Researching my lathe

Hi Prometheus

I'm with Derek on the spindle thread, if you have a Oneway chuck, also the Stronghold and the Talon, they have RH and LH thread in the 1"8 adaptor, it is a very common thing to have LH thread on the outboard spindle part. As for the 220V verses the 110V, the wire has less resistance for the same amount of power at 220V, in other words you can get more power through the same wire at higher voltage, and that would be all the difference, IMO. Any increase in HP would only be because of less resistance and be minimal. I assume the cabinet is sheet metal, does the door amplify the vibration ??, maybe twisting or bending the hinges/closure would help. Insulation could help and you could try that, if it helps than check to see if the motor temp goes higher than it goes now, a small muffin fan could be used to help alleviate that problem if/when necessary.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Hi Prometheus

I found this info on a Delta gap bed lathe, with variable speed, not exactly the same model no. though Is this very similar to your lathe ??

"Prometheus" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Delta was sort of funny in the way they named/numbered. 46 was a lathe, of course, 5 showed it was heavy duty rated, whereas mine is a 2, meaning medium duty. Models in the series after that. Sometimes a promotional package received a new designation in the series. You'll notice from the schematic -

As to the 115/230 business, it depends on the motor. Most are wired parallel for 115 and series for 230, meaning that the slight gain from lower amps is eaten up in longer wires. So long free lunch.

Line the edges of loose panels with stickyback foam insulation on the mating surfaces, or put soft rubber washers between the metal as you reinstall the screws. Don't block ventilation, you'll regret it in the long run.

I have a 46-546. It is 8 x 1" thread on the inboard and outboard (reversed) side. I bought it new in the early/mid '80's. Paid about $1400 for it.

It has held up well except for broken belts (which I suggest replacing with linked belts) and the switch, which became clogged with dust and required disassembly and cleaning.

Two modifications I suggest are: Put a small piece of rubber tubing over the motor door latch to eliminate door vibrations. I found that this quieted down the operation dramatically. Make (turn) a removeable extension handle for the the speed control handle so there is more leverage in moving the reeves mechanism.

My only complaint with the lathe is that the slowest speed isn't slow enough....and the belts slip when doing really heavy stuff.

Galanw

That's a similar one- though it doesn't have the same lower cabinet (mine has an open shelf below the ways) the one you've got the link to also has that old Delta/Rockwell symbol instead of the newer three triangle motif, so I'm just guessing it's the same thing, just a previous model. I'm guessing that you and Derek are right about the left-hand 1" x 8 tpi tailstock tread- thanks!

Looks like a concensus, and that really makes sense, as it is apparently exactly the same size as the inboard. I'm looking at a chuck upgrade anyhow, so that'll work out nicely.

Probably not worth it then- I've got it on a dedicated line already and if there's no signifigant benefit, I can just as well save the $20 or so it'd take to get a new two-pole breaker, recepticle, and new plug. I just figured that the motor is a little old, and if it would help it last longer before a rebuild, all the better.

Come to think of it, I've got some leftover D-profile foam weatherstripping that may do the trick. I'll try that first.

Thanks!

Sounds like I got a decent deal on it then- always nice to know!

I got lucky, and it came with a pair of brand new power twist (link) belts, so that's no problem- I'll keep an eye on that switch, though.

Rubber tubing is all it takes? That's excellent news- it's a loud toy without any modifications.

I had some belt slipping too, but it's all right by me. Better that then having a chisel give me a rap on the chin! Don't know about the slow speed- it's slower than my midi goes (and I don't have to muck around with pulleys), so I'm happy with it.

Thanks for the info!

BIG SNIP....

========================= Not exactly correct. He said it was a 1 HP motor, so it will probably be drawing between10 and 15 amps, depending on it's efficiency. On a 230 V circuit, it will draw half that amount. If there's a long run from the breaker to the lathe, that could cause a voltage drop of a volt or more. If it causes a drop of more than 2-3 Volts, then the power of the lathe will be affected. That same power requirement would cause half the voltage drop on the 230 or approximately 1/4 the percentage of loss as the lower voltage system, so the power loss is less apparent. If the present system is a 20 Amp line with wiring rated for that output, and no other tools, lights, accessories, etc., then there should be no problem. But, if there's a loose connection anywhere along the way, or if's an old house with aluminun wire, etc., 230 V is not a bad option. The best thing to do, (IMHO), is run it as is and see if seems to load down excessively on heavy cuts. If not, run with it. If it does load down, consider the 230 V option. Some facts, some opinion; YMMV.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

IIRC, it is 11.5 amps per the motor plate.

The line is precisely 50 feet of 14ga. 2-wire romex. Worked out pretty nicely for the prepackaged bit I got for the circut.

It's a 15 amp line, to match the 14ga. wire, but it is a dedicated circuit- even labelled "Lathe" on the panel. :)

I figured I'd fill in the blanks above, to flesh things out a bit. The situation is that I installed the line for the lathe on a new

I stuck with the rule of thumb knowledge of cat-5 cable I had gleaned in a previous life as a webmaster and assumed that 50' or less of cable indicated an insignifigant voltage drop- though this is an assumption without any research on my part.

It doesn't seem to be underpowered- the belt slips long before the motor stalls, but my main concern is making sure the motor is getting full power to keep it healthy in the long haul. Any thoughts on whether the 50' of 14ga. cable is short enough to mitigate any voltage drop?

\>>

Guess I should have narrowed that a bit for you Ken. I was referring to the motor windings. How you get it there, well, if you're under gage, you suffer.

Some suggestions on getting it there from these folks, who know a bit about motors.

Leo, Yours is the Heavy Duty model. I had two just like it at my shop at Purdue that I bought. Prometheus, yours sounds like the Medium Duty version. They had a Light Duty model, too.

Dan

Like I said earlier, I had two of these in my old university shop. On one I lowered the shaft rpms by changing out the motor pulley to one half the size and buying a shorter belt.

Dan

===================

The resistance of stranded copper wire is approx. 2.6 ohms per 1000 ft., so your resistance in a 50 ft run should be .05 X 2.6, or 0.13 ohms. Voltage drop (11.5 Amps X .13 Ohms) should be around 1 1/2 Volts, not enough for a big concern, asuming normal conditions in the remainder of the connections, plugs, etc. If you're pretty close to your supply transformer, you may be a lilttle above the nominal voltage your power company says you're getting. One place where I once lived had 125-129 Volts at the wall plug on a regular basis. Light bulbs didn't last well there. (:-)

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.