can we offer trades here

[trainguytom]

For many of the reasons mentioned, I gave up on my MK5 as a lathe & switched to my 10er. Beefier, slow enough with a speedchanger & just plain more satisfying.

As far as I know the run out on the quill is not affected by extending the quill as the position of the bearings relative to the end of the quill shaft is not changed rather the distance from the drive shaft to the quill bearing. Just my observations and thoughts. I hope you enjoy your Jet.

I'm an avid turner and would love to have another lathe. (Can you say "Robust"?) Heavier is a plus. Hollow head stock shaft for using MT2 drive attachments and/or through drilling is a plus. More firm Tail Stock is a plus. Slower turning speeds with out an additional component, is a plus.

While the SS is an adequate lathe, it is not without limitations. It is light (for a lathe of this capacity), it turns too fast (without a speed reducer), the lack of drive options can be frustrating, and I find that the Mark 5 Tail stock is less than stable especially during drilling operations. Extreme care has to be taken to keep it from deflecting if too much pressure is applied to the tail stock while drilling.

That said, I do have a 1939 Dunlap 9 x 36 lathe with a 3/4 x 16 quill and MT 1 head and tail stocks. It's a fun little lathe that is very accurate. It lacks the versatility of variable speed though. Maybe one day I'll put a DC motor with variable speed on it. But for now, changing the belt on the pulleys works.