lathe motor

[Julio Navarro]

I recently purchased an old lathe with out the motor. I am wondering what size motor is good for turning. What speed, 3450/1740?

I plan on doing beginner type stuff as this will be the first time in a long time that I turned anything. I want to introduce my kids to WW'ng by getting them to turn some wood spindels on a lathe. I would like for the motor to have a wide range of versatility, i.e., bowls, spindels but all on the light duty side.

I took a look at the specs for a couple of HD, Lowes lathes and 1/2hp seem to be common. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Curt Fuller]

You didn't mention what size this older lathe is, the swing, bed length, etc. Also, is it a step pulley setup on the spindle or a reeves drive? 1/2 hp is standard on many of the mini lathes but probably won't cut the mustard on something that will turn 12"+ bowls. I'd go with 1 hp min and if the lathe is very big and will handle "big wood" go to something in the 220v 2 hp neighborhood and 1740 rpms. Usually with older lathes the problem is getting them to turn slow enough. They were designed for spindle work between centers and don't turn slow enough for large,out of balance bowl blanks.

[Dick Strauss]

Julio,
My delta lathe (46-715) uses a 1750 rpm 3/4 HP TEFC motor. A 1750 rpm motor allows for reasonably similar pulley sets to achieve low speeds for large items. You will want to have low headstock (HS) speeds of 250-300 rpm for large items and a top HS speed of 2000+rpms for pens and small items. If I were in the market, I'd look for a 1750rpm/1HP+/VS unit. If I were trying to turn items in excess of 12" in diameter, I'd be looking for a 2HP motor. The VS will eliminate a lot of belt change hassles without the limitations of a Reeves-drive system.

Let us know what you come up with in case I need/want to upgrade my lathe.

Good luck,
Dick