jet machines

[doug]

What expierences has anybody had with Jet
machines?

[Kevin]

Doug;

I have the Jet 1440A lathe, and the 10X50 mill with the variable speed head, both purchased new. I recently purchased the 7X12 bandsaw, which was built in 1987 and was well used when I got it.

The lathe and mill both have the 3HP 3phase motor. The lathe motor appeared to have a problem shortly after I received it. Jet overnighted a new one which was replaced the next day. Other than that I have not had any problems with these machines. Everything checks to be within the limits indicated on the test sheet.

My bandsaw was purchased by a machine shop somewhere and they ran it till it dropped. I replaced the motor, which I purchased locally, and the blade guide bearings were mail ordered from MSC. I ordered a new coolant tank, one of the band wheels, and one of the castings that the blade guides mount on, all of which were missing or destroyed, and a few other cosmetic items from Jet. All were received within a week. The first coolant tank had a small crack, so they sent me another no charge. I should be able to repair the damaged one. The oil in the gearbox was changed I am sure for the first time. No casting sand or wear could be detected. The saw works great.

[Jon]

> What expierences has anybody had with
> Jet machines?

I'll add to this question and ask if Jet machines are essentially the same as the Chinese items sold by Harbor Freight, Grizzly, and others? If so, there appears to be a lot of info on the Net about the HF and Griz products.

[Milacron of PM]

I see little difference in Jet and Grizzly machines except the price...Grizzly is often much less expensive...like a thousand dollars less on a 13 x 40 gear head lathe for instance, where the only difference is that the Jet has doors on it's sheet metal base and the Grizzly doesn't. The Jet is slightly less embarrasing to own since it's named after an airbone contrivance rather than a mamalion one that hibernates in the winter. Course if you're from Alabama you'll be wanting the cheapest of them all..the Birmingham http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net//wink.gif

[Kevin]

All these machines appear to be the same to me, even Bridgeports. I have heard that Jet has higher standards for their castings than most, some saying Harbor Freight takes the rejects. I do know that Jet has a nicer finish. I also know that Grizzly uses class 5 bearings on their mill and Jet uses class 7 on their like model. My Jet mill has a much heavier knee than Grizzly. Jet also has much better service, based on my experience with Grizzly. Buying American made is a good idea but I am not sure you can do that anymore on a new machine, and a used one isn't going to help keep anyone employed unless there is something wrong with it.

[Ron LaDow]

I have a knee mill; the one with a swiveling head and the motor overhung out the back. Bought, oh, two years ago.
It looks as if every outlet sells the same piece. The motor control may move, or it may be sold with a power feed, but the castings look the same.
Is there now a single source for castings and 'assemblers' fit the bearings? Who fits the ways?

[bobtoy]

I purchased a Jet gear head lathe 2 years ago and am glad I did. I think it is a ?? 1340 model. There was an article in HSM about this time about a user opening up the bore through the headstock. He had some interesting comments. The stand is not much, but I was in a hurry. The above writer experienced an out of balnce situation using a speed of 460 RPM that he contributed to a natural frequency vibration. I have seen the same. Someday I will replace the base with one fabricated from steel from the local scrap yard but it is not so bad that I feel compelled to do it yet.I do not know enough to be able to evaluate a Jet vs. Grizzly or Harbor Freight. I went ahead with the Jet because a local seller of this type of equipment said "You can always get parts for the Jet stuff".

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[SGW]

I've got a JVM-840 milling machine I bought about 16 years ago. It's no longer offered; the closest thing to it is probably the 830 or 836.
It's a pretty good machine. About the only negative thing I've found is that the table is soft and dents pretty easily. It's also a bare-bones basic machine, but that's okay.

At the time I was shopping around, I looked at other brands. Without naming any, I found that, while other brands might "look just like it," they were NOT as good. Of course that was 16 years ago, haven't looked lately, but I would submit that there is a REASON another brand may cost $1000 less.

If I were doing it again I might see about finding a "good used" Rockwell or other mill slightly less than Bridgeport-sized, or (if I had the room) a good used B'port. But if you want to avoid the hazards of buying used, I'd certainly give Jet strong consideration. I saw an 836 a couple weeks ago; it looks good.

I would also stretch the budget a bit and get a GOOD machine. Shop work is hard enough without being aggravated by bad machinery all the time, and you'll probably have the thing 20 years or more. Amortized over 20 years, an extra thousand bucks becomes fairly reasonable.

[Milacron of PM]

Kevin, just curious how you know for sure that a Grizzly mill has class 5 bearings and a Jet has class 7 ? Reason I ask is, that if this info came from salesmen at either organization it's pretty much like info from a car salesman..i.e. worthless. But if printed specs then it's probably true for that machine at that point in time.

[JimH]

I have the JVM-836. I am very happy with it, given it does not have a quill power downfeed and is limited to 5 speeds (with a max of 1550).
I have had a motor go out on it and Jet had a replacement at my door in 2 days. (I won't go into what FedEx did to the replacement motor, as Jet had to send me a second replacement, again in 2 days).
I am currently considering a new lathe (to replace my Atlas Clausing) and Jet is at the top of my list. I suggest talking to Alley Supply Co in Nevada (look in HSM for ad). They have good prices, including shipping. They also like to talk about machines, features, and trade offs.
Jim

[Kevin]

Sorry to take so long to respond to your question. I have been out of town. The owners manual claim class 7 bearings on the my Jet mill. I had been told that Grizzly had class 5, and I also had my doubts untill I read it myself while looking looking at one in their showroom sometime back. They recently opened one close to where I live. Some jet mills have a lighter weight knee and others, mine being one, have the heavy knee, which is a larger casting. All the Grizzly mills seem to have the lighter knee. May not make much difference in HSM use, but it does seem to also have an affect on cost.


<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by D. Thomas:
Kevin, just curious how you know for sure that a Grizzly mill has class 5 bearings and a Jet has class 7 ? Reason I ask is, that if this info came from salesmen at either organization it's pretty much like info from a car salesman..i.e. worthless. But if printed specs then it's probably true for that machine at that point in time. </font>