The Little Jet Lathe That Just Might Could

[Bamban]

For your reading enjoyment here is a little lathe that just might could. Ulma Doctor sourced this jewel from his AO and it is heading to TX soon. This is the Taiwanese made Jet 1024P, a smallish, but stout for its size. There are a couple of broken parts, but nothing of significance, the left change lever and the TS hand wheel.

The spec is pretty decent for a little guy, 7 3/8 bed width is not that far behind some of the current offerings of larger swing, the PM1340GT at 7 1/2 for example.

To start off, here are some pictures of the lathe.









Below shows the initial evaluation by Mike

"Here's some more pix of the 1024
i mounted a tenth's indicator on the saddle and swept the x, there was a .0001" dip about 8" from the headstock
i inspected the cross slide ways, there is still original scraping seen on over 85% of the surfaces
i lubed the spindle pulley bushings,gearing &,oil points
i ran the lathe for about 20 mins both in thread cutting mode as well as fine feed modes.
it sounds like an angel singing, especially when there is no gearbox feed engagement- you can't barely hear it run- it whispers
i did find another minor defect, the PO drilled and tapped 2 holes in the cross slide above the dovetails- for what purpose i don't know.
i may put set screws or allen screws to close them up as swarf could enter- not a big deal
overall the lathe is what i'd call sweet!

all the best mike"







Followed up with a test bar


"i made a test bar
there was a lot of chatter the first time with a pointed bit, so i did it a second time with a rounded tool bit.
near the chuck i got .918"
an inch + away from the chuck i got .918"
at about 8" from the chuck i got .919"(rounded up)
at the very end, almost 10" away from the chuck, i got .920" with slight chatter
to be fair, i took an extra spring cut on the far end test pad.
other than that all things were equal during the test sequence, cut dry.
i'll include the test bar with the lathe when i send it.
all in all i'd say very good for an unmounted lathe with nearly 10" of hang out

whaddya think?"







I honestly believe when I get this lathe going, it will give me years of good service. If you factor in how the taper test was performed, the lathe unbolted, and sitting on a pile of wood, and get a thou across 8 inches, that is awesome. Mike's initial evaluation was validated by this test.

In preparation for the lathe arrival and installation, I already bought a Hitachi WJ200 VFD, MKSJ's favorite and his recommendation, got a good deal on a 2 HP Marathon Inverter Motor for $125 and local pick up, and lastly, coming is a 50 ohm, 500 Watt break resistor. The VFD control system will have the usual Mark's whiz bang creation. Mark, thank you in advance.


This is the same lathe featured in this thread.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/how-to-remove-a-3-jaw-chuck.48288/#post-407939


Mike, Thank you so much for finding this jewel and thank for your all your help.

 

[Jason Annen]

I have that exact machine, but mine is from 1984. I am the 2nd owner, and the only issue I have had is the power switch failed. I like mine, but it is a light weight machine. I doubt I will ever sell mine.

Jason

 

[Bamban]

This one will be bolted to a metal stand that weighs about as much as the lathe itself. The intended use is primarly for chambering AR barrels through the headstock.

If anyone has an Aloris AXA QCTP not being used, please send me a PM, I can use it on this project.

 

[kvt]

That looks like it will be a nice one. And if that is all that is wrong then it is nice. I would like to find something affordable like that, Around here all the old ones are about he price I could buy a PM or Grizzly 10 inch for, I even looked at prices on a couple up in our area, but when a used 10 inch that I know nothing about compares in price to a new one, Then I figure that price is a little high. If you come up with a good deal let me know.
Again that one looks nice.

 

[FOMOGO]

Looks like a solid little machine. Enjoy, and kudos to Mike for once again helping out another forum member. Mike

 

[Ulma Doctor]

I'm just happy to help out
doing good stuff, for good people brings me joy.
if this piece of equipment brings you joy, we both won.

i'm especially happy to help a veteran, thank you for your service Nez-
and thanks for all else who have served .

 

[Bamban]

Mike,

I am certain it would be pure pleasure to run this lathe. I have a couple of Shilen Select Match barrels waiting to be chambered, these would be the likely candidates to be chambered on this lathe.

nez

 

[dlane]

Practice x3 on somthing else first

 

[george wilson]

That model was my first GOOD lathe. I wish I still had it. The only thing I ever replaced was the motor starting switch.

 

[Bamban]

That model was my first GOOD lathe. I wish I still had it. The only thing I ever replaced was the motor starting switch.

Thank you for posting, George.

Another poster on the thread mentioned about the power switch, and the seller of this lathe in his description he also mentioned about the switch. If that is all that gone bad with these little lathes I say, they are pretty well made.

I've done over a couple of dozen barrels on my ACER 1236 with good runout on the chambers, will see what this Baby Jet can do. I set aside a couple of Shilen Select Match barrels to do on it. Will do them once I get it aligned, and checked out.