Hello All! I need some help with my Jet 14/42 lathe

[Stephen Carey]

I am having a problem with the headstock on my lathe sitting flush on the ways.

A little background, I purchased the lathe used maybe 4 years ago. Worked as it should no issues. A couple of months ago, I wanted to replace the spindle bearings front and rear, the drive belt and needed to replace the rear flange on the versi-drive, not sure if thats the correct terminology, due to a crack. Any I got the parts from Jet and was I was able to take it apart and put the bearings in place however I was unable to piece together the rest of the working parts in the headstock.

So I found a Jet repair facility near me and called them and they told me they really only work on Jet's metal manufacturing equipment, but if I was interested I could bring the machine to them shop and they would take a look at it. So I told them I could bring the headstock to them as it was the easiest option me to move by myself.

I brought all the pieces and the headstock to them and they were able to put it all back together.

When I put the headstock on it doesn't sit flush, or plumb on the ways. There is about a 1/4" gap on one corner and an 1/8" gap on the other, on the rear of the headstock. I unscrewed the bolt from the cam underneath but that did nothing. There is nothing stuck or sitting under the headstock between the headstock or the ways. I even tried to clamp down the rear of the headstock using bar clamps and it didn't budge.

I have a feeling it has something to do with the piece the headstock rotates on but am unable to see it.

Any suggestions or advice would be very appreciated. Thank you.

Steve

 

[robo hippy]

Hmm, for it to be off by that much, I would say call the place that did the 'repair' work up and tell them you need to bring it back. If it sat flush before, it should still sit flush after getting it back. I think those 14/42 lathes all had a 'reeves' drive on them, which are step pulleys that you can change up and down with a lever on the headstock. The first pivoting headstock lathes I was were the Jet ones, and I think it was this model. I did not like the early pivoting set ups at all back then. Most of the more modern ones work far better. Not sure if your lathe has a sliding headstock option or not.

robo hippy

 

[Stephen Carey]

Hi Reed, Reeves drive. That's what it is. Thanks. Yes I am able to slide the head stock back and forth as well. When I got the lathe I thought it might be a nice option to have the rotating head stock but I haven't really found one. Regarding the step pulleys, this lathe doesn't have step pulleys. They are two tapered discs with grooves. They sit facing each other with the tapers forward and with the grooves offset from the other, one sits inside the other at the smaller end of the taper. The belt sits between and when you change the speed the discs either move together or apart depending on speed. If that makes any sense. I will try to take a picture.

 

[Dean Center]

Regarding the step pulleys, this lathe doesn't have step pulleys. They are two tapered discs with grooves. They sit facing each other with the tapers forward

Stephen, I have spent a fair amount of time inside the headstock of a couple of Reeves drive lathes, as have some other folks on here. If I am misunderstanding your last note, I apologize, but I'm concerned the Reeves drive is not assembled correctly.

The pulley halves are called sheaves. As you know, one is fixed and the other moves. They should be oriented so that the tapered sides face each other, not both tapering sides toward the tailstock. (When you move the lever to change speeds, the mobile sheave (?sheaf) moves toward or away from the fixed sheave. When it moves closer, the belt moves higher in between the sheaves, which has the effect of increasing the pulley diameter, and vice versa.) When you reassemble, you need to lubricate the mobile sheave well.

This should not cause the tilt you're noticing, however. On that issue, I agree with Reed--if it came back from the shop cockeyed, they should either fix it right, or explain to you why it's happening and what you need to do differently to assemble correctly.

 

[Bill Alston]

I had a reeves drive lathe some years ago and if I remember correctly the head rotates on a separate metal ring? If this is the case it’s probably just become loose and got “canted”? Try removing it and putting it back straight.

 

[Stephen Carey]

The pulley halves are called sheaves. As you know, one is fixed and the other moves. They should be oriented so that the tapered sides face each other, not both tapering sides toward the tailstock. (When you move the lever to change speeds, the mobile sheave (?sheaf) moves toward or away from the fixed sheave. When it moves closer, the belt moves higher in between the sheaves, which has the effect of increasing the pulley diameter, and vice versa.) When you reassemble, you need to lubricate the mobile sheave well.

Hi Dean, thank you for correct part names, I am terrible at getting that stuff correct most of the time. Yes this is how it was assembled.

I had a reeves drive lathe some years ago and if I remember correctly the head rotates on a separate metal ring? If this is the case it’s probably just become loose and got “canted”? Try removing it and putting it back straight.

Hi Bill, yes I think you are correct. That plate is canted. Do you have any suggestion for trying to get the plate to sit flat with out having to take everything apart?

 

[Bill Alston]

As I remember it’s a bit tricky. The part is I believe cast iron so be careful, but I’d try gently tapping it with a rubber mallet with the head on its side. It’s then a matter of it not getting canted again when you put the head back on the lathe bed.