Snyper
It all depends on what your trying to do. Small parts to a Cat mechanic are
much bigger that small parts to a watch maker. If your looking at a Jet
I'm going to assume that you are looking in the 9" by 24" to 11" by 36"
machine. Outside of the imports there are the older Logan, Sheldon and
South Bend lathes. Most parts for these lathes are available some used and
some new. Ya pays your money and takes your choice.

Where in the world are you? There are model engineering groups around that
you could hook up with.

Be aware that your only looking for your FIRST lathe. It will be a training
tool and allow you to figure out what you really need to accomplish what you
want. Are you a capable mechanic who can deal with keeping an older machine
tuned up and running. Do you keep you car repaired and going , or just drop
it off at the dealer to be fixed. I don't ask that to be critical, just be
honest with yourself about the abilities you have and what you are willing
to do. Do you expect the lathe you get to just be a tool, taking no more
care than a Crescent wrench, or a tool like your computer that takes a fair
amount of upkeep and attention. A lathe is more like a computer, It takes
care and attention to keep functioning. An older computer takes a bit more
fiddling to keep going. The same with and older lathe. A cheap import, or
an old lathe are going to require some loving attention to make it yours. A
high quality new machine will run "out of the box" but still requires
maintenance and up keep.
lg
no neat sig line

"Snyper1982" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, I am sure you guys get asked these questions a lot, so i apologize
in advance. I am totaly and completely new to metal working. I am
mostly curious about making little parts with a lathe. I just dont know
what a good lathe is, and what some good reading material is on using a
lathe.

What are some good brands of lathe? are Jets good, cause i was looking
around a bit and i saw a jet that was about $1,000 brand new. Well
thanks for reading, hope to get some good answers from you guys, as id
like to get into metal working.