Replacement motor for HF 34706

[ccourt]

Has anyone replaced the motor on their 34706 with a larger HP one? If so what size and how easy of an installation was it?
Thanks for any guidance or advice.
ccourt

[DaveinFloweryBranchGA]

ccourt,

I own the HF lathe and I think you can find some information on upgrading to a DC controlled motor on http://www.theturnersshop.com/ click on turning and then look for the article.

That said, if you're doing enough turning to want more power, perhaps you may come out better over the long haul by saving your money, picking up a larger lathe and then selling off your HF starter lathe.

That's what I'd do if I were in a position of wanting a more powerful lathe. After all, you should be able to sell it for a hundred bucks easy and then you'll only have 60 to a 100 bucks lost and I'm pretty sure you've turned that many bucks worth of stuff on the lathe by now.

Just something to think about.

Dave

[kwgeorge]

As someone who has completely rebuilt his “Clone” lathe I will give you some of my thoughts and experiences. Installing a different motor on this lathe becomes quite the challenge in itself. First problem is the motor mounting bracket, it also serves as the face of the motor so replacing the motor and using that bracket would constitute getting a new motor that fits in that housing. The second issue is physical dimensions as the motor you have on it now barley clears the lathe bed when swung and typically larger HP motors are also larger in physical size. With that you could lose your ability to turn larger items by rotating the headstock. Longer motors are no good as you will lose the ability to swing the headstock and turn over 12 inches as the motor will be in the way.

My eventual solution to these problems was to manufacture my own bracket and flip the motor 180 degrees. With that though you are still not out of trouble because if you decide to keep the reeves drive system you will have to find a motor with a long enough shaft to fit that pulley. Now you could go to a variable speed motor with controller and replace the pulleys but now you have a problem finding a pulley that will fit over the spindle shaft as it is an odd size. A 1” will not fit and be way too loose and will cause way too much vibration in the headstock. In my case I turned my own on my metal lathe.

Now on the motor itself I have found that the DC motors lose way to much torque so you are much better off going with a 3-phase with a converter. Either option is going to require a 220V AC line.

Unless you are like me and just enjoy the challenge I would save up and purchase a larger lathe. I ended up doing that anyhow but I must say the person who purchased my old Grizzly just loves it and it is still turning away.

[ccourt]

I knew someone would have ventured into this idea and it seems like way too much trouble. I'll take your advice and scrap the idea. I thank both of you for your thoughts.
ccourt