Saw a JET lathe (metal) 10x24 in paper for sale @ $1500. 3 and 4 jaw chuck, threading and knurling tools and other misc. tooling; the guy is a retired gunsmith. Says he paid $2500 new. Is his price reasonable? Thanks!
if it is in good shape then yes. keep in mind some of the old machine work great and cost a lot less I own a small machine shop and my favorite lathe was made in 1975
yes, gunsmith work has to be precise and the machines don't get abused making aggressive cuts, dropping heavy parts on the ways, etc, etc. if a good selection of tooling comes with it, go for it.
Could research the online auction sites for price history or check with a local machinery jocky for some feed back.We have some jet equipment in our shop.I would say it would be ok for hobby work but not for very heavy work.Burl
I have a Jet Lathe at the house and am generally pleased with it. I use it mostly for gunsmithing work but plenty of Hot Rod work too. It is a 13" swing x 36" between centers, unit with a 1.5"+ hole through the headstock which is a gunsmith thing. Not sure it would stand up to production work for an eternity but for the modest amount of use it gets by me it is great. Johnnie.
If I was NO WHERE near a supply of "GOOD IRON" then I'd consider the sum flung dung model, OTOH if it was at all possible I would seek out an industrial machine made by people who were proud of their work. BTW I HAVE used a Jet and several US made lathes - the US ones were the schnizzle - hands down. YMMV
What color is it? The old Green ones are good. The new white ones are not as good. Don't get too caught up in the good/bad, US/Foreign arguments. I would buy old anything before I bought new.
Depending on what you are going to use the lathe for the 24" length may be too short. If you know how to operate the lathe try it out before you buy it. As said in another post if it is well tooled the price may be okay but I think it is a little high. Joe
I bought a new green 10x24 Jet in about 1980. Think I paid around $1500 for it. Did a lot of work on it and never had a problem. I traded it and some money for a 14 x 40. I now own a machine shop and have thought about trying to find another 10x24 like the old one for my home shop. It was just the right size for 90% of the car work I did on it. I even made driveshafts on it using a steady rest. It had a removable gap bed which allowed me to do work on hubs etc.
I'm a machinist, semi retired with 40+ years in the trade, and I say that since you are in Ill. you should be able to look around and find a much larger lathe for that money, made by people who cared what they built, as has already been said. Always remember that it is possible to make small stuff on a big machine, but you'll play hell making big stuff on a small one! Age isn't nearly as important as condition, not to mention the quality when it was new usually carries over into the succeeding years. My 16X54 Monarch was made in 1942 and I'll put it up against anything Jet makes while it's new, not to mention after it's had some serious job shop use for a few years! There are several forums for machinists on the web and some, such as Practical Machinist and Home Machinist have cl***ified ads with used equipment for sale. Craig's list is another good spot to look, also E-Bay. Sorry, but in the eyes of a machinist, a Jet 10X24 is a "Tinker Toy" ! Dave
Thanks everyone for all the good info. Another question: If you could only have one machine would it be a vertical mill or a lathe?
I think 1500 for a 10x24 machine is a bit steep. a 9x20 jet is under 1500 brand new. I know there is a ton of argument as to the quality of import equipment, and personally I will agree with most of it. With that being said, I own a Jet 14x40 china made lathe and it works well for me doing lots of projects and side job stuff. My decision to buy a jet lathe was mostly my location (norther ca. is very hard to find affordable used smaller machine tools) and the fact that I was able to finance it at a very attractive deal when I bought it. Overall I've been happy with it, I did however completely rebuild the lathe before I ever cut metal. I've had one part issue which was handled very quickly by the manufacturer. Another thing, DONT SKIMP ON THE TOOLING!!! nothing is worse that loosing a piece that you have several hours into on the final cut because you bought cheap carbide tool holders and the bit shifted while you were trying to make that last 3 thou p*** and took off something close to 8. Ask me how I know that one!
I have one of those Jets (Green, didn't know of any other color) and love it to death. It is deadnuts precise and can do a lot more than i know how. As far as being used, as the man said: new machines are made on used machines. Talk the guy down a bit on price unless you get a ton of tooling - you gotta be fair.
I saw this in the Indianapolis Craigslist today. METAL LATHE WITH LOTS OF ACCESSORIES - $1100 (SEYMOUR) <HR>Reply to: sale-898446107@craigslist.org <SUP>[?]</SUP> Date: 2008-10-29, 5:08PM EDT 13 X 40 1,5HP SINGLE PHASE MOTOR LOCKABE STORAGE BASE, 3 JAW CHUCK WITH EXTRA SET OF JAWS, 4 JAW CHUCK, 3 POINT STEADYREST, 2 POINT STEADYREST, INSERT HOLDERS,BOARING BARS WITH HOLDERS, LIVE CENTER, KNURLING TOOL, EXTRA GEARS FOR CUTTING METRIC THREADS, AND MORE. EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE <TABLE summary="craigslist hosted images"><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD><TD align=middle></TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></TD><TD align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Location: SEYMOUR it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests PostingID: 898446107
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