Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
jet mini lathe and cooling fan
John F.
>I finally got my new jet minni and I've run across something that concerns me. While turning my first bowl with it I noticed that some of the shavings and a lot of the dust is going directly to the cooling fan intake, I've had to pull some of the shavings out of the grid over it.....
Is this something I need to be concerned about?
If so does anyone have any suggestions as to how to avoid problems with it?
tia
John F
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
RevDoug
>I use the Nova Mercury and have the same situation. I have not had any problems with it though. Even last week when I turned most of the day for a demo, the motor never seemed to get very hot. It just ran like a champ all day long.
I don't think you have much to worry about. Just blow the dust and shavings out at the end of each session. Everything should be fine.
Turn 'em round,
RevDoug
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
Arch
>Hi John, I personally know of two Jet-mini motor
burn-outs that were attributed to the conditions you describe. Two out of hundreds isn't much to concern you, but if cooling depends on air flow and air is severely restricted, then obviously things can overheat and burn out. Arch
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
Ron in Drums PA
>I have a Jet 1236 with the same problem. Poor design in my opinion. I use the hose from my dust collector to suck out the dust in the motor when I'm done for the day.
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
John F.
>Thanks to all who have responded.
I keep the area in front of the intake clear of chips, stopping frequently to do so. I dont believe I'll burn it out on account of insufficient airflow, however I am concerned about a possible buildup inside the motor, after using the shop vac to suck out the chips I use air to blow thru it.
Wondering if I should put some kind of filtering over the intake?
Just a worry wart I guess.
John F
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
Ron in Drums PA
>I thought of that myself, but I feel a filter would restrict the air flow to much. I've been playing around with some ideas on moving the motor but I haven't convinced myself that it is worth it. LOML gave me the OK to buy a bigger lathe, that might be the easiest idea to date.
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
John F.
>I too am concerned about restricting the air flow, a bigger lathe isnt in the realm of possibility yet. I may need to make the VS conversion as outlined by Mark Kauder sooner than I thought....then again, given the 2 year warranty I may wait and see if it fries the motor first.
Thanks again,
John F
Re: jet mini lathe and cooling fan
Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL
>John,
I don't know what it is about the Jet Mini Motor, but it runs hotter than hell, no matter what.
Don't worry about it, just give it blast from your air compressor every once in a while.
Mark