• Changing A Jet 1642 On/Off Switch Tutorial

 Changing A Jet 1642 On/Off Switch Tutorial
This is ment to be a tutorial for repairing a Jet 1642 wood lathe which does not want to turn on and the failure is assumed to be the On/Off switch. In
many wood workers online forums there are posts about problems with On/Off switches so I thought I would post some pics of a recent change-out
of the On/Off switch for my 2Hp Jet 1642. I am pretty sure the procedure will work for the 1.5Hp Jet 1642 as well as some of clones such as the
Grizzly G0632 and G0698. I believe there is also an older Laguna lathe that was also a clone of the Jet. In any case if what you see here looks like
your lathe On/Off switch then the procedure should work for you.
FIRST THING I DID WAS - UNPLUG THE LATHE
I then removed the switch mounting plate from the lathe.
I disconnected three(3) wires from the On/Off switch, a yellow to the left(bottom) and a blue and a white to the right(top) of the switch.
There is no need to remove the actuator knob, it is not likely to be the problem. As long as it can be snapped in and out and it stays in place it is
probably OK.
By inserting a small Philips screwdriver into a small slot at the top(when installed in lathe) of the switch and prying slightly on the release
mechanism I released the switch "base"(my terminology) from the actuator.
The actual switch is attached to the switch base by a spring loaded hook mechanism. A small flat bladed screwdriver inserted into a slot in the
mechanism and a slight prying releases the switch from the base.
With the hook released the switch will tilt up and out of the base.
A few weeks back(before this tutorial) I had call Jet and they replaced the entire switch under warranty. My initial fix while waiting on the
replacement was to flush the old switch a couple times with alcohol and air hose it out. That corrected the problem until I go the new switch. It wasn't
long after I got the switch that it started acting up again so I went ahead and replaced it. When I received my warranty replacement switch it included
the entire switch with actuator and switch base. It also came with the switch mounted on one side of the base instead of in the center.
It probably doesn't matter about the location but to avoid any problems with getting the complete assembly back into the hole in the head stock I
moved the switch to the center like the original.
I did not use the actuator and base that came with the switch but it will go into my spare parts drawer "just in case".
I still have a couple years warranty on the lathe but I found these on eBay at six for $21 so I ordered them, now I should be set for about any On/Off
failure situation.
I just reversed the above process when I reinstalled the new switch. The switch just snaps into the base without the aid of tools and the base snaps
back onto the actuator again without the aid of tools. I reassembled the wires back to their original locations on the new switch and then reinstalled
the whole switch speed control assemble back into the headstock. After pluging it back in everything worked like a charm, no more intermittent
problems.
Some additional thoughts.
In the previous posts we saw that the switch could be mounted in the center or off to the side(either side) of the base
The design of the actuator/base also allows multiple switches to be mounted to it. They can be mounted side beside or stacked on top of each other.
Here is what mine would look like if it had two switches on it. With a little bit of thought the second switch could be used to start a
secondary/associated piece of equipment when the lathe is turned on, perhaps a dedicated dust collector or such. Lots of possibilities.
Another minor issue:
Over time the adhesive backed decal on my switch/speed control plate assembly has started peeling off.
I kept it from getting worse by cutting a piece of clear acrylic(scrap from a picture frame project) and drilling it to fit under the plate retaining screw.
One of these days I am going to cut a bigger piece and cover the whole plate.
That concludes my switch replacement post, I hope it is helpful for someone.