Reeves or VFD

[Rick Beko]

Three months ago I purchased a Beaver 3400, reworked the stand and added a VFD to it.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=75552

Last weekend I decided to upgrade and purchase a fully functional Rockwell 46-525 with a Reese drive and 5/8HP Leeson. I plan to give the lathe a fresh coat of paint , replace the belts and bearings if necessary. Will it be worth my time to move the VFD setup to this lathe and continue to use the Reese drive?

[Jim Becker]

No question, a VFD controlled lathe is much preferable to a Reeves setup in so many ways... That said, you'll likely need a bigger motor/VFD combination for the larger machine.

[Rick Beko]

Should I also use the Reeves system or by pass it? The VFD setup I have uses a 1HP motor. It is has worked well on the Beaver. I was thinking moving to a cabinet style lathe with similar specs as the Beaver should be fine running with the same 1HP motor? Considering the motor in the Rockwell is currently a 5/8HP Leeson.

[Paul Engle]

Rick, when I added a 3/4 hp dc w/controller to my Jet 1236 I used the Jet/reeves controler on the spindle and added a HiLo variable speed pulley to the dc motor giving me infinite speed down to about 20 or so rpm. I like having the ranges with out have to stop to shift the belt. the HiLo cost on ebay about 30$ nib. and around 80 to 100$ from retail .... there are several mfgr of vs pulleys and I just happened to see the HiLo one which was close to the spec's that were the same as the Jets vs reeves system.Also mine is pretty quiet, but the Jet factory spindle does make a snort now and then as it does not like the slowest and fastest speed setting and I think it is due to HiLo not quite matching the diameter of the factory orginal. With that being said I like it a lot, especally when I have my ornamental attachment on board and have to slow the chuck/cutter down to real slow to keep the cutters out of balance to a minimum.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I have a Reeves drive on a Delta lathe and it's so noisy I wear ear protection a lot of the time. For that reason alone I would not buy a lathe with this dirve. Now I also have a Jet mini lathe and that thing is so quiet; I just love that little lathe even though I have to change speeds with belt/pulley.

[Nathan Hawkes]

So can you run a 3phase motor with just a VFD and not a rotary converter?? I've done some reading, and it seems to suggest that they will wear quicker than with a converter, but is that true????

[Allen Neighbors]

I had trouble with a Reeves Drive only once... it was on my 5979Grizzly. The pulley set screws were loose, and I put locktite on them and tightened them up. Then I waited 24 hours before I turned on the lathe. I cleaned and oiled it about every two weeks or so. It was always quiet after that. The Reeves drive system works well, it just requires a little more TLC.

[Rick Beko]

I do not find the Rockwell lathe noisy at all with the Reese drive. Mind you I have a link belt on my VFD Beaver and it runs very smooth with little to no noise. I am mostly curious to know if most folks with a VFD bypass the Reese drive or integrate it with the VFD.

[Dennis Peacock]

VFD for flexability and control. I've had a reeves drive lathe....spent a lot of time working on it too. :rolleyes: