# Anyone own a 9x19 Jet lathe?



## TNmike (May 12, 2018)

http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/bdb-919-belt-drive-bench-lathe/321378

If so, what is your opinion of it? Pro and cons? Thanks!


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## Nogoingback (May 13, 2018)

I don't own one, so I can't help you on that lathe.   But, if you can describe what kind of work you plan on doing, you might
get feedback that will help you decide.   Pros and cons  to a large extent depend on what you want to do with it, which also
helps when looking at alternatives,  (Grizzly or PM, for example).  It also helps to know where you are budget wise.


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## 4ssss (May 13, 2018)

Looks like a toy to me by the pictures.


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## TNmike (May 13, 2018)

"Looks like a toy to me by the pictures."

Guess that settles it...


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## Aaron_W (May 13, 2018)

The metal supplier near me has one of these on the display floor. I've not used one but I've fondled the one they have and it seems to be well made, everything moves smoothly etc. I like the size, it's footprint isn't much larger than my Sherline but with 3x the swing. The weight is significantly more. 

The question I have with this and the similar sized 8.5x20" at Little Machine Shop is the price. These appear to have essentially the same specs as Grizzly's G4000 9x19" but at twice the price. There are slightly larger more capable 10x22" and 11x26" available in the same $2100> price range.     



Just for comparison. I have no experience with these other than window shopping for the day I decide to get a larger lathe.


http://www.grizzly.com/products/9-x-19-Bench-Lathe/G4000

http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-22-Bench-Top-Metal-Lathe/G0602


Precision Matthews has a good following here, and their 10x22" lathe is slightly less expensive than the Jet you linked to

http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1022v-pm-1030v/





TNmike said:


> "Looks like a toy to me by the pictures."
> 
> Guess that settles it...



Some people with large lathes have no concept of needing or wanting a small lathe, I wouldn't bother reading anything more into that comment.


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## 4ssss (May 13, 2018)

Aaron_W said:


> Some people with large lathes have no concept of needing or wanting a small lathe, I wouldn't bother reading anything more into that comment.



I wouldn't bother reading anything more into that comment.
I know with my large lathe I can do everything your little overpriced toy can do and more.


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## john.oliver35 (May 13, 2018)

TNmike - take a look at some of the posts here by Savarin.  I believe he runs a 9x19 (they appear to all be the same basic design), and has quite a few accomplished builds.


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## darkzero (May 13, 2018)

4ssss said:


> Looks like a toy to me by the pictures.





4ssss said:


> I wouldn't bother reading anything more into that comment.
> I know with my large lathe I can do everything your little overpriced toy can do and more.



That's great for you but not everyone has the room or a need for a larger lathe or have them available in their area for great prices or prices that they can afford. I don't consider it a toy, it's a hobby lathe. So what if it may be a toy to you, toys are welcome here too.

To all... if you can't be respectful of anything people want or have, then please just keep it to yourselves.


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## HMF (May 14, 2018)

4ssss said:


> I wouldn't bother reading anything more into that comment.
> I know with my large lathe I can do everything your little overpriced toy can do and more.




Just a reminder, owners of every make. model, and type of equipment are welcome here without exception.

And while I have you. please consider supporting your forum by upgrading your membership to premium.
There are more features and less ads.

Thanks.


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## chip maker (May 14, 2018)

I have owned a Grizzly 9 x 20 for a long time now and have been really happy with it thru the years. Thanks to many on this site I have done some updates to it but overall it is still stock. I feel that this unit has served me well and hope that it does in the years ahead. I have never run into a problem of size with fabing anything. You just have to think about what you plan to do before you buy. If your thinking of doing bigger things in the future than go bigger if not this size works well. There are many on this site that have these and are really happy with them. Overall the machine is only the first step the ad ons and tooling is were the real money gets spent. Good luck have fun. !!!


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## TNmike (May 14, 2018)

Thanks to all who have actually been trying to help me. I'll first give a little background about myself, and then go on to what I am looking for in a toy, er, hobby lathe. I'm 62 now, but after high school I went to a community college and got an associates degree in machine technology. After that I worked two different jobs as a machinist for a total of 11 years, plus did some machining on at least two other jobs I've had. I have not owned a large lathe but I have ran some decent sized ones. On my first job I ran pieces as large as 312" long and about 2 1/2 tons. The tailstock overhung the bed a few inches so needless to say the tailstock was really tightened down. I also ran another lathe, but only a very limited amount, that was a little shorter, but had like a 4-5 foot faceplate/chuck. It was a Pontiggia, similar to this one, give or take:
https://www.usetec.com/en/machines.html/view/1124-100322/Heavy+Duty+Lathe/PONTIGGIA/SFE+800+x+3000+
What was interesting about this lathe was its features. The compound rest had power feed, but was inoperable. The tailstock was motorized to move it up and down the bed. Here's where it really gets interesting. The spindle gearing could be set up for extremely slow rotation, say 1 rev/hr. At the same time the gearing for longitudinal feed could be set up for one foot or so per rev. A milling head with a shell cutter was mounted on the cross slide and used to cut multi-lead spirals in a 20-24" or so piece of tubing. A quite capable machine. Most of the time I ran a 21-22" Leblond.

As far as the hobby lathe, I've been mostly looking in the 8-10" swing range. I hope to purchase one later this year but how much money I will have remains to be seen. I've been primarily eyeing the Grizzy 8x16, the G0768, the Little Machine Shop 8.5x20, the 3540, and the Precision Matthews 10x22, the PM-1022V. I have also looked at many others. I would be machining wood, plastics, aluminum, steel, SS, you name it. Some features I would prefer are: power cross feed; some slower feed rates (I had an Atlas 12" for a number of years and wished it had something slower than 0.0042"/rev); variable speed spindle would be nice; well equipped, as I would be using 3-jaw, 4-jaw, faceplate, etc., and buying the accessories nickels and dimes you to death; decent power; true-inch would be nice, but no big deal; changing feeds by levers or knobs versus gear changes would be nice; etc., etc., etc. There are many tradeoffs between the various models, and a decision won't be easy. But then again money may make the decision for me.

The Jet 9x19, BDB-919, has many nice features, except for perhaps the spindle speeds. Wished the lowest speed went lower, and all of them were in a more geometric progression, or better yet, variable speed. This model appears to replace the older style 9x20 (https://www.mclemoreauction.com/auction/43/item/jet-bd-920n-bench-lathe-602). In any case I'm just still researching, and was hoping someone actually had one of the new 9x19's. Feel free to suggest any other possibilities as I have plenty of time to check them out. Thanks all.


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## TNmike (May 15, 2018)

Hmmm, upon closer examination, the Jet doesn't have power cross feed; bummer.


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## ttabbal (May 15, 2018)

Small machines with power cross feed seem to be a bit on the rare side. I know the PM models have it, and I think LMS sells at least one that does. 

If you decide to go for PM, you might consider the 10x30. 10 inches of bed for $100. I have a PM1127 and it's been a great machine for my needs. While it is variable speed, I do wish the low range could go a bit faster, but it works. If I get real ambitious, maybe I'll put a different VFD on there, or reprogram the existing unit, so I can run it a little faster sometimes. When I was looking last year, PM seemed to be the best deal when you factor in all the accessories and features. That probably drifts around though with various companies having sales and such. Good luck with your search!


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## TNmike (May 17, 2018)

A question, why isn't there a forum on here for Little Machine Shop, or did I miss it somehow? Thanks


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## Aaron_W (May 17, 2018)

TNmike said:


> A question, why isn't there a forum on here for Little Machine Shop, or did I miss it somehow? Thanks



Their lathes and many of their mills (not sure if all) are manufactured by Sieg, so probably best fit into the Sherline, Taig, Titan, Sieg mini-machine forum. Although I haven't seen a definition of "mini-machine" 9x20 seems to be largest lathes to fall into that category.

For specific machines you might also look at the Grizzly and Jet forums as well who also include some Sieg built machines in their product line. 

Sieg manufactures machines under a number of resellers brand names. 

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/forums/sherline-taig-titan-sieg-mini-machines.92/


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## stioc (May 17, 2018)

No experience with the Jet 9x19 but I have the Grizzly G4000 9x20. It's been a great lathe for my home shop. Perhaps the only thing I dislike about it is that the cross-slide wheel has what I'd describe as sticktion, where it doesn't rotate smoothly. Stefan Gotteswinter on YouTube made his own bearing block to fix this issue but I have yet to undertake something like that. 







I'd say these days the difference between the 9x20 and 10x22 is minimal so I'd leap for this guy http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-22-Bench-Top-Metal-Lathe/G0602.

Although if I had the room I'd probably consider the G4003 or even the G0782 from Grizzly for the bigger work envelope- like turning automotive rotors/drum-brakes/flywheels etc.


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