The Jet Mini is my third wood lathe, the previous lathes being an older unknown brand and most recently the Craftsman 12 X 36 "pipe" style lathe. A up-to-date move required me to downsize my shop so I looked for a lathe that was not a toy, but clearly have a smaller footprint. Furthermore, since my previous lathes did not have changeable speed I was not especially looking for changeable speed on the new lathe.
Doing investigate on Rikon, Delta, Mastercraft, Grizzly, Harbor Freight and a join of others, it became clear the three to think would be the Jet, Delta, and Rikon.
Locally (Dallas), I had a occasion to look at the actual Rikon, Delta, and Jet mini size lathes. I can confidently say that either of these brands will likely contribute satisfactory service for anyone. Now it became time for me to make a choice.
The Rikon was a exiguous less expensive, but not by much. The Delta and Jet were right in line with each other. The deciding factor then became the ease of changing the belt for different spindle speeds. For this qualifier, the Jet clearly won. On the Jet, you can convert speeds, with the belt, in less than 20 seconds.
I use the lathe mainly for turning small bowls, vases and making wooden pens. For these projects, the lathe performs flawlessly. Indeed, I have not found anything the lathe will back away from, together with turning an eight-inch diameter bowl. Albeit this is the largest I've tried turning and the Jet Mini handled it well.
So, what about the selection I made not to get the Vs (variable speed) model? So far no regrets. however to be completely fair, there have been a join of times, when finishing wood pens, that it may have been helpful. However, when I can convert speeds in less than 20 seconds, it has not been a hindrance at all. To this day, I do not regret getting the acceptable model. Also, remember, that the Vs model requires a belt convert to go between low range and high range speeds. lowest line is I am glad I still have my 0 that would have been the difference in the lathes.
In conclusion, I don't ever see selling this lathe. I think it will all the time have a place in my shop, regardless of how many tools I get or how much space I have. It is one handy tool. think it carefully, I suggest it.
