Should I buy it - Jet 1224PS Lathe ?

rajhliux said:
Any videos on youtube how to make quick disconnect couplers using a lathe? I couldn't find any.
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I'm sure there is not. I'm guessing that nobody has ever made one in a home shop, nor has any manufacturer posted the process.

But here is a video of a threading operation showing all the steps needed in just 54 seconds, done on my CNC lathe. Face, chamfer, profile, clearance groove, inside chamfer and thread. Not a tapered thread, but it could have been with a change in the CAD model. This particular part is for a product we make, 1.5'' OD x 0.125'' wall 6061 tubing, 18 TPI as I recall.

 
Some thoughts.
12x24 is a reasonable swing, but slightly short, which may limit some work. I would prefer a 12x36 sized lathe.

The price is fairly good, at least around here. There's a similar one on shoppok.com for $1600. So I'd say $1500 is good.

Another significant consideration is lack of tooling. A comparable sized new machine (a little longer actually) would be a PM 1224 or 1236 for ~$3400-3500 will come with 3 jaw chuck, +/- 4 jaw chuck, steady rest, follow rest, dead centers, and tool post. So, those are things I kind of expect to come with a used lathe too. If they don't, add up the costs of buying them to figure out how much you are really going to be paying.

I wouldn't worry about a taper attachment, they don't usually come standard, so you would have to buy one if you want one anyhow. Before buying a taper attachment, know what you are going to need it for and have a project that requires it. Remember, short tapers can be done on the compound slide.

Best of luck.
 
ArmyDoc said:
Some thoughts.
12x24 is a reasonable swing, but slightly short, which may limit some work. I would prefer a 12x36 sized lathe.

The price is fairly good, at least around here. There's a similar one on shoppok.com for $1600. So I'd say $1500 is good.

Another significant consideration is lack of tooling. A comparable sized new machine (a little longer actually) would be a PM 1224 or 1236 for ~$3400-3500 will come with 3 jaw chuck, +/- 4 jaw chuck, steady rest, follow rest, dead centers, and tool post. So, those are things I kind of expect to come with a used lathe too. If they don't, add up the costs of buying them to figure out how much you are really going to be paying.

I wouldn't worry about a taper attachment, they don't usually come standard, so you would have to buy one if you want one anyhow. Before buying a taper attachment, know what you are going to need it for and have a project that requires it. Remember, short tapers can be done on the compound slide.

Best of luck.
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I've been adding up the costs, buying a lathe wisely gets tricky for a newcomer. WIll check shoppok.com Thanks!
 
rajhliux said:
I wouldn't even buy a "nema 23" stepper motor from the internet, it'll be much cheaper when I just 3D print my own stepper motor which will be just effective as the bought stuff and yes the magnetic core of my homemade 3D printer is also 3D printed using homemade filaments made from selected performance polymers and high inductance ferromagnetic powders such as iron or possibly performance ferromagnetic amorphous metal powders (hitachi's Metglas or Finemet) something which no one has even done yet.
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You're ambitious, I'll give you that. And I usually respond well to enthusiasm, but "just" 3D printing a stepper motor out of special filament as a small step on the way to a CNC conversion sounds like a stretch. I hope that once you get your hands on a lathe that the pieces will fall into place and you can learn practicality. I think you will enjoy using a lathe, but I wouldn't expect to take an image in my head and with the blink of an eye to see that part appear, finished, in my lathe chuck with the help of computers.
 
I picked up this guy 2-3 years ago for $1200. Probably spent another $1k in tooling for it since then, Maybe there will be some info in that thread that helps you.

www.hobby-machinist.com

Enco 12x36 Lathe Rebuild (Picture Heavy!)

Chapter 4: Man this thing is dirty So now that the lathe was in the garage the fun could begin. Each night after work and cooking dinner, I would venture out with a headlamp and plastic tub to strip parts from the machine and carry them down the basement. I could only stand the cold for so...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com

The swing is plenty large enough for the work I do and while I haven't used the full bed length, I do enjoy the extra room to push the tailstock out of the way.

$1500 seems like a reasonable deal personally. Make sure you get the change gears (they might be available for purchase from Grizzly or Jet if needed). Double check the gearbox for damage to gears.

You can do some real work on a 12" lathe.

EDIT: In my opinion, a taper attachment is not necessary. They are only capable of shallow angles like morse tapers or gun barrels. If you don't do this work, or if the length of the taper is limited (maybe 6" max), you can do the work from the compound slide. I only could have used it one time and I was able to do fine without it.
 
One other thing, "a good deal" means vastly different things to everyone on this forum. Some people are running small production and selling product. The purchase of a $20k mill and tooling is just a business expense that is totally justified. Others are retired and need to weigh the cost of the purchase against their savings and budget. Others (like me) are in the process of setting up their shop and need to be respectful of the lady in charge!

If you have $1500-2000 to spend on a lathe and you like this one, jump on it. It looks to be in good shape. The more you need to pinch pennies, the harder time you will have finding a lathe that suits your needs and the longer you will wait. There are deals to be had, but is that what you are focused on? Would you rather have the machine and be learning how to use it?

No matter what you get, it will probably not be your last lathe, so don't sweat it too much. A 12" should last you a pretty long while before you outgrow it. When that time comes, your financial situation will probably be totally different.
 
I think folks here could help a little more if your requirements were a bit clearer. Is your goal to design and develop a line
of connectors for production by someone else, or do you have production in mind? How big are these things going to
be. How many do you plan on making over a period of time? And, of course, what is your budget for purchasing and tooling
up the machine? Keep in mind that in addition to lathe specific tooling, you'll need to plan on general purpose tools such
as micrometers, etc. Obviously you want to spend as little as needed, but having a realistic budget in mind would be
beneficial. There are a few folks around here that can regale you with a "Ferrari in the barn" story, but normally it's tough
to buy and tool up a machine on the cheap.

Assuming that it runs properly and isn't worn out, $1500 to $1600 bucks isn't unreasonable for a decent 12" lathe. It's very common
for sellers to hold back any tooling they can use and sell machines with as little tooling as possible.
Your tooling needs depend to some extent on what you plan on doing with
the machine: for connectors (which I'm assuming are fairly small), stuff like taper attachments and steady rests (while nice) may
not be required.

Buying used machines is tough, and they more often than not turn into projects themselves. For hobbyists who like that sort of thing,
that's fine, but if your goal is to learn to use the machine and make parts, a new machine would make more sense.

There are a bunch of posts on this forum that address the issue of buying a first lathe. You may want to read as many of them as
you can find.
 
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