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Jet 1642 dimensions?

pencheff

pencheff

Joined
Nov 2, 2005
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Attention Jet 1642 owners: What is the footprint of this lathe? How wide is it from the end of the motor to the end of the tailstock? How deep front to back?

I have one on order with Amazon and am trying to rework my shop floorplan to accomodate it but the manual has no overall width or depth measurements so I'm in the dark. 😎

Thanks.
 
Greg
Measured mine at lunch today.

Base 56 1/2 " long by 20 1/2 wide. The motor protrudes from thehead about 11" and the handle from the tailstock about 8". So if you poisition everything at it greatest distance apart the machine might be 75" long.

I have my headstock positioned inboard so the motor does not protrude past the bed to save space in my very small shop.

Good luck with your new lathe. Spend some time leveling when it comes in to assure good alignment of your centers.
Frank
 
Greg,
And if you are 5'-8" tall or less, do not install the screw-on feet until you check the spindle elevation. You can always install them later. They were a pain to install and another pain to remove.

Also, after you have used it for a few weeks, check the torque on the leg bolts (allen cap screws) and snug them up if necessary, VERY carefully so as not to over tighten.
 
Last edited:
Space saver

Frank Kobilsek said:
I have my headstock positioned inboard so the motor does not protrude past the bed to save space in my very small shop.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the real world measurments Frank. Since I rarely turn long spindles your space saving idea is going to work well for me too.

Has anyone put the Jet 1642 on a mobile base? Or is that asking for trouble?
 
When planning your shop don't forget that the back side of the lathe. Some hollow form makers prefer to stand on the back side of the lathe. However, with the sliding head stock you can use the end. I have a small shop for my lathe 8 x 14 and I have managed to have access to the side and back.

Enjoy the new lathe.

😎
 
I have this lathe as well. (Love it by the way. Solid lathe for the $$)
I have never worked from the back side of it or pictured myself doing it, but I would still leave room on the back side of it. The reason is if you are doing a bowl you will want to yank off the tail stock and slide the head stock all the way to the far end of the lathe so you have easy access for hollowing. You might also want this for doing a bowl that is big enough that you can't do it over the bed. You will want to have enough room behind the lathe so when you stand at the end and hollow you have plenty of room to work on your right side with your longest hollowing tools. I put mine too close the first time and immedietly ran into problems with that and had to scootch it away from the wall a foot or two. A delight to do at 450lbs.

Also, I first tried a mobile stand that I had made (quite beefy) and I was not happy with the solidity. My initial thinking was that I had a small shop and it would be valuable to be able to shove this puppy around to create room. Instead I now have nearly everything else on wheels instead. Works find and actually created more space than if I had wheeled the lathe instead.

I took the lathe off the mobile stand and then took the time to position it well, then once I was happy with that I put 2x boards in the slots they provide and lay as many 60 lb bags of concrete on it as I could fit. Between that and carefully balancing the legs the stability is terrific now, I have enough room to work when hollowing from the end and all is great. Incidentally, if you do use bags of concrete (they were cheaper than bags of sand for me for some reason) You might buy a small roll of wrapping plastic or a truly waterproof tarp and wrap the bags so water from green turnings doesn't get to your bags and ruin them. I think between the weight of the lathe and the weight of the concrete I have about 1,000 lbs holding that puppy down. It is realllllllllly stable.

Hope you enjoy this lathe. I love mine so far and was very please with what I got for the $$.

Dave
 
Use the forum search feature for "mobile base" and you'll find the images I posted on my mobile base solution for the 1642. The original question was for a 1440 Jet by Ken.

BH
 
Bob Hadley said:
Use the forum search feature for "mobile base" and you'll find the images I posted on my mobile base solution for the 1642.
Click to expand...

That answers the question of whether or not it can be done. How stable is it Bob? I noticed you put the lift end under the tailstock. I would have thought you'd put that under the headstock so the drive end would be sitting directly on the ground when not being moved. Any noticeable shake/rattle/roll with the headstock end sitting on wheels?

I have a shop fox mobile base under my cabinet saw that's of similar construction to what you used. I could get another one of those and modify it. Problem is, I'm not a welder.
 
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