Thread: Electric shocks with lathe

Sounds to me like it is trying to earth through the body of the lathe - ie dangerous. :eek:

Check your earth pin and also any other connections you can find (without it plugged in)!!

Cam

That sounds like leakage from the capacitor used to start the motor
IF you have Earth leakage detection devices installed (usually in your meter box) you should be safe but I'd have the lathe checked out by somebody qualified to do so.

NNNAAAAA:eek: :eek:
Sounds like insulation break down somewhere, but you must have some sort of earthing problem too.
No point speculating.
This machine needs a full set of standard electrical safety checks.
Electrician required if you don't have the smarts yourself.
Many of the machines I have purchased, sooner or later require " electrical revision".
I am constantly surprised at the lack of local electrical quality controll on imported gear across the board.

get it checked and made safe.
cheers

That sounds suspicously like what I said...

(Although I should have said to get it properly checked out).

Thanks for the replies so far. I have found that the capacitor is at the heart of the problem, but I'm not sure why. A few months ago, the original capacitor failed. Hare and Forbes told me it would be a couple of weeks before they could get one, so I sourced one from an air-conditioning place, however the new one was slightly different dimension, longer and a little more narrow so it didn't sit as snugly inside the capacitor cover like the original. For the past few months, no problem until yesterday. When I removed the capacitor cover and ran the lathe, no shocks:confused: . I retightened the connections put the cover on and the shocks returned:eek: . Is it safe to run the lathe without the capacitor cover? To use this current capacitor I could make another cover but what material is suitable, plexiglass, wood? I can't see any exposed wires, why is this happening:mad: ?

Tiger

I suspect that when you are tightening the metal cover over the capacitor down, one of the wiring connectors is touching the frame somewhere. I'd try putting some electrical tape over the connections (basically insulating them) and put the cover back on. Does it still have an electrical leak? I would be reluctant to leave it that way as the tape could wear through over time due to vibrations. If it doesn't leak, you might be able to bend the cover a little to make the necessary space.
As far as a new cover goes, I think anything non-conductive would work so long as it doesn't fail due to vibrations.

I'm not an electrician, so this is my best guess.

Paul

Tiger,
Could you pack out the Cover by a few Mill;
use some "compressable" packing which is NON CONDUCTIVE;
and Tape around the resultant gap between Cover and Body.
Something like this might get you working,
until it is repaired permanently.

Tiger

Make sure you switch off the mains power and unplug, and discharge the capacitor with an insulated screwdriver to earth before you get booted from the cap. They store quite a wallop, the bigger ones can kill if discharged through you body accidently. It does sound like you are installing the cover and creating your problem.

Regrads Mike

Thanks guys for your input. I had put some insulation tape around the connectors but there is still some leakage. I will try some packing and see what happens, thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I hate being without my lathe for long.

I've been in the electrical industry for 30 years and have seen too many people dead from mucking with problems like this when they are not sure of what they're dealing with. IMHO, you should get a sparky to fix it permanently - we don't need to lose a fellow turner before his time!

Tiger, thanks for the info on lathes from Hare and Forbes. As far as I know, electrickery products must go through stringent standards testing in Australia.

Or have we done away with that good idea as well?

Buzza.

Tiger,

I have been a licenced electrician for more than 25 years.

My advise is to

Turn the lathe off, unplug from the wall and call an electrican or make a warranty claim if you can.

You can end up DEAD for the few lousy bucks you pay to get someone who knows what they are doing to fix it. It is simply not work the risk.

I havn't been an electrician ever, but your problem sounds scary to me because of an apparent total lack of earth leakage protection. Any shorting out of your lathe should instantly turn the power off.

Don't worry about the little shocks. That is not your real problem. Turn the lathe off, ask an electrician in to check (or install) the earth leakage circuit breaker, and then ask him or her to have a look at the lathe.

If I felt a shock from anything like that I'd be amazed and horrified that the earth leakage circuit breaker allowed it to happen.

Dear all,

Thanks for advice so far. I think I've discovered the problem. The capacitor I bought had 4 tabs on it compared to the one that came with the machine which really only had 2 wires for connection. It seems that when one of the 2 tabs which aren't connected to the motor go anywhere near the metal cover then the shocks occur. By placing insulation tape over the tab and bending it so that it's not in contact with anything (as best as I can), there are no shocks . Does anyone know why the new capacitor had 4 tabs, can I remove the 2 surplus tabs without undermining the capacitor?