Jet 1236 Low Speed Mod

[Lance Norris]

I have a Jet 1236 that I want to mod so I can get a lower - low speed. I searched here and cant seem to find what I am looking for. I remember reading somewhere that somebody drilled a new detent, and this allowed a slower low speed. If you pull down on the speed lever, below "slow", you can get a much slower speed, but then the lever, through vibration, raises back to the lowest detent and you are back at 550 or 650 rpm or whatever the slowest factory speed is. I know the lathe is capable of this speed because, like I said, you can make it run slower manually, but I would like a solution to this idea... any thoughts? If you can point me in the direction of a thread on this, or have made this mod to your 1236 or a similar lathe, I would really like some detailed info on what this will involve. Thanks.

[Chris Padilla]

Lance,

I moved this to the "spinny thing" forum for you...hopefully you'll get some help there.

[David Peebles]

Hi Lance,

I remember seeing this mod too. Here is one that I found.

http://www.chrisbillman.com/Projects/LatheSpeed.htm

Good luck with it,

Dave

[Dick Strauss]

Lance,
I did this mod to a neighbor's Jet 1442 to take his minimum speed down from 450 to about 350 rpms. I think Jet uses roughly the same mechanism on the 1236.

Check to see how far your handle will turn but not lock in the counter-clockwise direction. Make a mark on the speed selector plate corresponding to the that position. Then you need to take out the two screws on the selctor plate and remove the handle assembly. Next you drill a new hole counter-clockwise from the arc of holes pre-drilled from the factory. Drill your hole slightly oversize so that if you aren't exactly on the arc of holes, the handle will still engage the stop plate. Then you re-assemble the handle and set screw and give it a try. You might need to take the cover off of the belt area to get the handle back on by pushing from the back of the handle shaft while tightening the set screw.

Let us know how this works for you!

Good luck,
Dick

[Brad Vaughn]

Hi Lance,

I remember seeing this mod too. Here is one that I found.

http://www.chrisbillman.com/Projects/LatheSpeed.htm

Good luck with it,

Dave
Thanks!!
just what I need for my 1236 going to do this in the morning.
and Thanks Lance for asking.

[Lance Norris]

David and Dick... Thanks for the responses. Thats the info I was looking for. I actually found that after waiting for a couple hrs and not receiving any info from the Creek. I did the drill mod and it works great. I also found that you dont even have to drill if you are concerned you wont do it correctly. All you have to do is remove the 2 screws that hold the speed lever and slip it out of the splines and then simply turn the handle clockwise and re-insert it into the splines one or two positions to the right. This allows the handle to turn the mechanism to a lower speed. Kinda like taking the distributor out of your car and reinserting it into the wrong position(been there, done that). On the lathe, this wont allow you to go up to the highest speed now, but does let you get to that lower speed without drilling. I did drill mine though, I just wanted to post that in case anyone in the future finds this thread, and for whatever reason, doesnt want to drill holes. Thanks guys

[Prashun Patel]

This may be a bit late - and a bit drastic, but I saw a video "Turning Bowls with Del Stubs" where he made a slip clutch for his lathe.

Basically, it was a plywood pedal that connected via a couple pulleys into the housing to the motor. When he pressed on the pedal, he as able to tip up the motor a little, which caused the belt to slip with surprising precision. This enabled him to spin at infinitely variable speeds down to zero rpm.

You might check out that video if you ever need to go lower than you can right now.

[Dick Strauss]

Lance,
I'm glad to hear your mod was a success. I did the same thing on my Delta 1440...I twisted the selector about three splines counter-clockwise and added more stops. Now I can go down to about 200 rpms instead of 450.

[Doug W Swanson]

I had actually thought about this when I bought my 1236 a few months ago. I just had not gotten around to it until I saw this thread.

10 minutes in the shop this morning and my lathe has a new low speed!

Thanks!
Doug

[pete ryalls]

did the mod to mine also

just reinstall the lever no point in drilling

you will never need the highest speed on the lathe

[Lance Norris]

you will never need the highest speed on the lathe

Kinda what I thought also. I'll sure use the lower speed though.

[Mike Stephens]

I have been meaning to do this mod to my 1442 but have been putting it off. I finally got around to it this morning. Easy easy and the speed is much slower.

I have to say I use the fasted speed on my lathe for spindle turning and when I am polishing up a turning that I have applied a friction polish too.