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Thread: you tell me

  1. #1

    you tell me

    So whats the problem with Reeve's drives?

    I'm looking to upgrade tools, but all i hear is " it reeves drive" and its no good? Why??

  2. #2
    It’s not that it is “no good.” A car with no power steering can still be good transportation, but you will sure enjoy the drive more with power steering.

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  3. Reeves drives are much more prone to need maintenance and in machinery such as lathes, a lot of the pulleys in them are pot metal, and subject to wear. There is a reason why most all high quality lathes went away from them!
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  4. #4
    I am what id consider at best a weekend warrior. like everyone of course I'd like have an American beauty in the garage, but finding one of those in the 1000-1200 dollar range would be like hitting the lottery. most lathes in my range and of the size Id like reeves drive. besides some noise and maintenance is there any major down sides?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Lummi Island, WA
    Posts
    665
    Mike - well designed lathes with better reeves drives that have been well maintained are a good value if you can find them. Many of the lathes used in shop classes from my time in HS were reeves drives and have been well retired by now. They were often ‘rode hard and put away wet’ yet still survived mostly. The biggest problem with them is that many companies scrimped on manufacturing and used inferior parts that probably shouldn’t be used in that applcation. The Craftsman lathe that found its way into my shop many years ago was one of them. That said, some of the older General lathes had reeves drives that were built like a tank and, with reasonable care and frequent cleaning and attention should last forever.
    The other problem is getting parts for some of the older (better) versions.
    If you can find one that’s been cared for reasonably well its probably going to be a relative bargain.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Tropical North Queensland Australia.
    Posts
    116
    Mike, the single biggest reason why I don't like them is you have to have the lathe running to change speeds. Quite annoying if you have last used it on high speed, being forgetful, mount up a rough blank and have to take it back off to start her up to wind it back to slow speeds. Just my $0.20 worth.

  7. #7
    Richard touched on one of the two biggest issues in my opinion. The other is, "low" speed on a Reeves drive isn't slow enough for certain things. For example, decorative techniques with spinning cutters need to be done down in the 200 - 300 rpm range (dependent on work piece diameter and pattern). Few Reeves drives can go down that slow.
    Jeff Farris

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Farris View Post
    Richard touched on one of the two biggest issues in my opinion. The other is, "low" speed on a Reeves drive isn't slow enough for certain things. For example, decorative techniques with spinning cutters need to be done down in the 200 - 300 rpm range (dependent on work piece diameter and pattern). Few Reeves drives can go down that slow.
    Years ago, I worked in an industrial motor repair shop. I've rebuilt a number of Reeves drives - 10-200 HP. The Reeves drive was the VFD/Inverter of it's day. As said above, the older units, if kept lubricated and with a good belt, ran well and ran long. New ones are cheap, cheap, cheap and made with inferior materials and fail quickly. Don't buy a new one. The other technical issues as noted for woodturners: the lathe has to be running to change speeds and low speed is usually limited to 500-600. Just fine for spindles, but don't put something big and out of balance on the lathe. So if you're in the $1000-1200 range, look for an older unit in good repair. Make sure you can test run it before you buy. It should run reasonably quiet and smooth. Be prepared for some occasional maintenance. Personally, I'd avoid a new one, but I'm sure others have been happy with theirs. In either case, recognize the speed change and low speed limitations.

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