DIYbanter - View Single Post - Jet 1442--my last lathe?

Patriarch

wrote in
ups.com:

Occasional lurker, first time poster here...

I have been offered a brand spanking new lathe in the $1000 range (by
my mother) in exchange for converting some cherry I've been air-drying
for a couple of years into 2 custom end-tables with turned legs. The
closest I've come to turning wood is watching that Yoder fella on PBS.
As of right now, it looks like table legs are going to be my primary
turning projects, at least right off the bat. Chair legs and spindle
work sound appealing as well. Pens and platters, not so much. I've
seen some segmented bowls and the like, and that looks interesting and
challenging, both from the flat and round perspectives. So, that's
what I feel like turning, having never turned anything G.

I feel like I've done my due diligence (thank you Google) but there
are some organic touchy-feely questions I'd like to ask:

1. Is the Jet 1442 a good lathe for the money? My reading revealed a
strong support for the Nova 3000 in that price range, but I could only
find the electronic speed control model for $2200 or so. Anyone have
a lead on the manual speed adjust? I assume it will be considerably
less expensive.

2. Is the Jet 1442 the last lathe I'm likely to ever need? I
understand that $5K on a Oneway is likely to be the last lathe I'll
ever need, but realistically? In my mind, the Jet 1442 appears to be
on the same par with a solid contractor's saw, but definitely no
Unisaur. However, lots of folks get by with contractor's saws, and
make beautiful stuff with them.

3. Am I missing some critical point in lathe comparisons? Jet,
Delta, Grizzly and Nova were all machines I looked at in the price
range, and the 1HP motor and price sold me on Jet over the others. I
figured that with a twisty headstock, the extra swing wasn't worth the
money, but the larger motor was. I also like the fact that,
apparently, the Jet can be put closer to the wall than the other
models. Mass was also a consideration.

4. I'm thinking of purchasing midrange turning tools--we'd all like
the Sorby stuff, but is a Sorby gouge 3 or 4 times better than an
off-brand? Any recommendations to that effect?

5. Am I missing anything? Am I now an informed consumer?

Thanks, y'all.

-Phil Crow

Well, I'm not really an expert, but am the first responder here this
evening...

I bought a Jet 1442, with a bed extension, about 16-18 months ago. It
works really well, better than I do, really, and I've been able to make
some nice bowls, tool handles, trinkets, etc on the machine. There is
adequate power for almost anything you can chuck up on the spindles, and
speed control is pretty easy and smooth. The owners' manual instructs
how to build a tray in the legs to weight the system down, and now mine
is highly unlikely to move much of anywhere, if the piece has some
semblence of balance.

Downside seems to be that I'd like to be able to turn big stock more
slowly than low gear allows. And swinging the headstock offcenter works
pretty well with light balanced pieces, but I'm a bit of a rookie with
getting stuff to ready to spin from that position.

But the next step up seems to be the Nova, or the Powermatic 3520b,
laying out alot more money than I'd like to for a beginner. Delta isn't
really perceived to be in the game with current new product. (That's a
local opinion, perhaps. YMMV.) Remember that you will need hundreds of
dollars worth of tools, chucks, classes, etc in your budget.

It is an addictive hobby segment, and many projects get to complete
fairly quickly. Have fun with it!

Patriarch