The new addition to my workshop
For quite a while now, I have been looking for a second lathe. My VB bowl turner is a fantastic machine and without doubt my first choice for making larger pieces. However, I’d prefer two lathes for certain processes and also need one for making smaller items, such as tea light holders and pegs for my peg boards.
After much research, I opted for the Jet 3520b. I guess I’ve read just about every blog post and review on wood turning lathes, but still found it hard to decide. However in the end, the sheer weight and stability of the Jet was the deciding factor, combined with what seemed to be great value for money. A trip down to Axminster tools soon confirmed my choice and I came back in a much heavier van!
The lathe comes very well packaged. In the photo below, I've removed the cardboard box to show the contents inside - it is all well protected and sits securely on a wooden pallet...
Assembling the lathe was fairly straight forward, although care must be taken when moving the larger sections. The headstock and bed require two people to lift and help is also needed when bolting it all together. It is definitely worth test fitting the bolts before assembly, since I encountered a couple of holes which were full of paint and these were awkward to clean out when working underneath the bed.
Unpacked and waiting to be assembled…
Supporting the bed during assembly makes it a lot easier…
The hard bit done…
Fully built up and ready to be tested – it looks far too clean for my liking!...
The first test was a batch order of tea light holders. Hardly the most demanding of tasks, but it performed faultlessly…
I have to say the overall quality is superb and I have no regrets at all with my choice. There are loads of things I want to talk about, but would rather leave these until I do a full review – hopefully very soon. However, I have included some useful dimensions below, which will be of interest if you’re looking to buy the 3520b;
The lathe is advertised as measuring 1473mm long x 685mm wide. However, the lathe bed is actually 1280mm long and the legs are 610mm wide at the base. To allow full movement of the tool rest banjo, the legs must be set at about 140mm away from the wall. If the lathe was pushed right up to a wall, the tool rest assembly would need to be angled sideways, if working on smaller spindles (the photo above should hopefully illustrate this). With the headstock positioned at the far end of the bed, the motor overhangs by 320mm.
I do hope the above is useful, but you're welcome to give me a call if you have any questions about the set up or space requirements. A full review will be posted soon...
