My New Lathe Arrived

[Jack Norfleet]

My Jet 1642-2 arrived today and I just finished assembling it. It arrived undamaged.

Overall I am exstatic about it. The assembly was simple but the parts were pretty heavy.

I do have two complaints though.

The paint flaked off very easily in a couple of places. Does anyone know where I can get touch up paint to prevent corrosion?

The motor gives off a high pitched electrical whine at low speeds. Is this normal?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Let me be the first to congrat you on your new lathe! Looks great! You are going to love it. Already sent you a PM on the motor.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats on the new lathe Jack! Give us review after you've used it for a while!

[Dave NMI Taylor]

Gee Whiz Jack,

I just set mine up saturday, This is amazing someone else is spending as much money as me.

BTW what is the deal with the motor, is there something I should know?

I'll post pics this weekend, I just built the shelves for it. Still looking at where to store the tools.

[John Hart]

Congratulations! Looks pretty sweet.
My lathe can also "sing" a bit at lower speeds. It is due to the PWM circuit. Don't know if that's the case with yours.

[Jack Norfleet]

BTW what is the deal with the motor, is there something I should know?


Dave,

Apparently the motor whine is normal. I have never turned on anything other than my Delta Midi so I had not heard it before.

Jack

[George Tokarev]

Time was, JET included some touchup paint with their machines. I actually have some, but your lathe is white, not blue like the machine mine came with. :(

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations, Jack!

[Mark Pruitt]

Congrats on the new spinny thing! I see you have a Unisaw too. Clean the top of it off, lower the blade and remove the guard and fence. You need that space to put your spinny stuff!!!:D :D :D I swear, I'm closer to the truth with that than you might imagine...:p

I think I would contact WMH about the noise, just for peace of mind.

[Jack Norfleet]

Congrats on the new spinny thing! I see you have a Unisaw too. Clean the top of it off, lower the blade and remove the guard and fence. You need that space to put your spinny stuff!!!:D :D :D I swear, I'm closer to the truth with that than you might imagine...:p

What?.. You mean I need more than a 3/8" spindle gouge to make round things? My wife may not understand.

[Jim Dunn]

You may as well tell your wife she needs to get a job:) Your addition just became more addictive, if that's possible.

[Mike Jory]

Jack,
When I received my Jet lathe I called WMH and said there was a scratch that paint touch up would fix nicely. They sent me a spary can of "Jet White" by someone with the correct color.

Congratulations on the lathe. That's exactly the one I wanted to graduate to!
Mike

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Congrats Jack!! SWEET!! Reminds me of how my 1442VSK looked when I set it up. It doesn't look that pretty now but still works as good as the day I unpacked it. I know you will spend many happy hours turning to your hearts content. Let me warn you however, When the LOYL goes to pry your reluctant fingers from from the gouge and take you away from your baby, the pain of departure is devastating. You'll just have to learn to live with it like the rest of us I guess. So have fun when you can and enjoy every moment, you'll be a happy broke spinner. Another full scale victim of the Vortex.:)

[Steve Clardy]

Congrats on the new lathe!

[Dominic Greco]

Glad to see another person joining the ranks of the "Jet 1642 club"! I know you are just gonna' love turning on that lathe. I know I sure do.:D

I know what you're talking about when you say the motor "whines" a bit at low speeds. Mine does that as well. But it's pretty high pitched and I don't even notice it now. Especially when the DC and air cleaner are on.

After sitting there for 5 years gathering dust (literally) I finally removed the tool basket. What a waste of space that thing is! Now I have room to store my other big turning accessories.:rolleyes:

BTW, are you eventually going to add a ballast box?

[Jack Norfleet]

BTW, are you eventually going to add a ballast box?

Dominic

Some day if I start turning bigger items I may build a ballast box like yours.

Currently, my experience consists of pens and some ornaments and I am just starting to do spindles. I hope to take the spindle turning class at the Orlando Woodcraft this Sunday.

BTW, both of your articles were very helpful when I was researching which lathe I wanted to buy. Thank you for posting them.

Jack

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Lookin' GOOD, Jack. Let's see something so we know it works!

Bruce

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the new lathe Jack. Now make some chips.

[Jack Norfleet]

Congrats on the new lathe Jack. Now make some chips.

Chips I do well. It is what's left that not so good.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack......You're right in there with the best of us at making chips then!

[Bill Boehme]

Great looking machine. Congratulations. Concerning the question about motor whine -- that is typical of VFD drives. It is a result of the drive scheme, known as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). The typical PWM frequency is about 2.5 kHz which is close to the peak of human hearing sensitivity. It is better than earlier drives that used a 1 kHz PWM frequency. Many drive have the capability to increase the PWM frequency to make it less noticeable, but the downside is that raising the PWM frequency lowers the maximum HP capability of the drive (note that I said "drive" and not "motor"). In systems like the Jet and most other woodturning lathes, the drive is matched to the motor size for a PWM frequency of 2.5 kHz. In order to operate at a PWM frequency of 5 kHz or 8 kHz for quiet operation you would have to choose one of the following two options:
Use the same drive, but replace the motor with a smaller one of about half the horsepower. This is not a very palatable option.:(:(
Keep the same motor, but get a larger drive that can handle your motor when it is operating at 8 kHz PWM frequency. Translation: spend more $$.:(There is, of course, a third option of wearing ear plugs or turn up the radio, or sing:eek:. Some of us are hearing challenged and don't notice the whining. If the noise bothers you too much, I am one of those hearing challenged who wouldn't mind taking the lathe off your hands -- what are friends for anyway?:D

Bill

[Tom Sherman]

Kudos on the new lathe Jack Know what ya mean about making chips it the projects that take practice.

[Barry Stratton]

Chips I do well. It is what's left that not so good.

Sounds like my turning skills!!

Congrats on the new toy.