Underpowered lathe woes

[Paul Downes]

I must admit to being a bit yellow with envy. I am getting tired of trying to turn bowls on an underpowered lathe. I have a question for you powermatic owners. Is the 2 hp. motor strong enough or is there an upgrade available to maybe a 5 hp. motor for powermatic lathes?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Paul I am no expert by any stretch but I would think 2 hp would be plenty. I have 1 3/4 hp and I have never bogged it down. Just my $1.298.

[Wilbur Pan]

What kind of lathe do you have, and are you sure that your underpowered motor is not really a reflection of needing to sharpen your tools? I fell into that trap until I really got a handle on sharpening turning tools.

[Jim Underwood]

Paul what lathe are you using?:confused:

Two tips:

Sharp tools
Light cuts.:D

My mini Jet kinda bogs down a little when I get toward the limit of that 10" swing too... I'll have to sell a lot of turnings to afford that Robust I want.:rolleyes:

[Paul Downes]

Interesting Bernie, I have a 2 hp. grizzly and it is rather easy to bog down. Of course I am pushing it to the limits. I've got 600 lbs. of softener salt on it right now to attempt to tame vibrations. The bowl on there right now is about 10" dia. It's just that I've picked up some material in the last week - bowl blanks that could be 20" and up and way beyond the capacity of my current machine. sigh..........Figured cherry and curly maple, and birdseye maple that don't deserve to be cut down to smaller sizes.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Paul.....I have the 2hp Powermatic. If you bog it down 2 things to consider....you need to sharpen your tools and lose some weight!


I previously turned on a Jet VS Mini....1/2 hp IIRC. I could only bog it down if I had the speed setting at low but then it was a dc variable speed. The PM is 2 hp ac v/s .....it doesn't lose power at lower speeds like the dc v/s does.

[Larry Marley]

I have the 3520b and it does not bog down. I had to re-learn technique when I first started turning on it because my first lathe had a reeves drive and was easy to stall at slow speeds. During my first week I ripped several pieces right out of the chuck. After I got past the intimidation I learned respect for the lathe and just love it

[Scott Hubl]

I could easily bog down my Jet 1442, but i'll admit I still have poor technique.

I just placed my order for the Powermatic 3520B yesterday, after about 2 years of research and debate with myself, I see it as the best bang for the buck.

I figure if I bog it down at all I better just keep on practicing better skills.

[Paul Downes]

Oh, my lathe tools are plenty sharp. Maybe I'm just impatient. It's just at the lowest speed it's very easy to bog down the lathe doing the roughing cuts.

[Dennis Peacock]

My 3520A has no problems with spinning an 85 pound blank and with me hogging off large curls with a 5/8" bowl gouge. I can stall it, but I have to try to stall it.

Many people may not agree with me on this, but speed can be your friend. I have a tendency to turn a bowl or platter spinning faster than what many turn at. But that's just me. For HF's and forms with voids, I do turn the speed down to a more cautious speed. Turning with a little more speed than you would normally turn at can make a difference in stall / no stall. But since I upgraded to the 3520A...I've been totally satisfied with my lathe and it's horsepower.

[Dick Strauss]

Dennis,
I'm with you...I can stall a 3520 pretty easily turning something with a 5/8" bowl gouge (on the slow speed/high torque pulleys) if I take a heavy cut. I'm sure I could stall a 3hp Robust or PM4224 if I tried.

Paul,
A 2hp Grizzly motor and a 2hp PM motor may not be the same in actual use. By the way, I'd be happy to take some of that curly maple and cherry off your hands so that the wood doesn't have to suffer the indignity of being cut down!:D:D


Take care,
Dick

[Gordon Seto]

A 2hp Grizzly motor and a 2hp PM motor may not be the same in actual use.

Does your Grizzly plugs into 110 Volt 15 Amp outlet?

If yes, either that is a miracle (the most you can get is 1.75 HP) or the real horse power number is inflated. A 5 HP ShopVac is not really 5 HP.

Also check whether your belt is slipping.

A VB 36 is only 3 HP. It is capable of turning 1000# bowl blank. That is a 36" swing big bowl lathe.

[Don Eddard]

I'm with Dennis and Dick. I can bog down my 3520B with a 5/8" bowl gouge, but I have to try real hard to do it.

[Rich Stewart]

600 pounds of salt to hold a 10 inch bowl still? How fast are you spinning it?

[Jim Becker]

2hp is pretty "standard" with most of the high-end lathes with 3hp as an option for some, especially for folks who plan on doing a lot of coring. Mass of the lathe is also important beyond power for working larger items, too...an out of balance blank of moderate size can still walk a 900 lb lathe across the shop pretty easily! (VFD-provided VS is helpful in mitigating that, too)