What's with all this worry about the Jet mini's bearings? You can replace
them if they go out for a small sum and it's not a terribly big job I hear.
I bought a Supernova to use on my Jet mini. (I don't think it weighs quite
8 lbs. though.) A Supernova or a Talon might be a better match for your
lathe.
Anyway, when I got through reading the manual that came with the chuck, I
was afraid to turn the danged lathe on. Then I figured, the manual must
have been written by their attorney(s), so they would be able to say that
any incident that might possibly happen must have been a failure caused by
excessive speed. Corporate liability, I think they call it.
Well, I decided to go ahead and use the chuck sensibly at whatever speeds I
felt were necessary. I've had my Jet mini and Supernova chuck for about 4
years and neither has caused me any trouble. I have turned a number of 9
1/4" bowls and I'm still on the original bearings. Pin jaws? What about
the 2" standard jaws? I use them at least 75% of the time.
Go ahead and enjoy your new chuck and your lathe. If the stress from
worrying about excessive RPM's and bearing loads gets to be too much, you
can always trade up to a Oneway 2436 or a Stubby.
Barry
PS Go easy on the speed. Don't try to turn too fast. An awful lot of
turning can be done below 1200 RPM's. Sandpaper cuts better and doesn't
burn your fingers as quickly. Tool edges don't get as hot. And centrifugal
forces on bearings are less.
"charlie b" wrote in message
...
PIcked up the SuperNova2 and the Pin Jaws. Cleaned them
up put the chuck on the JET midi lathe and now I'm concerned
about my drive head bearings. This is NOT a delicate little
thing - but rather an 8+ pound, 3 3/4" diameter, 2 " thick
chunk of steel - without the jaws. And its center line is
sitting 2 1/2" from the nearest bearing.
The other issue is the JAWS manual's "DO NOT EXCEED 684 RPMS"
for any of the jaws. Fortunately the JET variable speed
starts at 500 rpms but the slow speed seems to conflict with
the general consensus that higher speeds are better than
lower speeds.
Was also surprised that the chuck came with no manual
and a two page "instructions" sheet - AND a DVD. COOL -
a DVD. But there's almost no video - four short mpeg
files - but the rest is either image files or pdf files. That
sucks.
Have to clean up the shop of the residue of three utility
shelves - 6 shelves each - and clear off the workbench
before trying this puppy out.
Also picked up Raffan's tape - his skew seems an
extension of his arms and hands. My teeth go on
edge watching him wield that skew and hog out huge
quantities of wood - starting with the long point!
Got one of Mike Darlow's (the author of the article
Turning Tools, Spotting Design Flaws) books -
The Fundamentals of Woodturning. I was trained
in engineering so his explanations and illustrations
of the mechanics of turning and the use of tools
is something I can understand, rather than accept
"do it this way because that's the way I do it and
I'm an expert.". If I can understand "what and
why" I can figure out "how" myself.
Relaltive to furniture making, turning seems
to be The Wild Wild West - a hundred ways
to do things and only one or two that don't
require 100-200 hours of practice with a lot
of trial and error - to say nothing of the
Pucker Factor. Probably should take a class
DUH!
Fun this turning thing.
charliel b.
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