Thread: Restoring an early 80’s Woodfast Lathe

Thanks Lance!

I haven't had the time to even look at it, so tomorrow morning i'll give it a go. thanks again for all your help

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site so please bear with me. I have obtained a Hyco lathe that used to be in the local college in Te Awamutu, NZ. It has been abused a bit and spent some time outside in a scrap dealers yard. I don't think this is straight out of the college. I feel it may have another life elsewhere. It cost me nothing. I have completely stripped it down and got rid of the bright blue paint. Once I got the drive shaft off everything else was easy. Banjo was 'welded', probably by an inexperienced 14 year old by the look of it but that can be rectified. The motor was burnt out too. The only things I haven't got are the centre barrel of the tailstock and the index pin. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have priced getting one made and that was a no-no. I have limited funds for that. It has an offset motor mount. The headstock has two grease nipples and the only provision for any belt protection is one little screw hole on the very top. On the tailstock end of the bed it has the numbers 955 stamped deeply. Other than that nothing. There are two small screw holes on the lower front below the headstock which may have held a name plate with the model number etc. The circular nameplate is still attached. I am in the process of repainting it and then putting it back together for a trial run. Fingers crossed.

Thanks @LanceC for making this thread. i recently have picked up the same lathe missing a few parts so this is very useful for me to read.

im researching a suitable motor and VFD to purchase for my lathe and am thinking of making a timber stand similar to yours instead of trying to work with finding large metal casting legs etc.

I have the Banjo and tail stock but am missing the handle to tighten the banjo, ill need to pickup a cheap ring spanner to permanently keep on the tail stock so i can keep moving it around.

Were those red bearing you picked up approximately $50-60 each?

Hi Delbs, sorry, for some reason I missed your post, hence no reply.

1. The stand. I'm waiting for the opportunity to make a new stand. I don't like the bench as it just holds shavings everywhere, and makes it hard to clean up underneath. I will re-purpose the timber and make an A-Frame, mimicking the cast units. That will allow the waste to fall through down to the floor, which is then easily accessible to clean up.
2. The bearings were $8 each from RS Components (https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/ball-bearings/6190468/). Create an account and get free shipping too.

Adding variable speed control to my lathe

I realised pretty quickly that constantly changing belt speeds for various operations becomes more and more frustrating, and leads to shortcuts, like sanding at 3000 RPM. I know, it was a simple inconvenience, but given that this is a problem with a solution, I embarked on converting my lathe to variable speed.

The components.

• Three phase motor. ($215) Given that my existing motor was a 1 HP, I upgraded to 2 HP to compensate for the reduced power at lower RPMs. I chose a Weg W21, 1.5 kW, which when wired for Δ (delta) supported 230 Volts. I should note that I searched for a second hand motor for months, with no success.
• Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). ($205 inc. freight and resistor) I required a VFD which would convert single phase to three phase (which the motor requires), and as suggested by the name, vary the frequency from the standard 50 Hz, which results in a change of motor speed (RPM). Given the great reputation for both product and support on the Woodwork forums, I purchased a Powtran PI150, 2.2 kW direct from the manufacturer. Given the negligible price difference between the 1.5 and 2.2 kW models, I purchased the larger capacity unit, allowing greater re-use potential in the future if required. I also purchased a matching break resistor from Powtran, which allows the unit to brake heavier loads without overloading the in-built resistor.
• Multi conductor cable. Whilst any cable with four conductors will suffice, the specialist which supplied my motor strongly advised that I source some shielded cable for connection between a motor and VFD. As is the case when living on an island, some items can't be had for love nor money without a special order, and so I had to wait an extra week for the shielded cable to arrive.

MKT_WMO_EU_IMAGE_3PHASE_W21ALUMINIUM_RAL5009_63A100_B3T_IE1_1200Wx1200H-1024x1024.jpg 201907311414240780-300x300.jpg

Programming the VFD

Setting for Vector Drive. Vector drive as I understand it allows the motor to run with far more torque at lower frequencies than simple variable frequency. The setup is a little more involved, but not enough to not do it. The following parameters were set. Note that all the bx.x parameters were based on the motor’s specification:

• F0.00 (Motor control more) = 0 (Vector)
• b0.00 (Motor type) = 0 (General asynchronous motor)
• b0.01 (Rated power) = 1.5 (kW)
• b0.02 (Rated voltage) = 230 (V)
• b0.03 (Rated current) = 5.7 (A)
• b0.04 (Rated frequency) = 50 (Hz)
• b0.05 (Rated speed) = 1455 (RPM)

With that set, it was time to run the AutoTune routine, in which the VFD runs a test cycle and determines the exact values to set for a range of additional motor parameters.

• b0.27 (Auto tune) = 2 (Asynchronous motor parameters comprehensive)
• Press [Start]

Setup for the remote. Given that the VFD has the capacity for integrating a remote, I took the opportunity to configure it such that I could mount a remote head anywhere on the lathe.

• F1.10 needs to be set to 2 (three wire type 1).
• F1.00 set to 1 (forward run)
• F1.01 set to 3 (three wire control)

Wiring up the Remote Head


I setup the remote to enable me to Start, Stop and Change speed. I had anticipated adding a reverse switch, but after many months of not having the facility, honestly, I have no idea when I would use it. I left a spare wire in the head just in case I want to add that, or another feature down the track.


For the buttons, I chose push buttons with an integrated LED, so that when powered up, the Start and Stop buttons light up with green and red respectively.


Note that the stop button should be normally closed. I didn’t realise when I ordered them. None the less, a pull down resistor and harnessing the 10 V line allowed me to convert my NO stop switch to act as NC.


Magnets epoxied on the back allow it to be repositioned wherever my fancy takes me, and an eight pin DIN socket allow it to be disconnected as required.


The circuit diagram below shows the ports on the VFD to which they connect through the cable.

circuit-255x300.png 20210328_102731-300x225.jpg 20210328_102551-300x225.jpg 20210328_102626-300x225.jpg 20210328_102557-300x225.jpg

And then it was done. the photo below doesn't really do it justice. It looks great!

20210328_102449-300x225.jpg

Conclusion


I had read comments from people noting that once you have tried variable speed you can’t go back. I am rather smitten. The variable speed, when so quick and simple to adjust makes different operations a joy. I had expected to use it much like I did the belts, having a couple of speeds and switching between them. What I find instead is that I am frequently making small changes as a piece gets closer to round. It certainly encourages me to start much slower, knowing that I can effortlessly speed up as required.


One feature provided by the VFD that I truly love is the soft start and braked stop. Having my lathe set to accelerate over three seconds ensures the start-up is far less violent than 0 to 3000 RPM in an instant!


The braked stop too, means that I no longer put my hand on the piece to slow it down, as it will actively break the rotation to a full stop within three seconds too. All calmly and gently.

Thanks to all who helped along the way, with a special mention to BobL and NCArcher.

Nice work with the switches Lance.

Originally Posted by LanceC

I had read comments from people noting that once you have tried variable speed you can’t go back. I am rather smitten. The variable speed, when so quick and simple to adjust makes different operations a joy. I had expected to use it much like I did the belts, having a couple of speeds and switching between them. What I find instead is that I am frequently making small changes as a piece gets closer to round. It certainly encourages me to start much slower, knowing that I can effortlessly speed up as required.

Agree about the speeding up as workpiece gets closer to round.
A couple of other ways I use changes of speed on the fly are (I also do these on the MW lathe)
1) parting, start slowish then speed up as the diameter decreases and then slow down again just before the actual parting.
2) reducing vibe, sometimes just a small change in speed can reduce the vibe at some speeds.

Very nice work Lance

setting the bar up another couple of notches.

Cheers
Phil

Lance, thank you for your excellent write up on your VFD conversion.

You will find the VFD invaluable with many advantages.

The advantage I find most invaluable myself is finding the precise speed that an out of balance bowl blank will start to set up a vibration in the lathe. By backing the speed off a fraction below that resonance speed the blank can then be turned towards true without stressing the lathe components. The speed can then be progressively bumped up as the blank comes into balance, testing for the resonance point each time until the optimum turning speed is reached.

Oh, something else I had meant to add. I had intended to add a tachometer to the remote head to monitor the RPM of the lathe. Whilst researching the conversion, lots of experienced turner's mentioned that an RPM readout was unnecessary, though I couldn't understand that point of view.

I made a post recently about a trophy I made, which had a large base and narrow neck. It was this that provided me with the Ah-huh revelatory moment, as I had to change the speed rather significantly depending on which part of the piece I was working on from moment to moment, regardless of turning, sanding or finishing. Slow down for the base and speed up for the neck. The diameter ratio between the two ends was a tad over 4:1.

I came to understand that it's more about the linear surface speed of the piece at the tip of the tool than RPM of the axis.

Even now whilst still on a fairly step learning curve, I now find myself when turning thinking "this could do with a bit more speed", or "boy this sandpaper is getting hot, I'd better slow down". I think I'm learning to feel where the sweet point is. If turning has taught me one thing, it is that developing a better feel for what is happening at the tool tip is so important.

So you will note that there is no tachometer on my remote head. I think they're unnecessary. ;-)

Originally Posted by LanceC

So you will note that there is no tachometer on my remote head. I think they're unnecessary. ;-)

Me too. Never had one on any of my lathes and never felt the need for one.

The only time I have found them useful is when teaching novices. Telling them to start at, say, 1,000rpm gets them into the habit of thinking about what is a safe starting speed. Hopefully they will learn to look at what that rpm translates into by way of surface speed and later on adjust the rpm themselves if it needs to be dialled down.

Initially I only put a tacho on my ww lathe because I ordered 4 of them at the same time and after fitting one each to my MW lathe, DP and Metal Mill I had a spare. The tachos I bought were from ebay - a whopping $12 each. It's very easy to power them from the 24V output pole of most VFDs.

The tacho has indeed been useful when teaching Newbies wood turning but I don't really use it on the WW lathe except as I am in a habit of using the tacho when using the DP (especially bigger bits like Forstners) so I find myself using the tacho for drilling on the lathe as well.
.
I even made up a m/s linear speed chart for newbies to use and suggest they use it as a guide (not gospel) and make sure they take other important factors into account.

Lathespeeds.jpg

Originally Posted by LanceC

it is that developing a better feel for what is happening at the tool tip is so important.

This is great. Something I've certainly tried to be more conscious of this time around with woodworking in general.

To listen, feel and understand more about grain orientation and feedback from a hand tool. Instead of just assuming my electric tool isn't performing.

Most likely just common sense for everyone but it's just another level of appreciation I have this time around

Cheers
Nathan

Originally Posted by delbs

This is great. Something I've certainly tried to be more conscious of this time around with woodworking in general.

To listen, feel and understand more about grain orientation and feedback from a hand tool. Instead of just assuming my electric tool isn't performing.

Most likely just common sense for everyone but it's just another level of appreciation I have this time around

Not just hand tools, sound can be just as useful a guide as to what is going on in terms of operational efficiency and safety on machinery . I was constantly amazed at the mens shed with blokes operating things like drill presses with blunt bits at the wrong speeds (usually too fast) with the bit screeching like a stuck pig - "does that sound right to you?" "Dunno - what's it supposed to sound like" etc.

Yeah absolutely which would just come from experience and exposure to a range of tools and techniques? .

To form a baseline of what normal sounds like and then be able to identify when it's not at all