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Vermont, IL | WYDave makes some very good points. I looked for the kind of American made lathe that he describes for YEARS. They were either a zillion miles away, missing parts, had JUST been sold, or whatever. Never found the right one. Finally bought a Jet GHB, like what the OP was looking at only geared drive. I've had it for 6 weeks and have used it almost every day trying to get some hours on it. As of now, I'd say it was an ok purchase, I'm certainly not awed by the quality and it's at the lower end of my expectations. The fit and finish are barely acceptable. I'm still in a dispute with Jet as to replacing a cable on the DRO. The crate it was boxed in was terrible and had shipping damage. I fixed most of the damage except for the broken wire.
On the positive side, I'm learning a huge amount every day which was one of my goals. It does seem to cut fairly accurately, although the 3 jaw chuck does have some runout. Dave is also correct in that the purchase of the lathe is only the beginning, the tooling adds up really fast.
Bottom line is that I'm going to enjoy using my Jet.....but am still in the market for the perfect American made lathe, e.g. a Monarch, Lodge & Shipley, Colchester, or Hardinge. Probably others that don't come to mind. Good luck and best wishes.
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Metal lathe
