Craftsman Lathe will not start???

[Randy Gazda]

I have had a Craftsman Professional 15 x 42 lathe for about 12 years. It was working fine the last time I used it, however, when I tried to start it today it will not start. Nothing, nada. There were no indications of problems the last time I used it. There is power to the outlet. Any advise, besides get a new lathe would be appreciated!

[CPeter James]

Dirty contacts on the starting circuit or a bad capacitor. Both are cheap fixes. Try blowing out the motor with compressed air.

CPeter

[Randy Gazda]

I blow out the motor and that didn't help. Both capacitors look good, however, I did replace one and that didn't fix anything. On a wim I "jumped" the switch (removed the switch and wired the white to the black wire and plugged it in, bingo. Time to order a new switch.

Thanks

[Edward Oleen]

check the other capacitor, too. One is the start cap, the other is the running cap. both are necessary, and after 12 years they might have gone bad. Either is rather cheap, and any electric motor shop will check them out for you and be able to sell you a replacement.

[Bill White]

Remember this:
"When in doubt, check the obvious."
That's what you did. Good on you.
Bill