Thread: Woodfast Lathe

I have/had two of those lathes and they had the same tailstock.
Rather than get a single phase motor, add a VFD and give yourself variable speed. It looks like it won't need the star point brought out. It appears to be dual voltage. I had to bring the star point out on mine.
Mine even had the same sliding dust collector brackets on the back. Must have been mandatory for all school lathes. Probably a project for the metal working shop.

Originally Posted by NCArcher

I have/had two of those lathes and they had the same tailstock.
Rather than get a single phase motor, add a VFD and give yourself variable speed. It looks like it won't need the star point brought out. It appears to be dual voltage. I had to bring the star point out on mine.
Mine even had the same sliding dust collector brackets on the back. Must have been mandatory for all school lathes. Probably a project for the metal working shop.

i think there was a company that made all this stuff for education departments. I found a mob in S.A. that still make all the safety covers and the like... for woodfast gear
i had thought about a VFD but wasn’t sure if I was going to go down that track or change over to single phase

Highly recommend the VFD route. Especially for turning where you can alter speeds several times on one job. Slower to start, speed up once its round, lower again for sanding and back up to apply Shellawax (did you see what I did there Neil )
Happy to help with the wiring and VFD setup if you aren't confident. I still have one of these lathes but its in storage atm.

Originally Posted by NCArcher

Highly recommend the VFD route. Especially for turning where you can alter speeds several times on one job. Slower to start, speed up once its round, lower again for sanding and back up to apply Shellawax (did you see what I did there Neil )
Happy to help with the wiring and VFD setup if you aren't confident. I still have one of these lathes but its in storage atm.

Thanks.... You are right about the lac of confidence with the VFD.... I have looked into these and read Bob's notes on the subject but then become totally confused. Do you have any recommendations for VFD's? There seems to be so many on ebay but not knowing what quality they are or if they are up to the task I just haven't gone down that track. Even looked into the rotary converter option but my local Electrical guy wasn't recommending it. At the time I was looking for something for a much older machine.

I'd recommend the Powtran drives but I couldn't find any on ebay.
I did find some for under $100 but don't know what quality they are.
I think some members have been getting the Powtran drives direct from China. BobL?

Originally Posted by Gaza58

The other old girl that has decided to call my place home is the Woodfast Lathe. Ex Education dept and looks like a bitsa. .

The tail stock looks to be off a Hyco machine
.

Great lathes those Gaza. I have one as well . There is not much they cant do for turning to suit furniture. Even Bedposts if you do them in a few bits and join them up. A lot of added weight to the bases or bolt them down well is the only thing they need. Hyco made them first and Woodfast bought them out . So you see them with both name badges. Not sure when that happened . Woodfast then at some later stage changed some parts .

The indexing head is a real handy feature . Is all the parts for that still there ?
Ive fluted and reeded legs with a router in a box on my lathe with that indexing head. Divided turnings into sections and flattened them off with chisels on the lathe to get a hexagonal column . I once turned a pretty big moulded circle on the outside faceplate that was a bit to big . Its slowest speed was to fast for it but I got away with it , just !! A VFD would have been great if I had it then . There is a lot of these that show up . And they are good buying .

I used my one before I moved here in an outside lean to at the back of the work shop. It was a great place for turning , away from everyone else and in a garden area . lathes are so hard to catch the dust from and out there I just had a three speed fan set up to my right and worked in a strong breeze directed at the work . Every spec of dust went left and out into the yard . Im looking forward to doing the same thing where I am now one day . Ive been setting up a new workshop for a while now and the wood lathes are going back out asap.

Enjoy your Lathe.

Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

The indexing head is a real handy feature . Is all the parts for that still there?

Rob

thanks Rob...the indexing pin is missing, however, Stew (Bunya Pine) has. A spare he has offered me. It’s also missing the face plate for out turning (left hand thread) certainly looking forward to getting it up and going but could be awhile as I need to make some space for it.

Originally Posted by Gaza58

Thanks.... You are right about the lac of confidence with the VFD.... I have looked into these and read Bob's notes on the subject but then become totally confused. Do you have any recommendations for VFD's? There seems to be so many on ebay but not knowing what quality they are or if they are up to the task I just haven't gone down that track. Even looked into the rotary converter option but my local Electrical guy wasn't recommending it. At the time I was looking for something for a much older machine.

I agree it is VERY easy to become confused by the subject of VFDs and ordering a Powtran VFD direct from Powtran may just add to your woes.

One problem is they have no ebay or other retail outlet, the just sell VFDs by the container load to Europe and North America but you can buy a single VFD from them as follows.
You have to know exactly what VFD you want as the person you deal with at PowTran is an office person (Nicole) and while she tries hard and communicates in good english she won't have a clue what a WoodFast or even a lathe is. So you have to know exactly what VFD you want - this means tackling the new Powtran Website which after 12 months, the English version is still not complete so model numbers etc are tricky to work out.

Questions about VFDs themselves of a technical nature are referred by Nicole to their engineers and while this is a potential confusion point I have always received good advice this way.

Once you know exactly which VFD you want you email Nicole at [email protected] and ask for a quote with the cheapest shipping option - if you don't ask for the cheapest shipping they will send it via someone like DHL and that can cost as much as the VFD!

Then you will have to pay up front via the Western Union Website which for some can be daunting.

So far the half dozen person I know that have done this have all been successful.

BTW I no longer recommend specific VFDs for specific machinery unless I can put my hands on the motor concerned because if something doesn't work out I then feel somewhat responsible to fix it. In general terms I have found the Powtran PI160 models are working well for me and have one on a metalworking lathe and one on a Drill press. I also plan on installing one on a Woodfast mini with a 1HP 3P motor sometime soon.

If you want to deal with a local supplier of VFDs then one I know about are https://cononmotor.com.au/product-ca...equency-drive/
I have not bought any myself but know a few folks that have bought VFDs from them and it's all gone smoothly.
Expect to pay nearly twice as much as the equivalent Powtran.

Originally Posted by Gaza58

thanks Rob...the indexing pin is missing, however, Stew (Bunya Pine) has. A spare he has offered me. It’s also missing the face plate for out turning (left hand thread) certainly looking forward to getting it up and going but could be awhile as I need to make some space for it.

Gaza

It definitely has your name on it ! I will send it up with the jointer guards. They haven’t completed them yet btw. Let me know if you want a spare banjo and select of tool rests too?

Cheers stew

Thanks mate.... A spare banjo would be great.... I will go back and check the pic you sent me and see what else may be useful.

OK Finally found some info on the models that are available in the PI160 series Powtran VFD's
PI160 Models.jpg
Not sure which group I should be selecting from... I am assuming its the first group 220v single phase... would that be right Bob?

Yes, the 220V input models. The 0.75kW unit would work for you but you could go to the 1.5kW in case you wanted to use it on a bigger motor in the future.

Originally Posted by NCArcher

Yes, the 220V input models. The 0.75kW unit would work for you but you could go to the 1.5kW in case you wanted to use it on a bigger motor in the future.

Thanks..... I was thinking along those lines

Correct - the (Z) on the end of each model number refers to models that have the VFD-brake circuitry included .

EG PI160-1R5G1 is the 1.5kW model without the brake circuitry,
PI160-1R5G1Z is the model with the brake circuitry.

VFD-brakes are not a good idea on lathes so you save could save US$5 and just buy the VFD without a brake, or buy the "Z" model and not connect up the brake but you can then use the VFD + brake on another machine if you want to.