Jet 1442 motor going bad.

[Bill Wyko]

I was suprized to find out my motor is not spinning freely. It still runs but I can tell it's on death row. I was suprized Jet was very easy to deal with to obtail warranty. They said to send a copy of my recipt & the sticker on the motor & they will send a replacement. I wasn't clear as to what I'm suppose to do with the old one. I'll find out when I get the info together for them. In theser times it's nice to have an easy transaction with a tool maker. I'll post back when I get the replacement motor.

 

[Bill Boehme]

If not spinning freely is the only issue then worn bearings are the problem. They are quite easy to replace and cheap.

 

[Dave W]

I wasn't clear as to what I'm suppose to do with the old one. I'll find out when I get the info together for them.

Bill in all my dealings with parts from Jet when I had the 1442, they just sent the new, and I just threw out the old.

I too am wondering about the bearings in your lathe. The ones Jet uses and kept sending me did not hold up well. In the end for both my 1442 and 1642 I ended up switching them out to the "Nachi" brand sealed bearings. They use a triple lip design. I figured the more lips they have the less dust could enter.

I have ordered a few times from the following company and have found them to be quite a pleasure to deal with. Fast shipping to boot: http://www.vxb.com/
Mods if this link is not appropriate please delete it

 

[Bill Boehme]

Bill in all my dealings with parts from Jet when I had the 1442, they just sent the new, and I just threw out the old.

I too am wondering about the bearings in your lathe. The ones Jet uses and kept sending me did not hold up well. In the end for both my 1442 and 1642 I ended up switching them out to the "Nachi" brand sealed bearings. They use a triple lip design. I figured the more lips they have the less dust could enter.

I have ordered a few times from the following company and have found them to be quite a pleasure to deal with. Fast shipping to boot: http://www.vxb.com/
Mods if this link is not appropriate please delete it

There is no problem with a link to a commercial site as long as it is directly relevant to the topic and the topic is about woodturning.

All of the rubber sealed bearings use what is known as labyrinth seals which is how Nachi describes their labyrinth seal "lips". Overall, I would put that brand on the lower end of bearings. More important than "lips" would be things like clearance, loading, and rated speed. One problem in choosing bearings are all of the different ways of stating performance characteristics since a lot of manufacturers don't want to make an apples-to-apples comparison to the competition. And, of course, Europe, the US, and Asia couldn't possibly tolerate the idea of using comparable standards.

I was speaking of motor bearings in my previous post, which are typically open on one side. It appears that you are talking about headstock spindle bearings since you mentioned dust.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I was suprized to find out my motor is not spinning freely.

I had another thought. How did you determine that the motor is not spinning "freely"? Don't expect it to be too free if you are turning it by hand with the belt removed because it has a centrifugal switch that will cause some friction at low speed and until the motor is almost up to full speed. If it is not spinning freely then you should be able to hear some sort of noise -- clicking, growling, scraping, etc.

 

[Bill Wyko]

Yea ,the motor sounds like a stuck pig and when I shut it off it's like locking up the brakes. It stops immediately. I released the tension on the belt and the shaft on the lathe turns freely but the motor I can barely turn with my hand. Good news though, one of my friends needed a new alarm and a DVD for his car. It just so happened he has a new in the box vs1442 just like mine. Needless to say, we made the trade. I'll also be getting a Jet Mortise machine in the deal which is also new. (I also do flat work building humidors AKA Humidor Minister) Luckily I also have 2 wood shops, one at home and one at my stereo business. Once the old lathe is fixed I'll set one up at work. Good thing I'm the boss or I might get in trouble for turning at work.😀

 

[Bill Boehme]

Well, I would go ahead and open up the motor and R&R the bearings. However, if you get a strong ozone smell when the motor is opened, just throw it away. Otherwise ....

If the bearing comes out with the armature, make sure that the shaft is polished absolutely smooth and free of any nicks and burs before pulling the bearing. Also put a slight chamfer on the shaft keyway slot because sometimes the edges get raised if the keystock fits very tightly. If a puller is required to remove the bearing from the shaft, make sure that it grabs the bearing by the inner race and have the shaft lubricated with a light machine oil. Other times you will find a snap ring retainer holding the bearing in the end cap. The bearings usually are not high friction fits to the motor end caps. On high quality industrial motors, you will probably find a grease zerk on the perimeter of the end cap and a shroud with shaft seal around the bearing. The replacement bearing should be rated for tighter than normal clearance and high RPM.

 

[Gretch Flo]

Well, I would go ahead and open up the motor and R&R the bearings. However, if you get a strong ozone smell when the motor is opened, just throw it away. Otherwise ....

If the bearing comes out with the armature, make sure that the shaft is polished absolutely smooth and free of any nicks and burs before pulling the bearing. Also put a slight chamfer on the shaft keyway slot because sometimes the edges get raised if the keystock fits very tightly. If a puller is required to remove the bearing from the shaft, make sure that it grabs the bearing by the inner race and have the shaft lubricated with a light machine oil. Other times you will find a snap ring retainer holding the bearing in the end cap. The bearings usually are not high friction fits to the motor end caps. On high quality industrial motors, you will probably find a grease zerk on the perimeter of the end cap and a shroud with shaft seal around the bearing. The replacement bearing should be rated for tighter than normal clearance and high RPM.

Since this motor is under warranty, not sure Bill would go to this trouble, especially if this is foreign territory for him, Gretch

 

[Bill Wyko]

Well the good news is, they are sending a new motor. More good news is, I did a trade for a new in the box vs1442. Even more good news, my friend I traded with threw in all sorts of awesome wood including a piece of Gabon Ebony 8/4x6x36 and a piece of ironwood the same size and a few other exotics. We both feel we scored. 😀
Now I can have a lathe at work and at home. What a great day.😀