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Are Jet Milling Machine Anygood?

B

brianm

Plastic
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Location
Greenville SC
We are getting ready to buy a milling machine a work and since I'm the one who is pushing this trough management, I have to decide which one to buy. I was looking at a Travers catolog and was wondering about the 9" x 49" JET they sell. I know about Bridgeport because thats what we had when I worked at Hitachi but I don't know where to buy a new one. Another thing is that I don't think management will want me to spend 15k so I need one that is a good machine for a good value.
If anyone is using this particular model from Travers I would like to know the verdict because right now that is the one I'm leaning towards. Thanks Brian
 
MSC has Brigeport mills. I have an older ( 10 years) Jet 9X49 step pulley, it has done all I have have asked of it, most is light work. I would not buy one for a job shop were day in and out use is required.
 
MSC should be selling new Bridgeports. If you want to deal with a regular Bridgeport dealer for field support, contact Hardinge in Elmira, NY. They now manufacture the Bridgeports. There has been a tremendous amount of information written on this Bulletin Board about Bridgeports & Bridgeport clones. I am a Bridgeport owner/user in my home shop (series I, variable speed head) and having bought one for our powerplant shop (Series II, variable speed head), and having been around a few of them. I think the Bridgeport is a great mill for lighter work. The variable speed head is kind of dated in its design. The R-8 taper can be a little on the light side, even for the size of machine the rest of a Bridgeport is. You might want to consider the type of work the mill will be doing, possible future work, and skill level of persons assigned to run the mill. Perhaps a slightly heavier machine with a 40 spindle taper might be something to consider. American Index makes good turret-type mills here in the USA that might be something to look into.

Joe Michaels
 
I've ran Jet milling machines before, I would not recommend one. The one I have experience with was a little smaller than the Bridgeport, it looked to be very nicely made, but was very lacking in rigidity even for a machine of its size. A half-inch end mill in aluminum was doable, but only if the mill was quite sharp. In steel, even a 3/8" mill was pushing it unless the mill was extremely sharp, and even then you had to be very gentle. This was an older, painted green unit. They may well have improved over time, but my experience left me with a very bad feeling towards Jet.

As to the Wells-Index Mills, we used to have one of the mill's from back before they were Wells-Index. I must say it was quite an excellent mill in every respect, although the drive system did have a slight deficiency. Index did not use a back gear, they used a two-stage belt reduction, which did not do a great job of driving the spindle at low range. Of course, it would have been better if we put new belts on, but it wasn't that big of a problem for us. This is no longer a problem on the new variable speed heads, and was really only a problem on the old machine if you wanted to push it harder than it should be pushed :D

Ed
 
Penn Tool is currently running a deal on JET JTM-1 2HP step pully mill. With shipping $4500. No association with them but seems like a good deal, for a Tiawan machine with Mehanite casting. Same mill is available on ebay from some other outfit for $4250 with shipping included. Can Traver's beat that price?

Michael
 
Are Jet's BP clones actually still Taiwanese origin or are they coming from China now? About 10 years ago I looked at buying a Taiwanese Jet with a VS head and chrome ways. Nice looking, well finished and smooth mill. At that time, about $6K was as good a price as you'd find for that machine. Maybe they're still Taiwanese, but that price makes me think Chinese.
 
I have a 3hp variable speed 9x49 Jet that is maybe 3 years old, and it is made in Taiwan. I have had no problems with it, but my usuage is more like tooling support, not production. It is plenty rigid enough for what I do, meehanite casting, hardened and ground ways, class 7 bearings.
It is not as good as a bridgeport- but I think the list price on it was about $5700, versus $12,000 for a new manual bridgeport. It is definitely better in quality, fit and finish, than a mainland chinese version- I have looked at the Grizzly's on the showroom floor in Bellingham, and I wouldnt buy one.
Mine was a trade show floor sample, so I got it with a powerfeed on the x, and a name brand DRO, for $4900.
I have no reason to think it wont last as long as I live.

Jet makes bigger ones- up to 5hp with a 40 taper.
And Lagun from Spain makes a lot of nice import mills that are beefier and better in most ways than a real Bridgeport, at competitive prices.
I certainly wouldnt go any lower down the food chain than a made in Taiwan Jet, Sharp, or similar mill.
 
metlmunchr

It is my understanding that if the mill has a M in the casting, it stands for Mehanite process. No mainland China mills are liscensed to do Mehanite cast iron as far as I know. The price I mentioned is for a 9 x 42 with no powerfeed or dro and has step pulley head. Still a very good deal IMO, I am thinking hard about upgrading to one soon.
 
Michael,
I was real close to buying one in the past, and another machine popped up (not a mill, but a good deal) and ate that money. Haven't looked at them since then, but if they're still Taiwanese, I wouldn't hesitate at all to buy one. At the time I was looking, a friend had a Jet and a couple of the Chinese BP clones in his shop. He said he felt the Jet was close to his BP's but not quite their equal, and a great deal for the price. He cussed the Chinese ones with every breath :D

Added...as far as I know, US law still requires things like this to carry the country of origin, so determining where they're made today shouldn't be a problem.
 
One of the local Vo-Tec schools where I occasionally help teach has been using Jet equipment for about eight years now. The horizontal band saw has worked very well and is quite dependable. The 13x40 lathes have had a myriad of mechanical problems and at least one of them is always down with electrical malfunctions. I would be very hesitant to buy a Jet lathe. The mills they have are 9x42 vari-speeds with powerfeeds on the x-axis. Overall they have performed pretty well with only small mechanical inconveniences. The electrical components have done well also. The only problem that they have all had in common is that the spindle keys sheared almost immediately and the tapers in the spindles are very reluctant to release the collets and other tooling. I don't know if it is a problem of surface finish or in the hardening of the tapers, but it aggravating to have to struggle to get your tooling out. I personally would probably buy a Jet mill if I got a good deal on it.
 
Quote: "No mainland China mills are liscensed to do Mehanite cast iron as far as I know"

Michael, since when did not having a liscense pose a problem to Chinese manufacturers? :D
 
I have been very happy with the JET mill 9 x 42 purchased from J & L Industrial back in 1999. I picked it up at the store and brought it home on a flat bed trailer. Hired a local tow truck to hoist it off the trailer and set it on the ground. I then winched it into my shop. In my opinion the JET 9 x 42 is just as good as a Bridgeport of similar size.
52068-jetmill.jpg

Also have a 13 x 40 JET lathe. No trouble with either machine and both have made me tons of money.

When you buy a machine with your own money it is treated differently than one your boss purchased.
I'm the only person that runs them. They are well cared for and I don't run them hard.
They are still like new condition after 5 years of daily use.
http://img2.photobucket.com/albums/v30/jglass/
Jim
 
at the last place i worked i used a victor brand mill for about 2 years, it was a couple years old when i got it, after another division of the company closed, but it sure was the nicest machine i ever ran, im almost ceartain it was of asian decsent, what isnt these days, but it truely was amazingly acurate,smooth and quiet
 
I bought a Jet Mill when I couldnt find a nice american one here in Hawaii after an extensive wait.

I works ok, but it is not a Bridgeport.
My buddies call them Junk Every Time

They are ALL Made in china now :( but I would say that JET is the best of all the companies over there in putting together and cleaning up the castings. From what I understand all the castings come from the same place (maybe still from Taiwan-although I seriously doubt it considering the conflict between the two countries. It is pretty well made for the cost, but I really wish I had spent the money on a new Bridgeport. They are a little over $12K from MSC etc.

There seem to be a LOT of used bridgeports around in the $2500-$6000 range, but I dont have enough machine experience or the time and plane fare to go check them all out!
I think the bottom line is: What are you going to use it for????
If you are making space station parts or telescope stuff........it isnt the machine you need......but if you are making engine mounts and things like that it will work just fine.
 
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