Thread: Help!!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't take offence as this may be obvious, but check that the belt(s) haven't come adrift or are loose and also check that the headstock indexing pin, if it has one, is not in the locked position.

Good luck,

Cheers,
FrankG

Eliza check that the belt if you have changed gears is tightened or that it hasn't snapped or slipped off.

Belts still on - and I haven't ever changed it anyway (but I checked)

It WILL go around - but it strains, and this is with nothing on it, so it's not like it's fighting with something large.

There is nothing blocking it. It doesn't have a lock that I know of.

If I manually give it a hand to start - it does eventually start.

But this isn't good, right?

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

What does it mean when the motor on your lathe is going - but it's not going around?

On a lathe bought on the 20th January - surely it can't be broken???

Hi Eliza,

What exactly do you mean "going - but it's not going around"? Is the motor making a sound, but it is not turning? Is the motor turning, but the lathe is not turning? What type of motor, induction, capacitor start? I have a feeling you may not know the answer to this one. What brand/make? Photos of motor and its plate may be helpful.

Regards
Andy

Ring the place where you got it from. If you have to hand start it, it sounds like it could be one of the motor capacitors going. It's too young for that to happen, and should be covered by warranty. I'd cal them first though in case they want you to try some other ideas first.

Peter

Dave thinks it's the capasitor (I held the phone up to the motor for him to hear) so we are taking it down for him to look at.



Poor lathe.

Her Lathe

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

It WILL go around - but it strains, and this is with nothing on it, so it's not like it's fighting with something large.

There is nothing blocking it. It doesn't have a lock that I know of.

If I manually give it a hand to start - it does eventually start.

But this isn't good, right?

No, it's not good. If you can turn it on, give it a spin by hand and it'll spin up to speed but you can still use it - ie. it doesn't seem to have lost much power once it is running - then it's the starting capacitor.

This is a simple enough fix, but really... after only a few months? Tsk!

On the other hand, if it spins up with an assist but is a lot easier to stop than usual then the motor is failing.

Either way, for a new(ish) lathe it's not good.

And sadly, it seems to be a common occurrence with "new" lathes. Considering that before 10 years ago it was an "uncommon" occurrence but nowadays it seems like 1 in every 10 is failing, it shows a distressing lapse in quality standards and that is definitely not good enough!

[edit: beaten by a few minutes 'cos I spent too long typing my waffle! ]

Skew is right, if you give it a spin and it starts...it's the start cap.

You couldn't have shown a picture of it when it was CLEAN???

Taking it down to Dave now.

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

You couldn't have shown a picture of it when it was CLEAN???

Taking it down to Dave now.

Only showing the photo you put up yourself Eliza

That is a broom near by isn't it

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

You couldn't have shown a picture of it when it was CLEAN???

Taking it down to Dave now.

Hi Eliza,

It actually shows that you are using it.

You seem to have it sorted by taking it back. Good luck with getting it fixed quickly.

Regards
Andy

that is what happens when you use it too much

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

You couldn't have shown a picture of it when it was CLEAN???

Taking it down to Dave now.

Do they go better if cleaned?

what sort of polish should I use on it? Kitten or Turtle?

good luck with Dave