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How to post a video so I can get other more important help
- Thread starter DPittman
- Start date
Wow, very clear & concise video. I'm going to have to try & create one day.
I'm not very good at electrics but my gut feel is the heavier turning may have overloaded something outside what the fuse was designed to protect. I'm not sure if this is your lathe or a close cousin, but maybe some more ideas to check.
https://littlemachineshop.com/Reference/DriveTroubleshooting.pdf
I thought I read about a similar BB problem on another forum, I'll keep checking.
I'm not very good at electrics but my gut feel is the heavier turning may have overloaded something outside what the fuse was designed to protect. I'm not sure if this is your lathe or a close cousin, but maybe some more ideas to check.
https://littlemachineshop.com/Reference/DriveTroubleshooting.pdf
I thought I read about a similar BB problem on another forum, I'll keep checking.
DPittman
Ultra Member
Thanks Peter for that link. I was aware of the Little Machine Shop site but didn't realize they had that sort of troubleshooting info. It looks helpful .
I gotta tell ya, I'm about to my wits end with this thing. I guess at what may be wrong and then order parts from Busy Bee and then wait for 3-4 months for the parts to arrive. Then its a bit of a gong show with me and the wiring. Man o man.
Don
I gotta tell ya, I'm about to my wits end with this thing. I guess at what may be wrong and then order parts from Busy Bee and then wait for 3-4 months for the parts to arrive. Then its a bit of a gong show with me and the wiring. Man o man.
Don
I'd guess that it's your speed control board or whatever it's called. If it's blowing the fuse it's likely bad and needs to be sent back and get a new one.. likely a manufacturing defect.
I'd also guess that size of lathe really isn't meant to turn that size of stock with any aggression.. even if you get it fixed you could still end up burning the same component out again. Lots of people go to either treadmill motors or vfd's and 3 phase motors so they can get more horsepower.. may be an option. If you get tired of fighting with it and want a lathe meant for bigger stock I'm selling my 16x40(ish).. it'll cut that no problem (ask Alex)
I'd also guess that size of lathe really isn't meant to turn that size of stock with any aggression.. even if you get it fixed you could still end up burning the same component out again. Lots of people go to either treadmill motors or vfd's and 3 phase motors so they can get more horsepower.. may be an option. If you get tired of fighting with it and want a lathe meant for bigger stock I'm selling my 16x40(ish).. it'll cut that no problem (ask Alex)
Bummer, I feel ya. My lathe has been down since spring, right until this past weekend. Long convoluted story which I will document, but I'm cautiously certain its fully resolved now & hopefully much better than it was new. TBC
You might get some help from BB if you politely contact the right people & mention/reference your public post. I haven't heard great things about BB support in other forums but sometimes its location or person or time specific. At minimum maybe they can endeavor to send out some more electrical components to swap in vs. the conventional order/hope/wait routine. I have also read posts with BB specifically when someone digs into the machine & determines that the physical wiring does match the schematic in their manual. So that would be another good conversation starting point is give them your serial number & ask for schematic. At least then if you know an electrical savy guy he has something to work off to do basic component checking.
If the conclusion is that BB electrics are just too flakey & the lathe is otherwise desirable to keep then maybe consider VFD as suggested. Here I have zero practical experience except internet lurking & its your money & time etc. But it seems to be a common thing that people are successfully retrofitting, not just to bypass problems but to get some worthwhile advantages. The cost, brands, programming seem to vary all over the map but from what I can tell its the same end result - swap in motor, hook up magic box with separate cable & it essentially bypasses everything electric in your lathe. Maybe I'm wrong, but that seems worth the effort. If it works you are home free with a better machine. If it doesn't, you probably haven't violated the base machine with new holes or uprooted wiring to the extent its worth less to sell. The ultimate bailout would hopefully see you recover decent % of VFD if it had no other application in the shop. At least that's how my brain works.
There is a ton of VFD information out there, 99% above my head, but I'll suggest 2 references.
1) Stefan Gotteswinter with similar size lathe as yours
http://www.gtwr.de/shop/pro_mykrodreh/index.html
2) Basement shop guy on YouTube where he has VFD'd older gen USA iron & shows some of that.
https://www.youtube.com/user/BasementShopGuy
VFD talk around min-13
You might get some help from BB if you politely contact the right people & mention/reference your public post. I haven't heard great things about BB support in other forums but sometimes its location or person or time specific. At minimum maybe they can endeavor to send out some more electrical components to swap in vs. the conventional order/hope/wait routine. I have also read posts with BB specifically when someone digs into the machine & determines that the physical wiring does match the schematic in their manual. So that would be another good conversation starting point is give them your serial number & ask for schematic. At least then if you know an electrical savy guy he has something to work off to do basic component checking.
If the conclusion is that BB electrics are just too flakey & the lathe is otherwise desirable to keep then maybe consider VFD as suggested. Here I have zero practical experience except internet lurking & its your money & time etc. But it seems to be a common thing that people are successfully retrofitting, not just to bypass problems but to get some worthwhile advantages. The cost, brands, programming seem to vary all over the map but from what I can tell its the same end result - swap in motor, hook up magic box with separate cable & it essentially bypasses everything electric in your lathe. Maybe I'm wrong, but that seems worth the effort. If it works you are home free with a better machine. If it doesn't, you probably haven't violated the base machine with new holes or uprooted wiring to the extent its worth less to sell. The ultimate bailout would hopefully see you recover decent % of VFD if it had no other application in the shop. At least that's how my brain works.
There is a ton of VFD information out there, 99% above my head, but I'll suggest 2 references.
1) Stefan Gotteswinter with similar size lathe as yours
http://www.gtwr.de/shop/pro_mykrodreh/index.html
2) Basement shop guy on YouTube where he has VFD'd older gen USA iron & shows some of that.
https://www.youtube.com/user/BasementShopGuy
VFD talk around min-13
I'd still stick with going to a vfd and 3phase motor or a higher horsepower DC motor and drive. Yours is a 1.5hp and it would probably be a nice upgrade to goto 2.5hp or more. If you're ok with doing some work there are plenty of old used treadmills out there for salvage.
It’s behaving like my craftex mill when the safety plexiglass cover is open. Does it have one of those covers for the chuck? Press start and nothing happens is the behaviour. More than once I thought my mill was broken or the fuse had blown. Is the fuse holder good? Got the right fuses? I hate to suggest shorting it out but maybe just to test?
Another idea- are you sure you have replaced the fuses - all the fuses. Is there another hiding in back or something?
Another idea- are you sure you have replaced the fuses - all the fuses. Is there another hiding in back or something?
You should probably trace the lines with a multimeter and see what's getting voltage and what isn't. I'm not sure where you're located but I might be able to come give you a hand for an hour or two if it's not too far out of my way.