Old Delta lathe help needed

[Biff Johnson]

Hi Gang,

I have a 1960's vintage Delta 12" lathe with an ancient Dayton 1/2 HP motor.

It has worked great turning for turning small items like ornaments and such. Today I tried to turn a small, green alder bowl blank. The blank is approximate 6"x4".

Problem is every time I try to take a moderately deep cut the motor stalls. It's not the belt slipping, the motor actually stops turning and buzzes slightly. I am really not trying to take a substantial cut. The blank is pretty round and my tools are sharp, vibration is minimal. I also have the belts set on the slowest speed, appx 350-400 rpm.

Does this sound like a weak motor?

Thanks!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Biff - with the blank being round... and the motor being 1/2 hp... I would up the speed to the next belt setting and try again. 1/2 hp motor will not have any bottom end torque but you may be able to overcome that with an increase in rpms.

[Biff Johnson]

Hi Steve..thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that I did step up to the next pulley speed and it had the same reaction. It's really odd, I've never seen an electric motor just stop like that! It looks like it probably has what I assume is a start capacitor.

[Rodney Walker]

It's possible the motor is wired for 220 internally but has a 110 plug on it-it happens fairly often. There should be a wiring diagram on the motor, take a look and see if the leads are in the correct position. I wouldn't expect a 1/2 hp motor to stall like you're describing if everything is right.
Rodney

[Jerry Marcantel]

If there are capacitors on your motor, it's a 95% bet that's the problem. Get a larger motor if you can.... Jerry (in Tucson)