Jet 1642 EVS

[Jeff Walters]

I may have the opportunity to get a Jet 1462 lathe soon. Just wondering that since they haven’t made this model since about 2015, what would be. Fir price for it. Is it even worth my time?
Thanks,
Jeff

[Zachary Hoyt]

I bid on one last summer in a school auction (a 2 HP 1642) and was the back bidder at about $1500 with buyer's premium and such. They are supposed to be a quite good lathe from what I read prior to bidding on that one, and I'd like to find one someday, or something about that size and with a good low speed.

[Dwight Rutherford]

The Jet 1642 is an excellent lathe. I bought mine 15 years ago and have used it 5 days a week since then. If well maintained you should expect it to be very reliable.

[Reed Gray]

Our club has one, the 220 model. Pretty sure that they can be wired for either 110 or 220, but I am not an electrician. It is a very good lathe. Any parts on it should be replaceable. Ones that go out are the on/off knob/button, and the variable speed control, and I am pretty sure those can be bought through almost any electrical supply place.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a 1640 2 hp, I paid $2200 many years ago and have had no problems. It's a good lathe IMO. The new 1642 is running around $3K so there's your price range I would think. The 120V 1.5 hp was running $1800 or so at the time I bought it. No, I really cant remember when but it must be around 10 years ago when I bought it.

[Robert Henrickson]

I have had a 1642 (110) for 12-14 years. I love it. At one point, I had an opportunity to buy a used 3520B. I did so, but never liked it as much as the 1642 which I did NOT sell. After a couple years, I bought a new lathe (the fabled "last lathe"). I had no hesitation about selling the 3520B -- for 85% of what I had paid. I don't miss it. I still own the 1642. There was very little I could do on the 3520 that I couldn't on the 1642, and the 1642 had a longer bed without need for an extension. (I did have the extension for the 3520).

[Russell Neyman]

Add my name to the list of Jet 1642 EVR fans. I bought mine used two years ago for $1300 and use it every darn day, sometimes for 10-12 hours. No complaints.

[Jeff Walters]

I appreciate all the responses. I was curious since it hasn’t been made in a while, that parts may be hard to get. That’s why I am asking.
Jeff

[Richard Coers]

I have one, bought a used 1 1/2hp for $1,000 and felt like I stole it. The only issue I've heard about it is the on off switch getting sawdust in it and acting up. Bearings are standard parts at any bearing supply house, and I've never heard anything else wearing out.

[John K Jordan]

I may have the opportunity to get a Jet 1462 lathe soon. Just wondering that since they haven’t made this model since about 2015, what would be. Fir price for it. Is it even worth my time?
Thanks,
Jeff

I can't help with the fair price guess but I'll say the lathe itself, even with the age, is excellent. I have two of them. I keep one in the shop as a secondary lathe to a larger one.

471117

I keep the second one in storage as a spare or for the rare occasion when I have more than two people turning at once.

I bought the first new and the second one used, maybe 7-8 years ago, paid $1600 for it then.
Our turning club has one for club demos and workshops. I've seen them in other clubs too.

I did have the switch on one quit when it filled with fine sawdust but I took it apart, cleaned it out, and sealed it well so that wouldn't happen again.
I had a VFD quit and replaced it with an inexpensive one - VFDs are widely available these days and not difficult to set up.
The mechanical parts - headstock, motor, tailstock, banjo, etc have been flawless.

JKJ

[Russell Neyman]

,,, The only issue I've heard about it is the on off switch getting sawdust in it and acting up.....

I was forewarned of that switch problem, too, and mine began to falter, occasionally refusing to start. I delayed buying a replacement and instead sprayed it with contact cleaner followed by a blast of compressed air. Nary a flicker of issues since.

[Mike Tilley]

John the vfd is out on my 1642 where did you find a cheaper replacement jet almost $700.
Did it come ready to use when you purchased it ?
thanks

[John K Jordan]

John the vfd is out on my 1642 where did you find a cheaper replacement jet almost $700.
Did it come ready to use when you purchased it ?
thanks

Mike,

The lathe I fixed is the 110v version of the 1642. Do you have that one or the 220v model?

It was in 2015 and I've forgotten a lot but, I found some emails. Harvey Meyer suggested this one KBDF-24D or KBDF-27D, available from several suppliers at the time. It looks like both are still available, even Amazon lists them.

I did some checking on the Jet motor specs and bought one or the other, can't remember but I could try to check tomorrow if you have the same model of lathe. I can't find who I bought it from or how much I paid.

From following later conversations I understand there plenty of options. Some may be hard to get now if they come from China. Some people have bought them to get variable speed tools like bench grinders and drill presses, changing the motors out to 3-phase if needed.

Since what I got is not a Delta S1 it was NOT a plug and play solution - I had to figure out the wiring which was a tiny bit different from the Delta that came on the Jet, but that wasn't hard - just a ground wire change on the control circuit I think. I also had to decipher the parameters since it didn't have parameter options identical to the Delta and some of the parameters had different names. Fortunately, I had made a list of the parameters Jet had set on the Delta (I just wrote down those different from the defaults) so I got it working without too much effort. I think I still have that list for the 110v version of the Jet but not for the 220v version. BTW, Jet had changed only a few parameters from the defaults on the Delta.

Another option might be buy the appropriate Delta S1 VFD from someone besides Jet. Last time I checked the same unit was a LOT cheaper than the extortion that Jet demands. Bought this way it would not come programmed for the lathe but the parameters are easy to enter and the wiring would be identical. This assumes Delta still sells the same VFD, I haven't checked.

JKJ

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I was forewarned of that switch problem, too, and mine began to falter, occasionally refusing to start. I delayed buying a replacement and instead sprayed it with contact cleaner followed by a blast of compressed air. Nary a flicker of issues since.

Hi!
Where/what did you spray? Did you take apart the switch? Front under the knob? Back by the connections? Inquiring minds want to know....
TIA

[Russell Neyman]

Hi!
Where/what did you spray? Did you take apart the switch? Front under the knob? Back by the connections? Inquiring minds want to know....
TIA

I just pulled the assembly out and sprayed into the obvious seams and openings. Pretty basic.

[Paul Haus]

I just pulled the assembly out and sprayed into the obvious seams and openings. Pretty basic.
I've had a Jet 1642 for 10-15 years now and my on-off switch did go bad. I checked through Jet and the 'assembly' was something like $70-$100 when I looked for it several years back. From what I remember it was for more than just the switch, it had the button and some other stuff with it IIRC, I checked on Ebay and found the switch for something like $10, so I bought 2, one for immediate use and one to go on the parts shelf. Working fine but I always have another if ever needed.
I thought about trying to clean the old one, but those usually don't hold for me so I got a replacement.
My 2 cents.

[Reed Gray]

My 3520A had the head stock bearings go out. I was able to buy the bearings, and a belt, and get it repaired by a fix it shop for less than I could get the parts for through PM/Jet. Most parts are 'off the shelf' types and can be had locally, and some times you can get better parts.

robo hippy

[Dave Halter]

I bought my 1.5hp 1642EVS in 2007. I don’t turn every day, but it’s had a lot of hours put on it in 15 years and I’ve never had a problem with it. I have gotten into the habit of unplugging it whenever I’m not using it, because I’ve heard of voltage spikes (lightning) frying the VFD.

[Jeff Walters]

Hi All,
So it may be a month yet before I learn if I can get the 16/42 or not. I want to thank everyone for all of the input. If it does not work out then I will probably get a Laguna 18/36 but we’ll have to see. I will update this thread once a decision has been made.
Jeff