New Jet Mini Lathe Help!!!! ????

[Mark Singer]

Hi,
I got my Jet Mini Lathe yesterday and I am a little lost! The last time I turned something was in junior high. Are there any accessories that you would reccommend? The tailstock doesn't seem to move until the lock lever is snugged up a bit....is that normal? I turned a little ugly spindle of a thing this morning....I am thinking of making a small bowl...do I just screw the block to the headstock after I trim the edges on the bandsaw? What speed do I use...where should the belt be on the pulleys? You can see I am clearly out of my area here and any help from the spinning mavens will be greatly appreciated!!!

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Mark

Where oh where to begin? First, buy a plane ticket to PA! Ha ha, seriously, there are many ways to skin the proberbial cat. There are lots of neat accessories that you can sink money into for your lathe. There are also some simple work arounds that were in use for many years before most of the current accessories were even invented.

Doing a bowl without a chuck is a striaghtforward affair. You can start out with it screwed to the faceplate, but the direction you take from that point is up to you. Back in the old days, people would shape and hollow out the bowl with a single fixing. The bowl would then be removed and the screw holes filled with putty. This method has become passe, even for those who only use faceplates.

The other method is to screw the bowl to the faceplate, and shape what will be the outside of the bowl. A tenon, or at least a flat spot is created on the bottom. The bowl is then removed from the faceplate, a waste block is installed in its place, trued up, and then the bowl is glued to it for hollowing the inside. Once the bowl is trued up and hollowed, it is reversed one more time to finish off the bottom with a nice concave foot with no screw holes and no belt sander. This can be accomplished again with the faceplate, using a friction chuck or a jam chuck. I prefer a friction chuck as it is faster and easier to make.

A four jaw scroll chuck makes this whole process faster, but it is not required to make well turned bowls. It is a tradeoff - money or patience. Which do you have more of? If you have more money, you can buy a scroll chuck and save some time. If you have more patience, you can get by with the faceplate method and still make beautiful bowls. I you do not have money or patience (a condition I can understand), you can pull a Howard and just say Yeearrrghh!

Bill

[RL Johnson]

I have the 6 speed mini-lathe instead of the new variable speed. I turn mostly pens and use 1800 rpm. I am working on my first vase out of walnut and dropped it down to 500 to round up and then increased the speed until I was comfortable. I would turn at any speed that is comfortable for you. Just make sure the belt is lined up correctly and that all of the belt groves mate with the pulley grooves. It is hard to keep the tail stock tight. You might remove the tail stock and try tighening the nut just a little. That seemed to help mine. Also I plan on turning a mallet to tap the handle tight. My hand begins to complain with I hit the handle too much. I would also suggest that you not overtighten the belt. It is a nice safety feature if you lock-up your tool in the piece you are turning. Belts are cheaper than motors anyway. Also get a flat file and make sure the tool rest is nice and smooth.
I have already bought a nice chuck for my lathe, cost more than the lathe .
Enjoy, it is a very nice lathe.

Randy

[Stan Smith]

Mark:

Since I live in the boonies, there's no one around to give me pointers so I buy a lot of books. Richard Raffan has some good ones and I also have his turning video. He has a number of those out too. Get a book that has the basics and then practice, practice, practice.....

Stan

[Mark Singer]

Stan,
I have his book and video and video...they are very good ..of course there are still questions and time will probably answer.
RL and Bill thanks...there is a lot I don't know about this stuff ...I am trying