I've been considering buying a small lathe to do pens, small bowls, and
small turnings.
I have looked at the Jet, and Delta. The Rikon is also advertised locally at
Woodcraft, but I have no experience with their products.
I like the setup of the Delta with it's ability to change speeds easily. The
belt access at the front of the head.
One of the reps at the local supplier ( trust him) says that the Jet is a
better tool even though it costs a few $$ more, and has the belt access on
the back of the head.
His comment is that the Jet has less viabration, and runout.
Just thought I would ask those who have more experience with lathes, and
know a heck of a lot more than me!!

Thanks,

Frank

On 01/12/2005 7:43 PM, Frank Dennis wrote:

I've been considering buying a small lathe to do pens, small bowls, and
small turnings.

If you want something *really* small, look at this one:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,330&p=50260

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 00:43:13 GMT, "Frank Dennis" wrote:

I've been considering buying a small lathe to do pens, small bowls, and
small turnings.
I have looked at the Jet, and Delta. The Rikon is also advertised locally at
Woodcraft, but I have no experience with their products.
I like the setup of the Delta with it's ability to change speeds easily. The
belt access at the front of the head.
One of the reps at the local supplier ( trust him) says that the Jet is a
better tool even though it costs a few $$ more, and has the belt access on
the back of the head.
His comment is that the Jet has less viabration, and runout.
Just thought I would ask those who have more experience with lathes, and
know a heck of a lot more than me!!

Thanks,

Frank

Check out
rec.crafts.woodturning

for a lot of opinions and good folks..

As to the Jet mini, I can tell you that I've used and abused mine for a year and
it's a great little lathe..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Frank...

Both the Jet and the Delta machines are good; of the two, I personally
prefer the Jet, but you really can't go wrong with either one of them.

Avoid the Rikon machine like the plague. I have one in my shop right
now that I was testing for review, and it's the worst lathe I've ever
used -- terrible fit & finish with lots of paint chips and scratches,
and a lot of sharp edges; the hinged plastic belt cover actually
scrapes the belt when you open and close it; the pulleys weren't even
close to being coplanar; the tool rest snapped off with only moderate
use; parts were missing; and neither the tailstock nor the tool rest
base will stay locked down for more than a few minutes unless you use a
mallet on the locking lever. Unless they've done some serious
retooling in the last month on every production unit that's out there,
you're best to remove it from consideration. It's a true piece of
junk.

If you're still sold on getting the Rikon, look right next to the
garbage cans at the end of my driveway next week on trash pickup day.

A.J.

The rikon is made by Fisch. Not a brand known to have such issues.

The Rikon is an exact match in photo comparisons.

The Fisch sells for $299 the Rikon for a couple of $20's less.

Alan

In article .com,
"arw01" wrote:

The rikon is made by Fisch. Not a brand known to have such issues.

The Rikon is an exact match in photo comparisons.

The Fisch sells for $299 the Rikon for a couple of $20's less.

Well, it certainly sounds as though they decided to omit some quality
control and casting cleanup in order to sell for a couple 20s less.
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05