Member postings for Ian Rees 1

Thanks for that, I've also seen that lathe come up in a Facebook group.

As much as I would like to go up to 1.5hp, I'm going to stick with 1hp. Everything gets more expensive above that level and I think 1hp will be ample for my needs.

Once I've removed my motor, I'll have a better idea of how to mount a modern B3 foot mount in place of the old one. I'll update this thread as things progress, hopefully it'll be helpful for others in the future.

I have a Myford vertical slide that came with my Boxford lathe, which I still haven't managed to fit to it. They are a bit flimsy looking but would probably suit your needs. Another place to look would be China, maybe something for the Chinese mini-lathes could be adapted to fit? You can also buy milling tables for pillar drills, again they're a bit flimsy but would probably do the job in ally and plastic. My brother bought one but he's yet to use it so I can't really comment on its effectiveness.

It's never been particularly powerful ever since I bought it. I replaced the capacitor on it (the old one had had it) but even after that, the performance seems to drop every time you use it. If you try to take anything other than fine finishing cuts it will stall the motor, no belt slip.

I was trying to machine a couple of step washers with it the other day and I couldn't even drill a 10mm hole into mild steel bar without it stalling. Parting off took forever. I resorted to a hacksaw for the second parting off job.

You used to get about half an hour out of it before it started getting slow, now you only get about 5 minutes.

I like the sound of a 6 pole motor but unfortunately, not the price. I'll probably have to sell off a few bits of garden machinery I've got lying around to fund this little project, then check the budget.

That's the plan but I'd like to have a little extra power in reserve. After the motor is done, I'm hoping to put a 6" chuck and quick change toolpost on there. From what I've read in the past, concerning boxford lathes, a little more power and a larger chuck transforms these machines. Maybe after all this, plus a suds pump, it'll get more use. As it stands at the moment, I find myself avoiding using it purely because it's so unreliable and difficult/time consuming to use.

My wife isn't happy about the extra expense, she doesn't seem to understand that I picked this lathe up for a very good price and you just can't find them that cheap anymore.

I emailed the inverter drive supermarket and the guy called me back almost instantly. We chatted for quite some time, he didn't mind wasting his time with me, a very nice bloke.

It seems there are already sliding plate adaptors for this job, which he emailed me the spec sheet for. What I need to do now is remove the old motor and take measurements, then get back to him and he'll sort me out with the motor and plate that I need. I may even be able to get a larger cage motor in there, if I fancy going up to 1.5hp.

He also explained to me that you don't lose power in the lower rev range, only when you go higher than the specified speed of the motor do you lose a bit of power.

I have to be careful where I mount the VFD, it's susceptible to dust, swarf, damp etc. I'll also have to figure out what I want in the way of switching but that will all come when I've sorted the motor.

All in all, a fruitful conversation, can't recommend that company enough.

That's actually cheaper than the eBay one I was looking at, although postage may up the price a bit. I wonder if they offer any kind of mounting plate? Maybe I'll fire off an email to them.

I've looked at measurements of these modern motors and it seems that the ones that are cage size 80 will fit, physically, whether I'll struggle with space to line up shafts and pulleys is yet to be discovered. There aren't many 1.1kw, 4 pole motors in that category (I need 4 pole if I want to match the specs of the old motor).

I did some searching on the mounting hole dimensions of the old B56 frame and from what I can tell, my old motor doesn't match those measurements. I think the logical next step will be to remove the old motor and mounting plate so I can measure it more accurately and see if I can get a B3 foot mount, 80 cage motor in there.

I'm more prepared to spend time getting a modern, cheaper motor to fit than to spend twice the price on a B56 motor that might not even fit.

Wow, the price rockets up when I start looking at B56 mount motors. I can see this is going to take a bit more research. Thanks for the information.

Thanks for the great info. I do already have a couple of motors in mind, both 1hp, the first being a dual voltage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192580042652

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142185182520

I was planning on looking at the Bangood website for a VFD but will check out the inverter drive supermarket first.

The original motor says it is 0.75hp, which seems a little strange to me as I thought these had a half hp motor as standard and the motor definitely looks standard. Wiring everything up isn't too much of an issues as my brother used to be an electrician with plenty of 3 phase experience under his belt.

Edited By Ian Rees 1 on 04/06/2020 11:07:17

I have an old boxford CUD lathe and the motor is getting very tired.

It's a single phase but I'm considering going 3 phase, possibly in 240v as the VFDs seem to be a bit cheaper.

My main questions are, what mounting plate size am I looking for?

How many horsepower can it handle?

I'm eventually hoping to put a larger chuck on this one to beef it up a bit as I use it for work. I've read somewhere that these machines are more than capable of handling a bit more speed and power.

Any advice welcome, regarding the VFD set-up as well, if anyone's been through this transition. Thanks in advance.

Thanks John, and everyone else. I don't think there's much wrong with these bearings apart from being absolutely caked in grease. I guess I'll find out when it's time to rebuild.

Bob, now that boring table becomes more tempting! I must stop looking at tools, especially when my wallet is suffering from the post Christmas blues

That vertical slide has "Myford" stamped in it John, from what I've heard, the Boxford ones are rare. I've seen some pretty nifty modern ones on ebay that interest me, either that or maybe I'll rig something up myself with an angle plate and an old top slide or something.

Bob, have you looked at the dimensions for that boring table? 8"x8" seems a bit small for mounting on the cross slide but you could be right. I'm not really prepared to spend that much on a guess though, especially for something I might never use.

Edited By Ian Rees 1 on 01/01/2016 20:16:29

The cross slide on mine.

Some of the tooling that came with it, after a little cleaning session.

The bottom of the vertical slide, the dowels match up perfectly with the top slide mounts but I can't see any way of bolting it down as the bolt holes foul the hole on the cross slide.

I've read the lubrication advice in the book many times, I'm quite picky about using the right oils and greases for the right places. I'm OK for grease and I bought some slideway oil online, it's ISO 68, designed for slideways but since then I've seen different advice saying things like the countershaft bearings and leadscrew oiling points may need something different, ISO 32 I think someone mentioned.

I would like to know if the 68 slideway oil is going to be all right for everything or if I need to order a litre of something else for the faster spinning bits?

A better look at the shortness of the pins.

The damage done. Looks like I'll get away with it but if anyone thinks this is too bad, let me know.

Plenty of bronze deposits and the worn shoe, which is still quite a good fit but I'm hopefully going to order a new one anyway.

This is puzzling, are these repairs to the bullwheel or is it supposed to be like this?

Finally, some signs of previous butchery and, is there supposed to be a felt washer in this piece? The parts diagram says felt washers back and front but there are none on this machine.

Happy new year everyone