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Which Jet mini?

D

dcarley

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Sep 21, 2005
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I'm going to purchase one of the Jet minis sometime soon (< 1 month), and I'm trying to decide which one to buy. I've given my Nova 3K to my father, since my family and I will be moving next summer. I'm looking at the Jets as a placeholder during the interim.

The price difference isn't really an issue. I'm primarily concerned with the potential lack of power on the low RPM end on the variable speed model. Obviously, a lathe of this size can't spin a very big blank, but it'd still be nice to have decent power on the low end for roughing a blank.

Have any of you out there turned on both models? Which would you recommend? I'd prefer the variable speed, as long as the low-speed settings still has reasonable power.

-Dave
 
Variable speed not a big deal (still may need belt change)

I own a oneway 2436 3hp and a jet mini without variable speed. Our club has a mini with variable speed and I have turned on for about 6 hrs at demos. I think the variable speed is over rated on a mini. To be honest for the most part due to size limitation I run my mini at about 1500 rpms for every thing. You are right at slower variable speeds you do lose torque on the variable speed model. To compensate for this you still must manually change the belt on the variable speed lathe to the lowest range. It has 3 belt ranges nstead of the 5 or 6 on the non variable speed model. Both models use a 1/2hp motor with the variable model using a DC version.

hope this helps.

dave
 
Before I bought my full size lathe I had the Jet with the standard 6 speed belt change. For making pens I ran it at 1800 speed from start to finish. When I started making bowls etc up to the size capacity of that little lathe I had to start changing speeds for different operations. After a month or so of changing speeds manually it became second nature. It took seconds instead of minutes and could almost do it without even looking at the belt or pulleys.
If I was to buy another small lathe it would be that same model with a six speed belt change. That is one super smooth running little lathe and without variable speeed it has lots of power for anything up to its limited size of turning capacity.
W.Y.
 
Ditto here for the ease and speed of changing speeds. On a little lathe like the Mini, the need for precise speed control to eliminate vibration really isn't an issue, since the pieces of wood you'll be mounting are relatively light (that said, gotta clamp it down to something heavy or you WILL walk it off the table). If given the choice of both for free, I wouldn't lean strongly in either direction. If paying for it, I'd definitely go for the standard and save that extra $100 for a new gouge. Belt change is about 10-20 seconds and speed range is just fine.

Enjoy,
Dietrich
 
Which Jet?

I have had both and got the vaiable speed model for small spindle turnings like pens etc. I have already had to replace the controller as the old one went nuts and would only run at full speed. I personally regret ever buying the VS model and should have kept the old 6 speed version. The VS model has 🙁 torque on the low end.
 
I'm going to make it unanimous I prefer the single speed to the variable speed. It just has much more power and there's very little to go wrong. I've spent many hours demoing on both. Personally I prefer my Nova Comet but they don't make those anymore. The next best thing is the Vicmarc 100 with a 3/4 horse motor. You do have to build a seperate cabinet for the motor but if you make it easy remove the lathe from the motor box it makes it much easier to transport.
 
Why the VL 100?

What makes the VL100 such a better choice over the Jet mini? They appear to be nearly the same design.

-Dave
 
Dave 1st is the choice of motor. The VL100 doesn't come with one so you can pick your own. I can't say this for sure but when you turn on one it just feels smoother. I don't know if it's quality of the bearings or what but they are nice lathes. I have the Nova Comet which is very much the same as the VL100 except for how the motor attaches. It just doesn't feel as smooth. I've also turned on a bunch of Jets, Deltas and Fische lathe. The VL100 just seems to work better for me. I don't own one but have turned on my friends lathe a bunch of times
 
I like the Fische lathe. It's about the same money and in my opinion is engineered to be a little more user friendly. When it comes time to replace the belt you need not disassemble the headstock as on the jet and delta. Just my opinion,

Jim :cool2:
 
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