The Home Machinist!

Im getting a better mill-drill, time to step it up from my grizzly mini milldrill. Looking at Jet jmd40-gh. How good is Jet quality? Im still pretty new to machining. I know its not the best but ive got a budget and shop space is limited.

I can't speak for the current line of Jet machines, but I have a Jet cabinet saw, bought new 30 years ago and it is a 1st class piece of machinery. I would probably rate it a step above Grizzly and on a par with Baileigh, but that is just my perception.

Wurm,

Welcome to the forum! Jet always seems like a good brand name. They are used a lot in job shops I think. You might also consider looking at a larger Grizzly mill. They make 3 or 4 different sizes, all are nicely made and seem reasonably priced. Plus very good customer service and excellent long term support.

Let us know what you decide. And Post pics! Our unofficial motto is: “ no pictures, it didn’t happen!”

Glenn

Jet as far as I know don't specifically build anything with there name on it. When I bought my 3/4 sized Taiwan made Bemato Bridgeport clone there were a few pictures in the user manual showing clearly branded Jet mills as well. So for at least one model of mill they were building some machines for Jet. There a high volume badge branded dealer much like Grizzly and others. That high volume probably gets them a bit better machines and they may or may not have there own quality control in certain factory's. I did notice that mill is a round column though. That's good for larger parts where the head can be swung around to reach part areas that might be inaccessible with a fixed column machine, but for the most part losing your spindle C/L location on any Z height moves becomes more than a bit frustrating. Extremely good work can be still done on those round column mills and a guy by the name of George Britnell on the forums has shown more than enough of what I mean to prove that. Although I believe even he's gone to another mill without that round column now.

I can fully appreciate that budget / space issue, but in hind sight after going through buying 4 different mills over many years and given what any mill takes for even the basic tooling set up. A mills initial cost is almost incidental. I've no idea who you've chosen to deal with, but Amazon shows a base price of $3700 and change for that mill. For that money I think I'd want a dovetailed rear column. The geared head is nice for fast speed changes, but from what I've seen with my belt change mill driven by a VFD I'm not losing much or have to change belt positions very often. The VFD allows multiple pre set rpm settings etc. If I had to do it all again I'd still buy the largest machine I could and go with that 220V 3 ph motor and VFD combination. There's simply no comparison between a single ph drive and the 3 ph.

I would say Jet and Grizzly are about the same quailty wise but, for parts availability Grizzly wins hands down. I use to work part time at a local dealer that sold both brands so have some experience with both. Many years ago my first mill was a round column from ENCO ,better than nothing but not by much and the round columns have have not improved ! Look into the small 6X26 knee mills that the top end is very similar to a drill mill. One of those was my second mill and was a BIG improvement . Next step was a Bridgeport type to get a machine with a ram and turret head which I had need of.

I've been buying Jet tools since the late 70's. From air tools to machine tools, including mills, drills, saws, and lathes.
Even some hand tools.
I have yet to be disappointed.
That is one of the reasons I bought my Jet JTM-4VS (BP clone) knee mill.
And a note....since I have owned it, I have needed one part, (shipping damage) and it was in stock.
I've also owned Grizzly, and still do. My Grizzly stuff, and that I have been around is good, but I rate the Jet equipment above Grizz.

hey everyone thanks for the intel about quality and the other useful tips. thanks even more for showing me how friendly this forum is. last night i offended a lot of guys on the (im)practical machinist forum just by mentioning that i was looking at a jet. "toy", "wannabe machinist", ...

i looked at grizzly some more but based on the specs i need, gonna go with jet. ive got a grizzly minilathe too, gonna figure out how to mount it on the jet table. i'll send pictures.

ive got a grizzly minilathe too, gonna figure out how to mount it on the jet table. i'll send pictures.

A mini lathe mounted on a mill table? That is a new concept in machining.

Never go to Practical Machinist unless you absolutely have to. There are a lot of real idiots over there.

Taiwan is less risky than China. If the ad doesn't say where it came from, it's China.

tornitore45 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:51 am

ive got a grizzly minilathe too, gonna figure out how to mount it on the jet table. i'll send pictures.

A mini lathe mounted on a mill table? That is a new concept in machining.

Fourth axis or live tooling, depending on how you look at it. Has possibilities, I think (some of which involve really interesting crashes.)

You have to understand what Practical Machinist is- mostly people in commercial machine shops that have zero interest in inexpensive hobby-class machines. Their rules are pretty specific on what can and can't be discussed. I'm basically a hobbyist but usually get along OK there because I stay away from verboten topics. There's a lot of knowledge there, but you have to know that most professional machinists went to a special school to hone their skills at sarcasm, verbal put-downs and just plain orneriness.

That said, I own Grizzly and it gets the job done. I consider them "kits" where you should completely disassemble everything, deburr it, fit it and adjust it, before you can get anything of quality done. I'd say Jet equipment isn't much different overall, but maybe the initial fit and finish is better.

r/machinists on Reddit is a friendly forum populated mostly by professional machinists. There is no hostility to hobbyists. They even tolerate engineers.

I often search Practical Machinist for solutions to problems but I've never considered joining and posting questions: their rules make it clear that I'm not welcome.