She's Up & Runnin - How I Got There (Part 1)

[Nick Mastropietro]

When I got home from work today it was just like Christmas morning, there in my garage sat this huge present, my new Jet 1642 lathe. Just like a kid on Christmas morning, I eagerly began tearing at the package to see its contents. Everything was neatly packed, without any major damage to the shipping carton. I removed the 2 boxes containing the legs and 1 containing the accessories.(to the right of lathe)

I pulled back the plastic and revealed my shiny new lathe. WHAT A BEAUTY. There was an envelope containing the user manual, warranty card and DVD, which by the way was broken – I watched it on the Jet web site – no big loss


After I calmed down a bit I started to plan the assembly process. I purchased 4 leveling casters from Access Caster last week and they arrived this past Saturday, along with the casters several other items were needed to complete the modification.

(1) 3’ section of 12mm X 1.75 threaded rod
(4) 12mm fender washers
(4) 12mm X 1.75 nuts
(1) 27/64 drill bit
(1) 12mm X 1.75 plug tap
(1) Blue Loctite thread sealer
(1) ½” drill
(1) Hacksaw
(2) Wrenches
(1) WD40
(1) Block of Wood (used to ensure vertical drill bit alignment)
(1) Clamp

[John Keeton]

Nick, I can sense the excitement from here!!!:D:D:D It is going to be a great weekend for you coming up. Turning from Friday to Sunday nonstop!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the new lathe Nick. Now the fun begins. Have fun and enjoy.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on your new lathe Nick! Looking forward to seeing how you like the casters!

Also - you are allowed to post photos up to 800x600 pixels - which would allow us to see a lot more detail!

[Nick Mastropietro]

I decided to cut the threaded rod to equal the threaded portion of the levelers that came with the lathe + ½” which is the depth of the threaded hole in the caster top plate, this worked out to be 3” total. After cleaning up the threads on the grinder/wire wheel, I used Loctite each stud and threaded them into the casters, jam nutting and tightening them securely.

Next I began the drilling and taping process, nothing like drilling and cutting into a brand new toy before you ever use it.

After installing the casters on both legs I brought the lathe bed up to my workbench and prepared to inspect and clean off the packing grease. Here I used some lint free rags and kerosene to remove the grease. It would be wise to inspect the bed for any hidden burs before wiping; you don’t want to find them by jabbing them into you hands. I did not find any; I did find a very small ding which I thought about trying to knock the compression bulge off with a file. Yes - I was being a bit anal.

[Nick Mastropietro]

After wiping down all the mating surfaces, the lathe bed, the headstock the banjo and tailstock, I coated all surfaces with a liberal coat of Renaissance wax.

I put this stuff on everything, all cast iron surfaces, jigs, even on the walls of the dust collection compartment of my router table.

Installing the leg units were very straightforward, 4 socket head screws and 4 flat washers. The holes machined into the bed where the legs attach are generous making alignment easy, I may need to loosen these again later when installing a base cabinet to ensure proper alignment but for now things seem to be lined up ok. Well here she is, assembled and ready for a trial run. As you can see I removed the faceplate (remember to loosen the set screws at the hub first) and installed my new SuperNova2 chuck (ensure you bottom the insert into the chuck and tighten the set screw to the spindle) and inserted the live center in the tailstock. I ran the chuck jaws completely closed, this provides a very small hole at the center of the chuck, I then moved the tailstock right up to the chuck and there was a very slight misalignment between the centers point and the chuck hole. I simply went to the front right corner and lifted the leg slightly and the two came into alignment. A small caster adjustment will correct this. At this point all that was left to do was take her on her madden voyage. I backed away the tool rest and tailstock, transferred the belt from the high speed sheaves to the low, plugged her in and dialed her up from zero to 1250 rpm. She ran quiet smooth and true. I’ll say it again WHAT A BEAUTY. I hope you find this thread informative and please feel free to ask any question you may have. Turning wood isn’t far off now – But >>>>>>>

Now the worst part of any job, the cleanup, followed by trying to figure out how to rearrange the shop to accommodate the new arrival. I will post some pics of the final setup when done.

SORRY FOR THE BLURRY PICTURES

[Ray Bell]

Congrats, you are going to have a ton of fun now!

[Nick Mastropietro]

Ya I figured I should rat myself out before someone else caught it. Everything on the bed is backward - rookie mistake.:( It has now all been corrected with the JET name prominently facing forward.:)

[David E Keller]

Congrats... It's a nice looking lathe even when it's backwards.:D

Nice shot of the new yankee workshop router table... I've got one just like it that I stack my turning stuff on. It's right next to my table saw that I stack turning stuff on.

[Nick Mastropietro]

Dave; there is a place in the world for flatwork, there is a place in the world for flatwork. Turn legs and the world can have it all.