Burned up the motor on my Harbor Freight 12x36" lathe

[Mike D Harris]

Unfortunately it's not thermally protected and the wiring melted. Has anybody put a Jet 1236 motor on a HF lathe? I'm curious if the JET 3/4 HP motor is actually more powerful than the HF. I found the HF motor awfully weak for turning bowls.

[Doug Herzberg]

You're not the first to burn up a Harbor Freight motor. I got a fine benchtop spindle sander there. I liked it so much, I got another one when the motor on the first burned out.

As for putting a Jet motor on, I think that's like lipstick on a pig. Look around for a used motor, most can be rewired to change direction, some can operate on either 120v or 240v. HVAC guys usually have a lot of fan motors laying around in the 1/2 to 3/4 horse range. Also, many old Craftsman tools are available cheap with pretty nice motors. Craigslist? For that matter, HF sells pretty good electric motors ready to go.

Good luck.

[Mike D Harris]

The cast iron motor flange has a special integral mounting bracket, so it would require some fabrication to use another motor. This HF lathe is a nearly identical copy of the JET 1236, so it stands to reason that, ethical concerns aside, a JET motor might fit or at least require only minor modifications. I'm guessing that the HF motor is at least $50 (waiting on quote from them) so for an additional $150 I can get a better JET motor. The main thing that would cause problems is if the shaft wasn't the same size and the pulleys didn't fit.

I'd be really interested in any opinions of whether the JET motor is more powerful than the HF.

[Richard Coers]

They both probably come from the same factory. 3/4 hp isn't much from any supplier, for turning bowls. I can stop a 2 hp, on a 12" bowl if I want to.

[Mike D Harris]

I almost convinced myself that they were the same motor, but then I noticed that the Jet is 110V/220V but the HF is only 110V. From what I've seen on other sites it appears they are both 16mm (metric) shafts, so hopefully it is a direct replacement. If the motor isn't better than HF, I'm really confused how Jet can charge $900 and HF can charge $200.

[Doug Herzberg]

I'm not sure we're talking about the same lathe. The 1236 HF I've seen is $200 - $250, with available discount coupons. For that money, I'd buy a new lathe rather than a new HF motor. If you want to spend $900, why not look at a lathe in that range, perhaps the Delta 46-460? People here seem to like it a lot.

[Mike D Harris]

Jet JWL 1236 = $899
HF 34706 is a nearly identical clone for $200-$250.
http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/product/953

Many say it's an exact clone. I'm trying to figure out if that is correct or not. If it's an exact clone, I'll just get a $68 HF replacement motor as I'm fine with the alignment and operation of the lathe and don't have the room to store all of the spare parts if I were to buy another complete HF lathe. However, if the Jet motor is higher horsepower and is a drop in replacement, I'll pay $200 for a Jet motor and end up with a better lathe - nearly identical to a $900 Jet lathe for half the price. Even though they both claim 3/4 HP, there are differences such as the Jet being dual voltage capable and the Jet specs showing 11A versus the HF specs showing 6A. I suspect that upgrading to the Jet motor will be a definite improvement, but I'm not sure.

**** NEVERMIND: I just got actual Jet prices and a new motor is $255 w/shipping, so it's not worth it for a small potential power increase. I'll just get a new HF motor and be a little more careful. FWIW, I burned mine out by stalling it too often and having the starter winding kick in too much. Now that I know it has a Reeves drive I'm aware of the speed/torque tradeoff (more torque at lower speeds).

[James Combs]

A guess on my part but the difference in the two amperage ratings is probably for a 3/4hp motor at 110volts(11 amps) and the other is the same motor at 220volts(6 amps). Those ratings are pretty typical of a 3/4hp motor at the stated voltages. There is no hp advantage between 110 and 220. There is a little advantage on the size of wire feed required between the two but nothing to make a major difference. Generally speaking you can use smaller wire to feed a 220 circuit versus an equivalent hp rated 110 circuit. Point is don't be concerned about a motor having dual voltage unless you have only one coming into your shop. Duel rated motors can be set up to run on either but will give you the same hp either way.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Can the Reeves drive and get a DC servo motor for an industrial sewing machine, about a $100 shipped to your door. You get variable speed without using the Reeves drive with a 3/4HP that has a plenty of power.

[Harry Robinette]

My 18" General 160-18 has reeves drive and I put a Baldor 1hp DC drive on it. It work great at slow speed you loose torque so I just slow the reeves drive down and then I can speed the motor RPM up so I have more torque but I'm only running maybe 30 rpm.