Jet 1642 1.5hp, belt slippage. Need advice.

[Bill Wilcox]

Hello All,
It's been awhile since I have been here. Hope everyone is doing well.
I just set up my new turning shop and fired up my lathe again after a year of not turning. I have a 18" long 3" diameter piece of maple in the lathe now for making a tool handle for a large bowl scraper.
While I was working on turning the wood to a smaller diameter I am noticing my belt, clutch or something is causing the lathe to stop or reduce power dramatically. I removed the cover and the belt is nice and tight and I re-adjusted it just to make sure it was tight however it still seems to be slipping.
Any suggestions?
Could this be a issue with not having a 30 amp breaker in the electrical panel?
Would belt dressing help?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill Wilcox

[Bob Bergstrom]

There are no clutches on that machine. The circuit breaker would trip if it were overloaded. The weight of the motor alone should be enough to spin that size blank. Are the pullies tight on the shaft? Is there something wedged under the motor or other preventing tightening. It should not slip, but something is not quite right. Hope you find it. Lots of good help on the Creek

[Kenny Jacobson]

I have the same machine. Here are two things the I had to learn:

1. Do not have the machine plugged into a socket where a GFI switch is ANYWHERE in that same circuit. Many garages, like mine, have a GFI outlet somewhere in the line, so I had to use the plug in the ceiling that's meant for the garage door open (different circuit that the rest of the garage).

2. Do not have a magnet near the inverter. I had a light with a magnet on the bottom sitting on my headstock too close to the inverter and I got weird power issues. I moved it about 4 inches away and that fixed it.

Hope that helps.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Is it making noises? If it's making noises, the pulleys may be slipping. That lathe is super quiet, any noise may indicate that the pulleys are slipping on the shaft. As mentioned, there's not a lot to go wrong with that lathe.

Did not know about power issues and magnets. I have my light suck to the top of the headstock. I may have to move it. Thanks for that tip.

[Jim Burr]

Welcome back Bill! Good advise so far...I'll just addmake sure the belt and wheels are clean and the belt is still pliable, not hardand brittle. May sound dumb, but also make sure the belt is aligned on thecorrect wheels. I run on a 20 amp breaker with no issues, and the GFCI issue that Kenny brought up can be a huge issue! Hope you get it back up and running!

[Bill Wilcox]

Is it making noises? If it's making noises, the pulleys may be slipping. That lathe is super quiet, any noise may indicate that the pulleys are slipping on the shaft. As mentioned, there's not a lot to go wrong with that lathe.

Did not know about power issues and magnets. I have my light suck to the top of the headstock. I may have to move it. Thanks for that tip.

Yes the lathe does make a whirring sound when it does it's goofy slipping. So... what do i need to do if it is the pulleys?
The belt is in real good shape not brittle and still pliable.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Yes the lathe does make a whirring sound when it does it's goofy slipping. So... what do i need to do if it is the pulleys?


There are setscrews on the pulleys that you can tighten. Usually 2 sets, at 90 degrees to each other. You may have to swap the speed to see them. I'm at work, so I can't check mine. Maybe someone else can post.

[Jim Burr]

Just checked mine...small pully set screws are motor side and big pully is spindle side. Also keyway stock on both so keep the correct position of that in mind.

[Steve Campbell]

Bill if you are trying to turn green maple make sure your spur drive isn't just spinning in the endgrain of the wood.

Steve

[Jim Burr]

Good point Steve...Bill, are you seeing a RPM drop or a general noticed loss in speed? Having my 1642 since December, I watch the RPM display to guide me a bit...more than 100 RPM drop and I'm taking to big a cut...I get a little agressive so big (100rpm) drops are expected.