Rikon 1642

[Bill Sherman]

I looked at this lathe yesterday and it looks exactly like the Jet 1642. It was on sale for $1300. Does anyone have any info on this lathe?

Bill

[John Keeton]

I was not even aware of this lathe!! With a 5 year guarantee, it sure looks like a competitor - and, looks to be nearly identical to the Jet. There appears to be a slight difference in the look of the face of the headstock, and, of course, the color of the stand. Otherwise - pretty darn close!!

[Bill Sherman]

I did notice one fit issue, where the legs attach to the ways was off a bit. Thats not a big deal especially at this price point. I did run the tail stock up to the drive point and they lined up nicely.

[Donny Lawson]

My local woodcraft store uses these lathes in their workshop during classes and seem to work well. If you would like you can call and ask their opinion. I think they have 4 of them in use and will open today at 1:00 I think. 423-826-0163. It's in Chatt. Tenn.

[Bill Sherman]

The Rikon website says it is 1 1/2 hp. 230 volts ..... so this needs 220 power for a 1 1/2 hp?

[Brian Libby]

Has to be a mistake! the next model up is 1 1/2 hp and is 110/220V.

[Tom Caldwell]

Checked out the owners manual and parts diagram and it appears that the headstock is designed for belt replacement without removing the spindle which eases belt replacement considerably but doesn't provide as good support by the bearings as in the Jet.

[Rich Aldrich]

The input power to the lathe probably is 110V, but variable speed drives convert the power to 220V three phase.

[Jon Prouty]

The Rikon website says it is 1 1/2 hp. 230 volts ..... so this needs 220 power for a 1 1/2 hp?

I stopped by Woodcraft today and checked out this new lathe. The sticker says 230V and 1.5 HP. I thought it was weird too. I didn't have my cell with me to snap a pic - forgot it ont he charger at the office.

Looks a lot like the Jet... they didn't have a Jet so I could compare side by side and I am not a Jet owner so my observations were just casual.

Interesting option for all those looking at the Jet for less money.

JP

[Thom Sturgill]

Looking at the picture, it appears the bed casting is the same depth from end to end. The Jet is deeper in the middle, which should provide some stiffening, especially if the head is moved to the center of the lathe.

[John Keeton]

I happened to be at Woodcraft today, and inspected this lathe side by side with the Jet. There are obvious differences. The bed/ways are considerably lighter in mass and weight, the legs are less massive and do not splay as wide, the handwheel end of the spindle is covered and the cover must be raised to access the "wheel/handle" (a real issue for me), the on/off switch requires a quarter turn "safety" twist to turn it on (a real aggravation), and overall the lathe appears much lighter duty. I did not turn on it, and my observations were done quickly. One of the employees reported that when doing a platter class, the turner on the Rikon was having some difficulty with operating the lathe, but she could not attribute that totally to the lathe - though she suspected that was part of the problem.

Woodcraft's pricing placed the two lathes about $300 apart. Were I choosing between the two, I would be drawn to the Jet. However, if money was tight, the lathe appeared to be adequate for the price range.

Just thought I would revive this thread for anyone interested.

[Bill Sherman]

Thanks for all the info. From what I have read here I would pay the extra for the Jet.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I was excited when I saw that to think that the field was getting deeper and pricing more competitive, but just looking at the pics (low quality on Rikon's low-budget web site) reveals the issues noted by others. From the image it is apparent that it is much less substantial than the Jet in several areas. It also has the swivel/sliding head which seems to be redundant. It looks like the Grizzly G0632 and I'm guessing Rikon just picked up on that same model from the manufacturer that Grizz uses.