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CT 043 issues ..... Repairs - Completed !!

Gearhead88

Super User
Have you tried sourcing the contactors locally?
I went to Ecol Electric , B& E electronics , no one knew where to get exact replacements or where I might find some , which led to me ordering off of ebay .

I buy lots of stuff on ebay , usually it's not from China and wait times are reasonable.

Busy Bee should be better at customer service , I'm not sure if or when they will learn this .

I am product loyal and if a store or business treats me well and displays professionalism they earn my loyalty . Piss me off , I go some where else .
 

Darren

Ultra Member
Premium Member
I went to Ecol Electric , B& E electronics , no one knew where to get exact replacements or where I might find some , which led to me ordering off of ebay .

I buy lots of stuff on ebay , usually it's not from China and wait times are reasonable.

Busy Bee should be better at customer service , I'm not sure if or when they will learn this .

I am product loyal and if a store or business treats me well and displays professionalism they earn my loyalty . Piss me off , I go some where else .

local guy i mentioned earlier. He has everything
 

Gearhead88

Super User
Here's a gut shot of the Busy Bee Lathe that replaces the CT043 .

Very similar , they've added a couple of circuit breakers , the transformer looks smaller , it is a bit more tidy , like whoever wired it actually gives a shit ,other than that it is the same.

For sure the contactors are the same as mine.

I was at BBT today trying to reason with them about having parts available , explaining , that if a customer who has bought a new lathe from them encounters a component failure , they are out of luck if the current "customer support" arrangement remains the same . I also discussed loyalty , trust and earning the business of repeat customers.

Newest BBT lathe wiring.JPG
 

Gearhead88

Super User
I should add another picture , to show the "anti drum switch'ers "

While I was at BBT today I noticed they had received a new mill , very similar to the B048 I have .
There are some differences , it has reverse now , It has a "E" stop button feature on the motor start controls AND a drum switch to select forward or reverse and They've dropped the power feed. Something it's always had is the thermal overload feature as part of the motor start.

The mill I have now (B048) has a motor start control with thermal overload , it only has a forward , there is no reverse ,.

It appears , on the newer version of my mill , they have added a drum switch and the "E" stop button , this is pretty much what I described as a possible fix to eliminate all the BS wiring / contactors and complexity on my CT 043 Lathe .............................. not that I'm going to do any of that .

Keepin it stock is the plan , which goes against what I do with almost everything , from chainsaws to motorcycles .

You "anti drum switchers" gotta be more flexible :D :cool::p

CX603_4_org.1435545349.jpg CX603__34019.1551960762.jpg
 

RobinHood

Ultra Member
Premium Member
If you run a drum switch WITH a magnetic motor contactor with overload protection, the resulting circuit is totally safe (as long as it is wired correctly). The drum switch just controls motor direction of rotation. The contactor protects the motor and PREVENTS an immediate restart of the motor after a power interruption as the control circuit will have unlatched during the power break - which is really the key and very much desired for safety.

Running ONLY a drum switch will not give you the power fault protection.
 

combustable herbage

Ultra Member
Premium Member
I should add another picture , to show the "anti drum switch'ers "

While I was at BBT today I noticed they had received a new mill , very similar to the B048 I have .
There are some differences , it has reverse now , It has a "E" stop button feature on the motor start controls AND a drum switch to select forward or reverse and They've dropped the power feed. Something it's always had is the thermal overload feature as part of the motor start.

The mill I have now (B048) has a motor start control with thermal overload , it only has a forward , there is no reverse ,.


Keepin it stock is the plan , which goes against what I do with almost everything , from chainsaws to motorcycles .

You "anti drum switchers" gotta be more flexible :D :cool::p
We live in a civilized society! heck save your money skip the drum switch just touch the wires together when you want to use it:).
The drum switch is fine but you need a contactor to carry the load as Robinhood has mentioned. The new mill you saw is going to have the same controls (hopefully improved) the same type of contactors as your lathe. Its cheap and dirty controls which allows the best profit margin giving us a useable but sometimes frustrating product.
 

Gearhead88

Super User
It looks like I'm getting somewhere with Busy Bee Tools , after going in and asking again , the store here was able to confirm they have contactors in Ontario .

The contactors I bought and paid for two weeks ago on ebay ? , I received confirmation that they shipped yesterday ! :rolleyes: , estimated to be delivered the first week of May :rolleyes::oops::rolleyes:

I'll be putting some on the shelf as backup , and a few more items too so I don't have to go through this again .
 
I have a rotary switch on my lathe from the start, was added prior to me buying it. I added a second on of switch to start it.

Why you may ask? Simple it is easy to over shoot the stop and throw trhe motor into the opposite direction while running. This is a bad thing.... motors really don't like that which makes bad things happen.

Interlocked switches prevent this from happening.
 

terry_g

Ultra Member
I had a drum switch on my 1978 Southbend lathe.I actually liked it.
Mine was single phase. You can move the drum switch to the opposite
direction while the lathe is running and it has no effect. Changing rotation
with a single phase motor is done with the starter windings, The centrifugal
switch disconnects the starter windings once the motor is up to speed.
 

YYCHM

(Craig)
Premium Member
I had a drum switch on my 1978 Southbend lathe.I actually liked it.
Mine was single phase. You can move the drum switch to the opposite
direction while the lathe is running and it has no effect. Changing rotation
with a single phase motor is done with the starter windings, The centrifugal
switch disconnects the starter windings once the motor is up to speed.

Ha.... I had to try that. You're right it doesn't change directions.
 

Darren

Ultra Member
Premium Member
I recently ordered a whole bunch of hardware from Amazon. My set screw, and shcs stock has been lacking in the Metric department, and Amazon had good pricing. I was shocked when some arrived in 2 days, and the rest within a week. Most from China. The stuff from China beat the stuff from Toronto to my door.
 

PeterT

Ultra Member
Premium Member
For my smallish metric stuff I use Regans store on Ebay quite often. He must have a garage depot in Canada because it arrives very quick & I'm pretty sure it has CDN stamp on it. I don't want to say always but that might be related to stock or whatever obscure things I ordered. I also noticed his stainless SHCS are nicer than others I've bought.

 
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