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boosting power on a Jet 10-14 mini VS

E

ebrannon

Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
79
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Location
Milford, PA
I am finding my Jet 10-14 VS mini lathe bogs down on some tasks. When begin with a slightly off balance piece of wood, I have to run it at a fairly slow speed and the power is reduced. Seems like a little more power might make a huge difference, but now sure of the engineering aspects.

Is there a cost effective solution to giving it a bit of a boost?

Ed
 
It is sort of the nature of the beast.
I much prefer turning on the fixed speed mini's because they have more power.

Using the slow speed pulleys, sharp tools, light cuts, and fanatical adherence to "let the wood come to the tool"

Putting a bigger motor and new controller are not cost effective.

Consider upgrading to one of the small 12 inch lathes.
The 0neway 1224 is a sweet machine but probably too heavy to transit north/south
The Delta and Jet 12 inch machines both have a lot more power but you can still slow them down.

Basically a good EVS costs $1000 minimum. When the whole lathe costs less than $500 .....

Al
 
Yea, time for an upgrade. Small lathes are made for small work. A 1hp motor would help. You could sell the smaller lathe to fund the new one.

robo hippy
 
Cutting the wood as it wishes to be cut is the best advice. You and the smaller motor can't bully the wood, you have to be nice to it. My second lathe was a half horse 12" Delta, and it got an upgrade to a 3/4 horse five years on from the bandsaw when that went to a full HP. Neither had a power problem, but they were synchronous motors. You will do best if you try to treat your DC as a synchronous motor and keep it up in rpm.

The bandsaw will make things more balanced, if you own one. Take off the useless parts before you put it on the lathe. For instance, I wasn't planning on using the big end grain lumps, so I sawed them away. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/Trim-for-balance-1.jpg Even if you don't have a bandsaw, you can undercut the blank with the chainsaw or reciprocating saw. An ounce at 5 is worth twice as much closer in, so at very least, clip the farthest of the useless parts. Then you'll be able to start the piece faster, which will give you more torque. Remember to ride the rest, not the bevel, to stabilize the tool when roughing. World of difference in comfort to you and ease for the lathe, since it doesn't change mechanical advantage like trying to follow the surface of the piece. I prefer to play the old Bodger game of swinging the tool through lumps rather than poking and bouncing. When there's a place to lay the bevel, I touch it all the way.
 
Whether or not the wood wishes to be cut, being less aggressive always helps. It may take longer, but turning slowly and gently can be therapeutic.

I have the regular six-speed Jet mini lathe which has plently of power and I have turned a few things that just barely cleared the ways. The variable speed model on the other hand is really weak at slow speeds and can stall rather easily on larger pieces even when trying be careful about making light cuts.
 
I did 3 long days of bowl turning on a Jet mini single speed. It is definitely more powerful than the variable speed model. However it constantly frustrated me with how small of a cut I had to make. When it came time to upgrade I purchased the new Delta 46-460. It is much more powerful and of course the lathe is heavier so you can cut at much higher speeds.
 
john lucas said:
I did 3 long days of bowl turning on a Jet mini single speed. It is definitely more powerful than the variable speed model. However it constantly frustrated me with how small of a cut I had to make. When it came time to upgrade I purchased the new Delta 46-460. It is much more powerful and of course the lathe is heavier so you can cut at much higher speeds.
Click to expand...

Were you turning in the lowest speed range or was it mid range or higher? If you have something that is large diameter (relative to this lathe) then putting it in "granny" gear will help. OK, I guess that I just qualified for the Obvious Man award ... you already know that, but maybe a newbie reading this might not.

A few years ago I turned a six inch diameter hollow form on my Jet mini that was moderately dry using a homemade hook tool (first experience with the tool). While, I did manage to get a few spectacular catches and a few of them did momentarily stop the lathe -- for the most part the motor handled the load although it did get blisteringly hot (I discovered this when the motor label charred, curled up, and fell off. It is still going strong despite this rough treatment.
 
Delta midi

I have the Delta midi variable speed, it is a sweet little machine, has plenty of power for small stuff but like your Jet, it bogs down with a 10-inch disk or anything seriously out of round. As the other guys say, go slow and be less aggressive.
 
MM I was turning Cherry that weekend and of course I'm used to taking some pretty big bites on my big lathe. I could only take fairly small bites on the Jet and that was with the speed down. When I increased the speed it was really bad. Oh well, there's nothing like power when you need it.
 
more information

Well, I was hoping one you would say, " Yes, for $75 you can get a Chinese motor that fits the existing mounts and boosts power by 50%." Alas, as Al said, it is what it is.

This is my travel lathe. I have had it for 5 years, and it has been reliable and portable, and everything it should, but I think it would be better with a little more juice.

My home shop lathe is a Stubby 750, so I am spoiled rotten. I do like the Delta 46-460. A big little lathe that is fairly portable.

e
 
I am working on a way to make my Delta midi more portable. I'm going to make the stand go together with knobs instead of nuts and bolts. That way I can fit it in my car instead of taking the truck.
In the trunk I'm going to build a sort of cam operated lift to get the lathe level with the rear of the trunk. That way I can lift each end separately and it will lock at that height on a platform. Then I can just slide it out onto the rolling stand and roll it into my demo. The lathe is 100lbs and even though I can lift it now, at that weight if you lift it wrong your demo can be over before you start.
I've got to figure it out pretty soon because I'm taking it to Knoxville in a few weeks to do a demo on reverse chucking and vacuum chucking. I decided it would be much easier on a familiar lathe and I won't have to guess on what kind of vacuum adaptor to fit their lathe.
 
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