Boxford needs new motor.

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 went the other way and got a six pole motor. It runs at a similar speed to a four pole native speed at 75Hz and retains a bit more power at 25Hz than the four pole one would. It is mechanically safe at 100Hz, but I haven't needed that speed, reprogramming the VFD would be easy if the need arose. Be sure to get a 6", or more likely 160mm chuck which is rated above the maximum spindle speed that you lathe will be capable of.

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.

What's the actual problem with the old motor Ian?

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.

Another user on the Boxford Users group is looking for a motor for his Boxford and you may be interested, but to be honest I think you have covered it all here.

Don't forget to get a lingkbelt too as you don't want to be stripping the head down unless you have to!

Evan

https://groups.io/g/BoxfordLathe-UserGroup/topic/74694977?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0::recentpostdate/sticky,,,20,2,0,74694977

I had even considered an eight pole motor until I saw the price.

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.

You will find that 1hp working properly will be a world away from the poor old motor that you have at present.

The 4 pole type are around £82.80 and the 6 pole are around £124.80. That is quite a jump, but with a VFD, it would be worth waiting a few weeks longer to buy the more expensive one.

Edited By old mart on 09/06/2020 16:08:58