]

What ever it takes to keep turnin' eh John! :UMaybe I should think about a spare - hmmm:;

[BANNED]

Hi reeves, congratulations on your new lathe. I like the headstock shape, no motor in the way!
Interesting, that while we have all been talking about lathe replacements specif. etc., you were actually in troubles? good for you, that you didn't have to talk about it day after day, you just went, got it, no bull...! yeah, that was the way I once did business, I see it, I want it, I got it!.
Now, do you have you 50c coin on its edge, buy it self, or you got it glued like mine? hahahhah!

I'm happy for you, I only thought that you would go for something "bigger"! the variable speed thing, is sounding better to me every time someone mentions changing belts.

It looks like that I have to keep using the GMC as a lathe for a while. Since my last peace, I decided not to do any more work on it, without at least a decent chuck, for work and safety reasons, but is not to be as I ordered (nova G3), and paid for on the 21/6, as not yet arrived, from Adelaide, less than 100 km away.

Anyway, at least someone is having some fun with a new toy.:2tsup:
Cheers
GV

[reeves]

Vern, yeah its good to have a smaller lathe around for smaller projects, this one is really fun to use. And you can pick it up and move it around no probs, clean under it etc.

Nyodine, yes, I was a bit skeptical of the belt change thing but the variable was over my budget so I got this one. Now i have used it for a few days i dont find the belt change a problem, its quite easy and quick and makes you think about getting the most out of each speed and as it only does smaller works most stuff is done at high speed.. Maybe I'll upgrade in future maybe not. I am planning a variable for my larger lathe when i eventually get it so we'll see what happens. I have come to appreciate simplicity in machines so at the moment am happy to have one with no added electronics. There is appranelty a 1HP version available but no suppliers had it.

So you got a new Nova arriving, well done, that should be fun for sure.

Hey where abouts are you ? 100k north of Adelaide up near Burra or wherever, I grew up out that way, u got access to any interesting timbers...?

[BANNED]

Hi reeves,

Good to know you are adapting well to the mini lathe, Yeah I believe they are fun to work with and easy to move around.
Unfortunately, you got the direction wrong, I'm South of Adelaide, toward the hills. As far as the timber in this area is concern, is not to bad for firewood!
I've got some wood from a small tree I cut a couple of months ago, there I don't know what it is. Is some sort of heavy hardwood, with a beautiful grain and colouration. I did also got a maleleuca tree from his back yard. All his trees (neighbour) were planted 30 years ago, without much planning, so some of them did grow too big, in the wrong place, or both. Most of the timber was cut for firewood, but some peaces were capt way, for turning if they don't crack all up before I use them dry. Actually, a few weeks back, I cut 2 blanks of each for turning. One peace was slip trough the middle of the log (approx, 12" long X 7" wide, full logs), the other was cut in length, to match it's diameter. Still very green, with a moisture concentration of about 24 to 26%, I shaped the 2 slip half's, one of each species, then I sealed them and put them way to dry. Each peace had already one split each, when sealed so, we will see.
I will put together a few pics, to see if someone can identify the heavy wood.
PS: I just remembered, that when I slip this heavy timber trough the middle with a chainsaw, the wood looked dark but very beautiful, after the half was roughly turned and sealed, in within a few hours the timber changed colour, as the sealant dried, showing a yellowish/greenish ting all over, like if was dipped in some thin water based colourant, making it look quite unpleasant (uglyish). The other half not used, is the same as when I slip it, but the other peace I cut to length to match it's diameter, has not been turned yet, but shows the ugly colour in the end-grain on both ends of the log :? .

All for now,
Cheers
GV

[Hardenfast]

Morning Reeves.

I too purchased the new model Jet Midi from Gary Pye, while he was down at the Sydney Wood Show. He was a pleasure to deal with and the lathe is a gem. Smooth as a baby's forearm - and as you say, not a hint of vibration. As luck would have it the chuck from my Woodfast (which I'm about to sell) fitted straight onto it, so I had no extra costs involved. Great to have the lamp included in the deal and hardwired.

It's a useful addition to the Leady lathe, and between the 2 of these I anticipate being able to do just about anything. Once I've gained a bit more experience and perhaps developed enough expertise to justify the expense, I'd like to progress to the Teknatool DVRXP variable speed. In the meantime I agree that changing speeds via belt/pulley is not such a big deal.

I particularly like your spalted Red Ash bowl. How did you colour the rings around the little vase? Does the ash bowl have a similar ring around the rim or is that just an effect of the photo.

[GPW]

There seems to be some confusion in the market place about the horsepower rating on the new JET 12-20 Lathe. We rate ours as 3/4hp@ 100% output,we could rate it at 1hp input @40% but really most people prefer the output figures.

Rohan Pye
Machinery Sales
GPW Currumbin

[reeves]

I particularly like your spalted Red Ash bowl. How did you colour the rings around the little vase? Does the ash bowl have a similar ring around the rim or is that just an effect of the photo.

Hey good to hear you got one too, nice little lathe hey..

I usually burn the rings with a guitar string, or blunt sandpaper, sometimes blunt chisel, the bowl one i think i did with the polishing cloth, its a bit blurry and fady i was after less defined look

Gary, yes Gregories has em listed at 1HP..

http://www.gregmach.com/new_machinery/lathes/lathes.htm

but like you say the difference is kinda moot, same lathe..

Nyodine, hey interesting sounding wood discoverys, whats ugly stuff look like..so yr down south is, where abouts near Mt Compass

thanks for the comments all..

[BANNED]

reeves
"whats ugly stuff look like"?
Well, you know when you see it!
In this case, is a colour that don't belong to timber, and something that make you go... :puke:

You are correct with the location Mr. spot-on!

Cheers
GV