Problem with Nova 1624/44

[David Stonner]

Hello all. Just got done turning a small sushi platter (6" square) and my new lathe started acting up. It started making a wierd, quiet "swish"ing sound from the motor. It kind of sounded like a drummer just lightly swirling a brush over a snare drum. It went in a long, slow pulsating rhythm like when two electric motors are just slightly out of phase. It didn't do this all the time, only toward the end of my twenty-minute turning session. If I would take a heavy cut and then take the chisel away, the sound would show up after about five seconds and take 30 seconds to fade away. And the motor cooling fins were HOT too. It's usually warm after having on for a while, but I couldn' touch the cooling fins for more than a split-second.

Before firing off an email to Teknatool, I wanted to see if any other nova 1624 users have had this come up. How warm/hot does your motor get after 20 or 30 minutes of turning? Any funny vibrations?

Thanks,
Dave

[joe greiner]

Hello, Dave.

I'm not familiar with Nova, but a common problem with woodworking motors is collecting sawdust. Open it up as much as possible, and clean out the dust with compressed air and/or a toothbrush. See if that helps.

Joe

[Mike Minto]

Dave, I have a 1624-44, been using it for about 7 months now. Have not had a similar problem. You're still under warranty, yes? Mike ;)

[Doug Miller]

I've got your answer, I think. Open your lid on the pulley box and loosen the tension. Now check both pulleys. I'm betting that you have one or both that are loose. A quick turn of the allen screw and you're back in business. Not sure why the cooling fins are getting hot, but I would bet that you have a build up of saw dust in the vents and there's not enough air going through. Check it out and let us know.