On Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:21:56 -0600, Bill Noble wrote
(in message ):



"Dr. Deb" wrote in message
. ..
col wrote:

After 4 weeks of research and looking for the best option I thought I
would post my results.
My turning is on a new dimension its magic.
Col



Site? What site?

Deb

you don't need a site - there are three common ways to get variable speed -
reeves drive (variable diameter pullies), DC motor drive (with a DC
controller) and AC motor with a variable frequency drive. These are in
order of "goodness" for most of us, though the Reeves drive is better for
some cases (or if your lathe already has one). For smaller lathes, DC is
usually cheaper, and a fractional HP 3 phase motor is harder to find. In
the 1,2,3 HP range, 4 phase motors in working condition sell for scrap value
(I have one, Los Angeles area, about to go to the scrap dealer if anyone
wants it for $15) or a small premium above scrap, and controllers cost from
about $15 (if you are really lucky) to $300 (if you buy a new or refurb
unit). Most premium wood lathes use an AC approach to variable speed.

Good brands of controllers - I use Delta (not the lathe company) for AC on
my metal lathe, but there are many brands and for our purposes any will
work - be sure that the selected controller will accept single phase input
power. For smaller lathes, Minarik makes a controller that will take 120
AC in and make 220 3 phase variable freq.
For DC, I like the Minarik controllers that have a good feedback and slow
start circuit.
Motors - Baldor is what we all seem to gravitate towards, but again, any
good one will do - import motors like you get at sears or home depot are
typically rated optimistically - so look at the nameplate power draw, not HP
to get an idea of what the motor is.


well, this is all very interesting. I use a Shopsmith, and it has the Reeves
type system for variable speeds, but the slowest speed is still way too fast
for most of my turning, and pretty noisy. I have a 4:1 reduction unit that
Shopsmith sells, to add to the power head. Well, this works after a fashion,
but is still clunky way to go, and still not as slow as I'd sometimes like. I
have often thought of converting to a variable speed motor on my Shopsmith,
if I could do it cheaply enough. I guess I got some homework to do.
tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.