Jet 1642 EVS Delivered and Assembled: Two Issues

[John Meade]

OK I bought a new Jet Lathe; the Jet 1642 EVS. I decided to go with the 115 volt machine. I bought it from Amazon (CPO) and delivery was on time and the box/pallet was well packed and undamaged. My son and I hauled the legs and machine to my basement shop.

We installed the legs, plugged it in, and turned the speed dial oh so gently, and "snap" the GFI on my 120v line popped. I tried again with same result. I plugged it into a different 120 volt circuit, with the same result. I remember that I read somewhere that this might happen, but I do not remember the remedy. Certainly I could replace the GFI outlet with a standard 120 v outlet, but before doing so,are there other ideas?

Second issue...I turn the handwheel on the tail, and nothing happens (it turns freely, but does not extend.) What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your help and advice.

John.

[Jason Ritchie]

I can help here. The Delta VFD motor controller does not play nice with ground fault outlets so you will need to plug it into a different outlet. On the tail stock, try pushing in on the quill while turning the handle. Also, check for a set screw in the handle wheel to make sure it is tight on the shaft. Congrats on the new lathe! It is a very nice machine! I had terrible luck with two different machines and could not get it resolved through Jet support but I hope you have much better luck than I did.

[Jason Ritchie]

Also be sure to check the headstock and tail stock alignment by bringing the drive spur and live center close. If they are off sideways you can install the feet that come in the accessory box. Start with all of the feet at the same level then try changing the level a little bit by adjusting different feet until you get them aligned. On both the 1642's I had the tailstock was lower than the headstock by a few mm and I could not get that fixed. Tech support was no help with that issue.

[Jim Burr]

I can help here. The Delta VFD motor controller does not play nice with ground fault outlets so you will need to plug it into a different outlet.

100% on Jason's fix...but to add a bit...the inverter is the culprit in this problem. It is constantly send a polarity pulse out so it knows what to convert...GFCI's hate that! And Congratz on the new lathe!!! I haven't had one issue with mine and am finally getting stock worthy of it. Next is the coring system! Enjoy it....they really are good machines!

[Roger Chandler]

On any lathe it is important to get the bed ways level........front to back and end to end........if not the bed will torque and the centers won't line up correctly.........the longer the distance between centers, the more crucial this adjustment is!!!

[Jim Underwood]

Had the same problem with centers lining up in a vertical direction. Jet kept sending me tailstocks.... but it never fully resolved the problem. I finally took the one closest to lining up, and filed off the base until the centers lined up as close as I could get them.

You'll have to level the machine then adjust the foot adjusters to line up the centers from back to front, and normally that will fix it in that direction.

But you may not be as picky as I was...

[John Meade]

All: Thanks for all your advice. I am up, running, and making lots of shavings. I replaced the GFI outlet with a standard 20 Amp outlet and now the motor jumps to life without any problem. For the tail stock issue I figured out that the problem was that the quill was fully retracted and stuck in that position. So I removed the hand wheel and tapped on the end of the lead screw with a rubber mallet. This extracted the lead screw and quill from the tail stock toward the motor end of the machine. I confirmed that the quill was frozen to the lead screw, so I turned the quill end for end and slid it into the tail stock from the wrong end so that the lead screw end was toward the motor. I then tightened the tail stock quill handle and attached the hand wheel giving me sufficient leverage to turn the hand wheel clock wise and unfreeze the lead screw from the quill. I then reversed the steps, removing the hand wheel, loosening the tail stock quill handle, removing the lead screw and quill. I then turned the lead screw and quill end for end and reinserted it in the correct position with the narrower lead screw end now protruding from the back right side of the tail stock, allowing proper installation of the hand wheel (tightening the two small hex screws that hold it in place.) This solved the "stuck" quill issue.

Alignment of the drive center to the live center looks good. (I will need to get my cheaters on to detect any fine mis-alignment).

Glad to be up and running. So far I am loving it.

John.

[ray hampton]

John, was the GFI outlet close to a sink

[John Meade]

No...All my basement circuits are GFI. This was one of three 20 amp circuits in my shop. It is a circuit of six duplex outlets that run along one of the long walls of my basement shop, about 4 feet above the floor.

[Tom Winship]

John, how long did it take to receive the lathe after you ordered it? Did it come in pieces or all together. I am going to buy one and was wondering how hard it was to get it put together.

[Denny Rice]

John, how long did it take to receive the lathe after you ordered it? Did it come in pieces or all together. I am going to buy one and was wondering how hard it was to get it put together.

I also purchased this lathe from Amazon.com and had the same GFI problem right out of the box. I also replaced the GFI with a standard 20 amp plug and was up and running. Tom to answer your question, the lathe comes in one large box on top of a wooden skid. you remove the lid and you will find the bed, motor, tailstock, ect all put pretty much togeather. Both legs come in two seperate boxes pakaged with the rest of the lathe. I also received a small box that had accessories like live center, paperwork, ect. It took less than 45 minutes to put togeather ( make sure you have someone around to help though, its a two man job to put togeather and set in place. A set of saw horses are invaluable when attaching legs to base of lathe also.

[Bernie Weishapl]

John congrats on the lathe. Also getting it up and creating shavings.

[John Meade]

Ditto on everything Denny said...except the 45 minutes. That sucker is heavy and my shop is in my basement, six steep steps below my driveway. Carting such beastly things down those steps has been done before (like my table saw, my drill press, etc.), but it takes some planning, ingenuity, and a lot of old fashioned gruntin'. I took the tail stock and the tool rest off the lathe bed and moved them separately, but decided to leave the motor/headstock on the bed, as it appeared that it would be awkward and unwieldy to carry. Sliding that lathe bed / headstock down two 2x10"s laid over the concrete steps was tedious and difficult, but thrilling once we had it down the steps and onto a dolly. The rest was pretty easy, but the weight creates challenges. To attach the legs we slid the headstock to one end and then lifted the other end atop the legs creating a an "A" shape. We bolted the legs onto the bed. I then used a hydraulic floor jack to lift the heavy end off the floor. The jack lifted it high enough to allow me to push the headstock to the opposite end near the installed legs. This lightened the other end allowing us to install the second set of legs. It absolutely took two of us. me and my 22 year old son.

Other particulars...

The bed and headstock was dripping in cosmoline. Wipe off excess or parts will tend to want to slip out of your hands. It helps to wear grip gloves.

The machine shipped the next day and was at the local shipper in five days (ordered on Amazon on Sunday, at local shipper following Friday. It was then delivered to my home on Monday. The truck had a liftgate (make sure to request this) which was included in the free shipping.

After I had already taken a razor knife to the box, I realized that the box simply lifted off the pallet (after cutting plastic straps).

The bed is bolted to the pallet with two hex bolts. I used a deep socket and ratchet to remove these (I don't remember the socket size, but it was a common size.)

That was it...no real surprises.

I believe the Amazon supplier is CPO Jet. This is my first Jet machine, but I have bought several machines through CPO including Delta Drill Press, Delta Air Cleaner, and Delta Dust Collector, and a Porter Cable Router. I have had good luck with all these orders.