Small Lathe Dilemma

[Matthew Poeller]

Well here goes. My girlfriend would like to buy me a small lathe (just for pen turning) for my birthday and Christmas. They are real close together and she does not have a ton of money. So originally she saw the small jet when I took her into the Rockler store up in Buffalo. That is the one that she wanted to buy.
Since then I have received a Penn State catalog and there are a couple of smaller lathes there too. These you can get with the tools and some starter pieces. One also comes with possibility of the extension bed that might be nice for some legs or something like that.

So here is my dilemma. Normally I do not cheap on tools and the real lathe that I want to get into is the jet floor standing VS. That is not going to happen any time soon and beside I do not have the room in my shop right now. This sounds like a great idea but do I:
1. Let her get me the small Jet and just turn pens.
2. See if she can get me one of the PSI ones that has a little bit more expandability (is it rude to offer her a little money so that she is not in a crunch. I can also do this by buying something for her without her knowing what I am doing like a tank of gas or an oil change.)
3. Find something else for her to buy me and wait till I can afford and have the space for the bigger one.

I want to start to turn pens and small projects like that I think that something small to start would be good.

Any IDEAS?

Matthew Poeller

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Matthew,

It sounds like a great idea to start out on the smaller lathe. My uncle loves to turn bowls with his big free standing jet! However, when it comes time to turn a pen or something smaller, he returns to his mini lathe. He loves it. I don't think that you would ever get rid of the mini, and if you don't like turning, you aren't out as much...

Whatever you do, don't pressure her into getting something she can't afford, she will have hard feelings towards you about spending too much.

Good luck with your new lathe, I just started turning and I love it!

[Ellen Benkin]

Give your girlfriend lots of kudos for trying to get you something you really want. I think the response depends on your relationship. I would have no problem telling a very close friend that I really want something else and could I add to the amount she has to make up the difference. That way both of you are happy -- she can say she "got" you the lathe and you have a lathe you really want. If it is important to her, she can even order it and gift wrap it and give it to you on the "day" so it is more like a present. On the other hand, if you are not that close, you need to say something so that she doesn't spend her limited resources on something you really do not want.

By the way, is she interested in turning? Would this be a present that both of you would use?

[Michael Cody]

Matt, go ahead with the base Jet ... if you go with the non VS model you can get by pretty cheap. They too have a extended base available and will turn legs, etc.. just like the floor models. I have a Jet VS Mini and a much bigger bench mounted Nova 3000 .. I turn bowls & pens on both. When working with small stuff I can do it on the 3000, but the mini is --- well more fun to me --- I don't see a reason not go with it till you get your feet wet. Perhaps you can sell some pens or other small items to make some TOY money so you can buy a bigger lathe & have both .. then she can say how she helped you get it all started!! Plus as Ellen said, she might get into turning too.. even my wife had expressed a desire to turn some pens even though she has always been a totally non-interested spectator on my other woodworking endevours.. she just wants to make sure I put the finished product in the right place in the living room!

[Earl Reid]

Hi, Matthew, I have the jet and bought the extention for it. So far I have only turned pens, but I will turn some bowls and spindles also. It is a nice lathe and I would recomend it to anyone with a lack of space for a large Lathe.
Earl

[John Miliunas]

Matt, I don't have the Jet, but the track record for it is fabulous! I've seen any number of small bowls whipped up on one of those! You're also not limited to pens, even in the stock configuration (no extensions). There are all kinds of kits for potpourri bowls, s/p shakers, oil lamps, etc... Lots of fun and useful stuff to pack into such a little machine! Besides, you already said you don't have the room for the big one!

[Jim Becker]

Matt, if the lathe she wants to buy you is one of the two forms of the Jet Mini, it's a great starter lathe. If it's the Jet "pen lathe", it has limited application...just pens. From your description, I'm not sure which tool is the one you and she saw while shopping.

[John Miliunas]

Matt, if the lathe she wants to buy you is one of the two forms of the Jet Mini, it's a great starter lathe. If it's the Jet "pen lathe", it has limited application...just pens. From your description, I'm not sure which tool is the one you and she saw while shopping.

Eeeeeek! Good point, Jim! Forgot about the mini-MINI! I think our own pen wizard, Ken Salisbury checked that one out and, from what I recall, he wasn't too thrilled over it. But then, he's always used bigger ones than that....

[Michael Stafford]

I took a woodturning course using the Jet mini, not the pen lathe. I found it to be a very fine sturdy tool. We turned bowls on it up to 8" in diameter with no problem. I was surprised at what a strong little tool it is. Learned how to turn pens on that lathe during that class. Highly recommend as starter lathe. Once you are hooked turning you'll want a bigger lathe later...

[Richard Allen]

Hi Mathew

There are so many things you will need to start turning pens.

Lathe
Pen tools (mandril, pen mill, drill bits, bushings....)
Sharpening system
Lathe tools
Safety equipment
maybe even a chuck

A lot of those things have a lower price tag than the lathe and are used all the time.

If I wanted to get something for an aspiring woodturner that would make them think of me fondly every time they turned something I would get them some Sorby tools. A roughing gouge, parting tool, spindle gouge and a round nose scraper. One of those tools is used on almost every tuning that I make and the Sorby line of tools is a pleasure to use. Woodcraft has a sale on Sorby tools right now (30% off) which makes the price good.

That way she can help you in your woodturning efforts with something that you will be using for many years to come. You might "upgrade" your lathe in 5 years but a good roughing gouge, parting tool, spindle gouge or scraper will be used for decades.

Good Luck

[Matthew Poeller]

Well I have to say sorry for the confusion. We are talking the mini-mini "pen only" Jet here. The Jet "regular" mini is out of the question here. That is why I turned to the PSI lathes. For not much more you get somewhat of the same capabilities of Jet "regular" Mini. (extension tables, duplicators, etc.)
I guess the biggest problem here is I do not want her to get me something that I am going to use for a while and then never use it. I want to get my feet wet with turning and she wants some pens. (maybe she might get into but I think for right now she is going to stick to painting the stuff that I scroll.) At this point pens are all that I would start with.
Normally I do not ask for tools for presents because my income is leaps and bounds over what hers is and I do not want to place an undo burden on her financially. Also in my family birthday and Christmas we got gifts and great gifts at that but there was more emphasis on being with the family. Lets put it this way until last year I had not spent more that $50 for Christmas on my parents combined and they were mad last year when we (the kids) went a little overboard.
So in short my decision here is between the Jet "mini-mini" and something like a PSI or find something else for her to buy me.

Really I would just be happy is for my Birthday and Christmas she let me teach her how to ski. She insists that she wants to get me a lathe though and I think that she will be dissapointed if she doesn't get to buy it for me. I know this sounds crazy but its true.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for the clarification on that, Matt. Hopefully, someone out there has experience with one of the lathes in question. Unfortunately, I don't. BUT, I think your "fear" of not using it later on is not founded. If you get the turning bug, which is highly probable, you'll eventually get a bigger spinny thing. By the same token, there's also a good chance you'll continue to make pens, as well. To have a nice little setup dedicated just for that function is an ideal situation, IMHO. The bigger lathe would sooner have a faceplate or chuck on it almost at all times, so leaving the mandrel and pen-making setup on the little guy, would make it much more convenient. AND, you wouldn't be upsetting that very fine but critical balance between tools and the significant other!

[Dave Shaffer]

I wouldnt pressure her into paying out more than she was planning on. Relationships are more important than tools (geezzzz...did I say that? ). If you dont feel you would be happy with what she is planning on getting you, ask he to get you something completely different like a pare of socks and then go buy the monster lathe you want yourself.

[Ken Salisbury]

I think our own pen wizard, Ken Salisbury checked that one out and, from what I recall, he wasn't too thrilled over it.

Here is what I had to say sometime ago (November 03):

Jet Pen Lathe Review (with photos)


Unless you only plan on making 7mm pens then this is not the lathe for you. I would suggest as others have, either the Jet Mini or the Jet MiniVS would be the best choice.

But then, he's always used bigger ones than that....

Not quite true John, I use a Jet 1642VS, 2 Jet Mini's, and a pen lathe (in mothballs)

Although making Xmas tree ornaments and fan pulls on a 1642vs is a slight overkill

[John Miliunas]

Although making Xmas tree ornaments and fan pulls on a 1642vs is a slight overkill

Overkill??? You think? Hmmm...maybe I should try and setup my Vega for pens! Hey, I could make a pen with a 24" barrell!