As another newbie that has been at it for several months I can vouch
for Mike's excellent wisdom. I already had a Grizzly 1245 that had
been sitting idle for 15 years, but it was never a good lathe and is
now DOA. Do a search on this site with "Grizzly" and you will get a
lot of info. My friends with the mini Jet's are all tickled pink with
them. Seems like a great starter lathe.

I jumped right in trying to make 8"-10" bowls on the Grizzly. A friend
bought a mini and started making little ornaments, etc. While I cussed
and fussed and tried things way over my head, he has taken it a step
at a time and is progressing much faster than me. Lesson: start small
and work up.

Also, since joining our local group I met a fellow I'm now taking
lessons from and he has 12 lathes--from mini to maxi. What a great
experience to be able to see and try all of them!

Earl