Nova 3000 issue

I have a Nova 3000 lathe i have for the most part really ejoyed this lathe. I have had a few issue and have a new one. The motor shaft on the first motor snap as have so many others....no problems Woodcraft had a new motor to me within a week. That motor had some internal problems and failed. Once again Woodcraft sent me a new motor.

The new issue is vibration. Over a period of time I started noticing more and more vibration at first only in my larger turnings and then in smaller and smaller bowls...I contact woodcraft and as before they had several suggestions. I reworked my stand, checked and double checked the bolt up to the stand, inspected everything I and they could think of including tools. Woodcraft sent me a new pivot pin and tighten bolt (not sure what they call these parts) but the vibration is still there....Woodcraft has suggested replacing the spindle bearings but with my current load I hate to loose the turning time to have this done.... Finally to my question....What else could the problem be????? Woodcraft's staff have been right there but I'm really getting aggrevated with this problem. While I may be new to turning i have been woodworking for over 35 yrs and solving machinery problems is nothing new. So if anyone cares to offer a suggestion you may save what little hair I have left....

Greg Robertson Cane River Bowl Works

Reply to
JustMe71301
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Contact Tim at snipped-for-privacy@aol.com or call him at 1-304-295-8166

He >I have a Nova 3000 lathe i have for the most part really ejoyed this lathe. I

Reply to
william kossack

Hi Greg, With your 35 years experience I can't add much, but scalp hair plugging is expensive and the potions for growing new hair don't always work. So I'll take my turn at trying to help.

  1. Take off the belt and check it for smoothness.
  2. Get a stethoscope (cheap at H.F. or make a hardwood horn) and carefully feel & listen EVERYWHERE and over EVERYTHING_ that can move, both with the motor running free and also belted. Also with the spindle free and also belted on each sheave position. You can cobble a way to rotate the free spindle with a motor lightly belted to the spindle threads and/or spin by hand and a large diameter faceplate.
  3. Beginning with the motor and its pulley & set screws->motor holding bolts & hinge mechanism-> spindle pulley & its set screws->Spindle motion, circumferentially and longitudinally->Whatever is on the outboard threads-> etc. etc. IOW _Everything that should or potentially could move, from motor thru tailstock.
  4. After the obvious and usual causes have been ruled out, there is no substitute for a careful, systematic 'run thru' of every thing that can vibrate, carefully listening & feeling with no preconception bias, aka an open mind for what went wrong.
  5. Use an exploded diagram as a roadmap. Remember that the N3K is a proven lathe, and can be made to run ok.
  6. Wear a cap til you have solved the problem.

BTW, does anyone know if Woodcraft would sell 'take-back' lathes real cheap or do they recondition them? I'd sure like to affordably mess with their lemons. Arch

Fortiter,

Reply to
Arch

You know, just the other day I was at my local Woodcraft and I thought that the Nova 3k, they had there was vibrating pretty bad also. Hence the reason I did not buy it despite the $800 out the door price (tax included).

As for the issues, I would recommend running the motor with the belt (and the pulley off). to make sure that the motor is not the problem. You might want to take a look at the motor shaft to make sure that it is not bent with perhaps a tool to test runout. Or, even just having your hand against the motor shaft. the human hand is pretty sensitive to detect those things. Just BE CAREFUL.

Would I be correct in understanding that it worked fine until the shaft broke? If that is the case, I would check if the either of the pulleys were bent (or damaged) when the shaft broke.

Good luck and please keep us posted on your findings and your results.

Rob

Woodcraft's

Reply to
Rob McConachie

Greg.

Is it a vibration, similar to what you get if a piece is out of balance, ie: the same rate as the revs, or is it a rattle type of cibration, at a higher frequency thatn the revs of the spindle.

If the former, chase issues around the motor, loose pully, belt faulty, motor itself Another test is to remove the belt altogether, and turn the thing on, if it vibrates, you know where to look.

If the latter, check things around the spindle mass, again loose pully, failed or failing bearings etc.

I know that the 3000s I have seen, can rattle like a mains power hum, just due to the belt tension, something to do with the motor I think. Alignemnt of the pullys is also very important.

Personally, I would be surprised if the problem is with the lathe. My bet would be either the motor or the set up of the belt tension and alignemnet

Regards Rex Haslip Auckland New Zealand

Woodcraft's

Reply to
Rex Haslip

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