New Old lathe retrofit finished!

[Jeff Horton]

Finished the upgrades on the J-Line today. I am so happy with the way this turned out too! A little history first. I searched out an old J-line lathe with a 3 phase motor on it. I like this lathe because of the weight, 500 lbs, varaible speed, and so much cheaper than a new one! My intentions were to add a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) so I could have totally variable speeds. The lathe has a Reeves drive but the advertised low speed was 600 rpm. To fast for rough blanks I liked to use.

I added the VFD a while back and was pretty happy with it but there were some things I didn't like. Biggest one was I put it in the wrong place. It was in my way when I worked on the back of a bowl near the spindle.

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/turnings/lathe.jpg

You can see the drive mounted on it. Whenever I tried to work at the head I was constantly bumping into it. It replaced the original switch that was there so it seemed the perfect place. I also found that that chips were getting in the heat sink and the controller. I was constantly having to blow them out, it was hard to see the tiny buttons so I had to stoop over most times to turn it off and adjust the speed, so I knew it had to be moved.

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/turnings/lathe1.jpg

So today my buddy who is an industrial electrician came over with a new box and he helped me install the rest of the toys. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowbiggrin.gif

First we moved the VFD to the wall. It's handy and it is out of the line of fire too. We added the box and he hooked up some things I wasn't sure how to do. First we added a simple on and off switch. When you hit the off switch it slowly ramps the speed down. Since I use the Reeves drive on the front of the lathe most of the time and leave the VFD set at around 30 hz. we connected an off switch to the Mechanical Speed control on front. So now when I push the spindle speed all the way down the slowest setting the spindle stops. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowbiggrin.gif I don't have to reach for the box to turn it off.

The sweetest part is he looked at the controls said, would you like a reverse rotation? http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yelloweek.gif By adding a toggle switch I can now reverse the spindle for sanding. Man am I going to love that! The coolest part is with the spindle rotating you can throw the switch to reverse and it slows to a stop and slowly starts accelerating back up to speed just in reverse!

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/turnings/lathe2.jpg

He told me I could also add up to 3 toggle switches that when turned on would set the VFD to a programmed speed/frequency. Since I use it at 30 hz. most of the time I could just add a toggle and it would lock it at 30 hz. I could add up to 3 of these for 3 different preset speeds. I can also just a rheostate and mount it in a box on the lathe and have my speed controlled right on the lathe if I find I want. Heck I could even put the toggles to control the preset speeds in there too, all right in front of me. Man am I happy with this set up!! http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowyes.gif http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowyes.gif http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowyes.gif

It will be a while before I tackle phase two since it requires some welding and I need to brush up on that. But phase two is an outboard turning stand for over-sized turning. Assuming I find I want to turn bigger than 12" dia. that is.

[Jim Ketron]

Great Looking set up!
Your gona love it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jeff that looks like a pretty awesome setup. You are going to be in hog heaven with that bad boy. Have fun and enjoy.

[Don Baer]

Darn I can't see the picture...:(

[Jerry Clark]

Man that is some hunk of iron-- bet it don't move! I could get tangled up in the wiring-- maybe it could be rerouted!:rolleyes: Thanks for showing-- I like that lathe!:)

[Andy Hoyt]

Very cool, Jeff. Nicely done.

My only observation is that when it's time to move outboard, those controls are gonna be a long way off. Hopefully some of that extra switch stuff can be worked into a remedy.

And if nothing else - you might want something to accomodate the notion of an Emergency Stop. As in Stop, NOW! Them big bowls have an awful lot of inertia going on and when you're all cattywampus in a disaster the Emergency Stop button comes in handy.

[Chris Barton]

It's always great to see a senior machine given new life and new love. Great work Jeff! I will be watching for all the great turnings you wil be making on this machine.

[Jeff Horton]

My only observation is that when it's time to move outboard, those controls are gonna be a long way off. Hopefully some of that extra switch stuff can be worked into a remedy.

Yup, it can be added very simply. Just pulling some low voltage wire and mounting a box where ever I need. It could even be on a pig tail so that you could clip it to you belt or place a magnet on the box and stick it on the lathe, lots of options. I am going to watch for an industrial switch, one with a big red mushroom headed button for an E-stop button. I want to add one to the head of the lathe. That way I have another option than just running. ;) I will probably add a speed control at the same time.

One thing I want to change and it's just a matter of changing some settings, is to increase the braking speed for that 'just in case'.

[Jeff Horton]

It's always great to see a senior machine given new life and new love.

I have a shop full of old tools... no, machines to restore Chris. Next one is a 1948 DeWalt radial arm saw, then a '46 Unisaw and shaper. Several others after those are done. I won't say just because it's old iron it is better but I will say "They don't build them like they used too!" ;)

[Mark Cothren]

Very impressive!!!

[Jim Dunn]

Jeff how about a plate you stand on? When the bowl blank raises you off your feet and is about to throw you thru the window the lathe brake takes effect and you gently settle down to earth.

Nice gloat. Hard to find a good electrician now a days.

[Phil Umberger]

Jeff,
How difficult and expensive are the variable frequency drives? I have a Powermatic 90 with a low speed of 1000 rpm (much too fast), it has a 1hp 3 phase motor with an inverter to operate on my single phase power. I had asked around before about some type of control to slow it down and no one seemed to have an answer. Is the VFD simply wired into the lathe's electrical system or is the motor changed or modified?
I hope this is a reasonable fix because I sure love that old lathe!
Thanks, Phil

[David Richardson]

Phil, I just finished 'restoring' an old Delta and added a VFD to it. I stole Oneway's idea and added remote controls for the VFD on a stalk above the headstock. I'd never worked with a VFD before, so that was a big part of the reason for this project - they're really pretty simple. No changes to the motor - VFD take single-phase power in and sends 3-phase to the motor. Some have all the controls on the VFD keypad, but they're larger than you might expect. I found the remote controls to be much better. FYI, mine has a REV-OFF-FWD switch, an E-Stop button, and a knob for the variable speed.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/Just_George/Deltalathe2.jpg

[Phil Umberger]

David,
I like the borrowed Oneway idea! What type or brand VFD did you use? Are they readily available? Does it have a schematic that shows different wiring applications such as yours? I wired my shop myself, but basic electrical is all I feel confident at.
The possibility of slowing the old PM 90 is exciting. I just bought a new Stronghold chuck and would love to turn bigger blanks. In the past the idea of a chunck of wood spinning at 1000 rpm was more than a little frightning. Thanks, Phil

[Jim Dunn]

Hey Phil welcome to the creek!

[Jeff Horton]

Jeff,
How difficult and expensive are the variable frequency drives?
I see you have one answer but I will chime in anyway. The basic install was simple. You said you wired your own shop, I would say you can install one of these. I just had to run 220V to the controller. Then it converts it to 220V 3 phase out. I removed the existing switch and just tied the motor leads straight into the controler.

I am very comfortable with residential wiring. I know nothing about 3 phase and it worked right off the bat for me. Now wiring the remote switch and speed controller stumped me. I read the manual and just couldn't understand what they were saying. Turns out that that it was just low voltage wiring and that all I had to do was run some small wire and ad switches and conect it to the correct terminals.

I picked mine up off EBay. I think Dealer Electric was the company I dealt with. Found out latter they they sell straight to you too. I think they sell surplus but not sure. I paid either $125 or $150 for mine, I shopped for a while before I found that price and a unit that suited my needs. Watch the input voltage, output voltage and HP rating.

When you mount one put it off the lathe. They are sensitive to dust and vibration. I suggest just putting it on the wall like I ended up doing. And now that I know how I am probably going to do what David did and mount some controls at the head stock. After using mine this weekend I like what I have but it would be nice to have a stop button at the head. Since it is so simple (now that I understand how) to add remote switches I will probably just add a couple of other features when I install the stop at the head.

Let us know if you do this. I am no expert but I will be glad to help you in anyway I can.

[Jeff Horton]

David, I like that lathe! I looked seriously for one of those and bid a couple of them. Then I found discovered the Yates American/J-Lines and decided to seek out one of them.

[David Richardson]

Phil, I bought a Teco Westinghouse VFD from FactoryMation in Georgia (Factorymation.com, 800-972-0436) There are many sources and many manufacturers out there, can't say if one is any better than another, but I found these folks to be very helpful. The wiring isn't too bad - I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I understood, but it ended up being one of those things I was overthinking, i.e. it really was simpler than I expected. If you decide to go thru with this and have questions, I'm happy to help if I can.

[Anthony Yakonick]

I have this Deja Vu thing going on right now!;)