New Lathe!!!

[NickB1075]

Well, I finally purchased a lathe and brought it home yesterday. I am very happy and feel like I got a great deal.

Lathe is a South Bend Heavy 10, 1967 production full base cabinet. I purchased the lathe from a retiring gunsmith and he has had this lathe for over 35 years. The lathe was equipped with a set of about 15 collets, and closer. 2 tailstock chucks, 2 3 jaw chucks and spider. It also had an Aloris tool post with 3 holders.

When I went to pick it up he had 4 Starret Indicators (older ones they may need a trip to Long Island Indicator), JGS Floating Reamer Holder, Starret level, and a Buck 6 Jaw chuck.

I got all this for $2000. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

All I have left to do is Clean it and figure out a 3 phase conversion, and some cutting tools.

What do you guys think about a VFD? The motor is only 1hp 230v. Will I be disappointed if I go with the VFD? I hear stories of loss of torque. It being only 1HP I don't really want to loose any power.

Also what tools is everyone using? I have only used HSS with my other lathe. I have been thinking about trying some insert tooling.

Thanks
Nick

 

[spitfire_er]

As long as the machine is in good shape, I would say you got a hell of a deal especially with all the extra tooling. I'm working on putting a VFD on one of my lathes right now, so I can't comment on the torque, but I have read that before. I would think a work around for that would be to change the speed manually with the back gear, then you are getting a mechanical torque advantage over just using the speed control on the motor.

Pics are needed!

 

[Screamineagle]

awesome! PICS

 

[Erik Cortina]

This is why I recommend looking for an older machine instead of buying a new Chinese one. The tooling alone is almost worth the $2K. Heck of a deal.

 

[carlsbad]

VFD is a good option . you should look into it. --Jerry

 

[boiler_house7]

PM me with your email and i will show you the setup i did on my heavy 10. I did put the remote 10 OHM rheostat for speed control, FWD-REV and tach on the remote panel and can go over the wiring with you and programing. heck mine is a 67 cabinet model as well. You got a heck of a deal. Bill

 

[ridgeway]

Very nice deal!

As for the HSS, don't look away from it. HSS works very well for gun stuff. Easy to touch up and you can pretty much grind a bit to do pretty much anything you want. Check out AR Warner tooling...they make some very nice indexable HSS tooling. All index tooling is pricy and has their uses. Stock up on a variety of tooling and one can never have too much! I find myself using a lot of cemented carbide and touch up the edge on a diamond wheel.

 

[NickB1075]

Thanks for the replys. I think I will be going with a VFD. Hopefully I will have some pictures to put up tomorrow.

Nick

 

[Radar]

KB Electronics makes a very user friendly VFD that is simple to install and set up. I don't know how much power loss I have using it but I sure don't miss it if there is any. I do use the manual variable speed and back gear on the lathe more than dailing down the VFD but it's still a nice option to have.

+1 on the AR Warner HSS tooling.

I don't have alot of good carbide tooling but find I get much better finish most of the time using HSS at the speeds that I work at.

 

[EWaugh]

Good Score! Yep all you need now is a phase converter and you are ready to work. No experience with the VFD. A lot of folks like them. My Phase Converter works fine for me. Good luck!

 

[Stretch]

I work with several different VFD's where I work in maintenance. A VFD is constant torque between certain ranges and then becomes constant voltage, at that point the torque will begin to drop off. That usually occurs somewhere around 70 hertz. Up or down shift and keep your VFD below 70 HZ and you will love it. If you have any issues installing or setting one up just pm me and I will help you.
One thing you may want to consider is to add an additional cooling fan for the motor. Older motors weren't designed to be run below synchronus speed and they don't get proper cooling.
Also, I highly recommend shielded wiring.

Stretch

 

[NickB1075]

Again thanks for all of the replys. Here are some pictures of the new to me machine. This machine is very tight compared to the old SB 9 that I had. The crosslide and compound have about 1/4 inch movement of the wheel before movement. My 9 inch had about 3/4 of a revolution.

I am definitely going to get a VFD but I am undecided if I should run 230v. Or go with a 115v single phase input to 230v 3 phase output drive.

I do have some of the Warner tooling. That has been my go to tooling for some time. I am very happy with them.

Nick

 

[NickB1075]

Sorry guys I am trying like heck with the photos and just can't get them posted.

Nick

 

[missed]

Again thanks for all of the replys. Here are some pictures of the new to me machine. This machine is very tight compared to the old SB 9 that I had. The crosslide and compound have about 1/4 inch movement of the wheel before movement. My 9 inch had about 3/4 of a revolution.

I am definitely going to get a VFD but I am undecided if I should run 230v. Or go with a 115v single phase input to 230v 3 phase output drive.

I do have some of the Warner tooling. That has been my go to tooling for some time. I am very happy with them.

Nick

What Nick said.....

Also when you slow down you loose torque also. Something to keep in mind (this is not as much of a problem with a 240V input) Older motors can not handle VFD's as well as new ones. New motors are designed with insulation that are able to withstand the voltage spikes from the drives. Also when you slow down you do not have as much airflow for cooling. As for being a 1HP lathe I would go with the VFD over a phase converter. I went with a phase converter in my shop as my lathe is a 5hp, mill is 2hp, and I am planning on getting a VMC that will be in the 15hp range, and I had enough spare motors and random parts around to put it together. The Hitachi WJ series drives are really good for the price. I also like the ABB ACS series and the Allen Bradley Powerflex series but your not going to like the price on those. We run those drives and magenteks at work. I am going to put one of the Hitachi's my mill when I get some time.

If you go VFD on the machine you have to use the VFD for braking you can't use the brake on the lathe if it has one. On machines with brakes I have used the brake mechanism and a switch as an input to the VFD for the braking.

 

[boiler_house7]

Well nick did PM me on the VFD setup, He did send me some pics Via email and got a heck of a deal and a very nice lathe.

 

[ridgeway]

Sorry guys I am trying like heck with the photos and just can't get them posted.

Nick

email them to chuck@ridgewaybodies.com and I will post them for you.

 

[ridgeway]

Very nice indeed! Nice buy!

 

[GNERGY]

I used Westinghouse Teco FM50's One for my 3HP Rockwell lathe and one for my 1 1/2HP Bridgeport mill. I have had them for over a year and they were about $150.00 each and came with a 2 year warranty.
We have A B VFD's at work and they seem to last a couple month's past their 1 year warranty and cost a lot more.
Do a google search and you can find the Teco's at a good price, I can't remember where I purchased mine.
Tarey
Nice lathe, I bought mine used, they spent their previous life in the same place since they were new in 1971, I even got the original manuals that were like brand new.

 

[SDWhirlwind]

Here is where I bought my Hitachi for my Hvy 10.

https://www.driveswarehouse.com/

Can't offhand remember model # and too lazy to walk out to the shop. It is for a 1hp and 230V input. Had it for about 7yrs and couldn't be happier with how it works. However all I really do is light duty gun stuff so have never worked it hard or for any length of time. Did recontour 3 or 4 1.25" blanks down to as much as Remington Varmint with no issues but I didn't take heavy cuts nor let blank get very warm so the motor didn't work any harder then the operator.lol Would do it all over again, no regrets.

 

[butchlambert]

I have braking resistors on my VFD and I program the braking. I also use the manual braking. I didn't know you couldn't, but it works for me.