Jet 1642 advice/help/somthing....

[casey herring]

Hey everybody, I look at this site daily but have yet to have the nerve to say anything until today! I just bought a used Jet 1642 1.5hp version with all kinds of accessories and tools and... things i don't even know what they are! I got the lathe and everything that came with it for $850 which I believe is a decent deal, however the previous owner didn't now what he had in terms of the lathe itself and certainly not anything about the accessories so I was hoping some of you very knowledgeable people could help me identify what i have. (I'm a furniture maker, and this is my first lathe so I REALLY don't know anything about them or accessories) I will post pictures of all the items that came with the lather as soon and I figure out how to do that, but in the meantime I was also hoping someone here could shed some light on an issue I am having.

Issue: the tailstock, when turned with the wheel to extend the live center does not seem to push out or retract the live center. it just turns freely, but nothing happens in terms of the center being moved. could some one here please shed some light (if there is indeed light to be shed) on what my be the issue?

thanks
Casey

[Dwight Rutherford]

Casey,
For starters, do you have the operators manual for your 1642? If not, here is one. http://content.jettools.com/assets/manuals/708359_man_EN.pdf
when you turn the handle on the end of the tailstock, does the quill advance and retract? If not, the screw attached to the handle is not engaging the quill.
If the quill is advancing and retracting then the live center may not be long enough for the auto eject. Could happen with an after-market live center. Jet live centers will eject.
If the quill lock screw is missing or out too far, the quill itself could just be turning. If all else fails, PM me and we can talk.
P.S. I have a Jet 1642 just like yours.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

on the quill, there is a slot

on the tailstock, there is a spring-loaded handle (#23 on the parts list in the manual provided by Dwight)

It's been a while since I used a 1642 - but I believe that handle should be screwed in just enough to engage the slot. That will stop the quill from rotating, and force it to move in and out like it's supposed to do.

[Charlie Zellner]

Hi Casey, in reference to the tail stock not ejecting the live center, if the live enter is not the original one that came with the lathe it might not. My Jet lathe won't eject an after market cone center I bought either. I merely extend it and place some tool or block of wood behind the cone and retract the screw until the cone presses against the block and the tail stock. It pops right out.

[casey herring]

thank you all so much for the response, I will look at the diagram and see if I can wrap my head around how it is suppose to function and understand why it is not. what seems like there is something keeping the quill from catching when turning the hand wheel, it simply threads and de-threads without the quill ever moving.

Dwight, I will PM you. thanks you

[Joe Bradshaw]

Casey, your location would be a big help. Probably there are a lot of Creekers near you and could help. Also, check out a local woodturning club.
Joe

[casey herring]

That is a great point Joe, thank you for mentioning that. I am in Vancouver Washington. I will look into woodturners clubs. I know of woodworking guild of Oregon but I don't yet know of any woodturners clubs.

[James Combs]

Hi Casey, Welcome to the forum. I have a Jet 1642 so I took a few minutes and took some pics of then tail-stock disassembled and reassembled.

Here is what the internal parts should look like.
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I wasn't trying to but I did create similar symptoms to what you describe when I went to put it back together. I slipped the hand wheel back onto it's shaft and did not re-tighten the set screws sufficiently. As I was turning the wheel to pull the quill back in the quill was not moving. What I didn't realize was that the threaded rod was pulling its self out of the hand-wheel instead of pulling on the quill. The hand-wheel eventually fell off into my hand:o. You might want to check the setscrews on the wheel to see if they are tight.

Here is the way it should be reassembled.
1st - Start the lead screw into the quill and inch or so. It is a left hand thread at this point. Make sure it is well lubricated with some light oil.
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As you reassemble be sure to lube all the components. I use 3-ones 20 wt. oil.
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Insert the assembly into the tail-stock body making sure the slot in the quill lines up with the quill stop screw.
311827311826

Push the quill and lead screw into the TS until the lead screw hand-wheel mount protrudes from the body. Mount the hand wheel and tighten the set screws. One set screw should be on the flat of the mount. A little oil should be added to the gap between the hand-wheel and the TS casting.
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The flange on the handle end of the lead screw prevents it from being pulled out to the right in this pic and the set screws in the hand-wheel prevent it moving to the left, except when you don't tighten them like I forgot to do(see above).
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(A couple more pics in the next post.)

[James Combs]

A couple more points:

Make sure the quill lock screw is in the slot before tightening it. The quill can be damaged if it isn't, DAMHIKT.:o

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The quill extends when the handle is turned CW as viewed in this pic.
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Good luck and that was a great bargain for a 1642.

[casey herring]

James,
THANK YOU for that thorough explanation. I am going to go take it apart and put it back together in the manner you have explained and showed (Thanks for the pictures!!!)

I will let you know how it goes.

again, for what it is worth I am very grateful for all of your responses.

[Ryan Mooney]

Hey Casey,

Welcome to the world of making square things round. I'm just a bit up river from you in the Gorge. I don't get down to Portland/Vancouver that much but did look up what clubs were around a while back (but haven't actually gone to any of them since its a bit far).

Anyway here's the short list that I know of:

http://www.cascadewoodturners.com/
https://nwwt.wildapricot.org/
http://woodturningguild.com/ And just a bit further south:
http://www.willamettevalleywoodturners.com/

[casey herring]

Now that I see it I believe my problem was that I inserted the lead screw from the back of the TS and not through the front. so when i did it there was a no flange inside of the TS preventing it from moving!

[James Combs]

Now that I see it I believe my problem was that I inserted the lead screw from the back of the TS and not through the front. so when i did it there was a no flange inside of the TS preventing it from moving!
That will do it every time.:) Don't feel bad we've all done things like that.

[Russell Neyman]

That is a great point Joe, thank you for mentioning that. I am in Vancouver Washington. I will look into woodturners clubs. I know of woodworking guild of Oregon but I don't yet know of any woodturners clubs.

Our club is north of you in the Bremerton area but I can tell you that your in one of the true "hotbeds" for woodturning on Earth. If you don't connect with the Vancouver club, contact Al Price of the Olympia club. All great guys who will be delighted to help you. Of course, if you're headed our way, stop in to see us, too. In fact, I' scheduled to drive to Portland in the next 2-3 weeks (to pick up some gum maple) and perhaps we could connect for a while. I'm extremely familiar with that particular lathe and use it all the time.