Bed extension for a JWL 1642

Re: Bed extension for a JWL 1642

William Duffield

Jet has discontinued the JWL 1642 and the JWL 1442, which share bed and leg parts.

I don't believe I ever saw an 18" extension offered for those lathes.

Jet did offer 57" bed extensions, which included a leg. They are also discontinued, but still available online from various sources. The JET part number is 708347. This extension uses the same castings as the bed and one leg of the original lathe.

IMHO, the reason you don't want a cantilevered 18" extension has to do with the flexibility of the bed on those lathes, which is not as stiff as it could be. You can set the lathe up and level it, and manually lift one leg off the floor almost an inch, twisting the bed in the process. (It returns to level as soon as you release it. It is a good idea to use winding sticks when setting up and leveling the lathe bed, to make sure the headstock and tailstock stay in alignment. It is also a good idea to build a ballast box, supported by the brackets built into the legs, that you can fill with sand.) Adding a bed extension supported only on one end would unacceptably increase the vibrations developed while turning. Adding a 57" extension, OTOH, with box of rocks hung underneath, doesn't have that problem.

Re: Oops! I Stand Corrected

William Duffield

A little further research shows that there is or was available a 20" bed extension for the JWL 1442 and JWL 1642. For example:

http://www.equipmentsalesandsurplus.com/product_p/708-346.htm

I would still be a little leery of using one, for the reasons I outlined in my previous post.

Re: Bed extension for a JWL 1642

Ivan Clark

I got mine from my local Woodcraft store during one of the Jet sales.

It might not hurt to call your nearby woodworking stores to see if any of them still have one in stock.