On Sat, 8 Sep 2007 22:34:23 -0700, "William Noble"
wrote:

top posted to annoy those that think it's "unconventional"
1. by "turret" do you mean "spindle"? if yes, check that it's not in back
gear
2. there is a UK machinery site that has info on a wide variety of older
lathes - I can't remember the url right now, worth looking for
3. there is a link to the schematic on my web page (www.wbnoble.com) - go to
the vacuum pumps page, I believe it is the first 3 phase vac pump that has a
link to a simple phase converter - it's just a capacitor and one (or two)
relays - you are basically making your three phase motor into a capacitor
start motor.
4. a small VFD (3 hp or so) is $200 to $300 max refurb or less used -

hope this helps -
much more input and knowlege on metalworking stuff on the metalworking
newsgroup (and you'll find me there too just to keep annoying you)

Just a quick followup- I got the turret slide free. Turns out an
enterprising rodent had taken up residence between the ways at some
point, and the shavings and bits of debris it crammed into the gear on
the end of the shaft allowed it to rust just enough to lock it up.
Some careful scraping and a bit of oil got it back in service.

Luckily, the turret assembly comes off in sections, so I didn't have
to remove the entire thing at once.

So, now everything is working, and it's just a big clean-up job. I'm
actually kind of glad it's as old as it is, as the limited features
compared to more modern machines is making it a lot easier to figure
out by following the gear trains.