Tough Lathe

**Kiwi Greg** · 25th June 2003, 09:39 AM

I have a "Tough" lathe. It has a three phase motor on it at present. Is there a need to run three phase on a lathe or can I go to a single phase motor.
Is there a contact for these lathes I understand they were made in W.A
At present it has a screw face plate but I am looking at different options for chucking. I also have two Morse tapers one cupped and one with 4 spurs on it. Suggestions for most functional/adaptable system.??
Are there specific live centres for the tailstock that I should purchase? ( currently dos not have one)
Also there appears to be no ability to clamp tool rests on the large bowl turning part. I.e an outrigger attchment. Does anyone know if this can be added.

Sorry for the newbie questions but I am just getting started with this gear.

Greg

**Tristan Croll** · 25th June 2003, 10:33 AM

My first lathe was a (very) old woodfast which I picked up cheap when the local high school upgraded. It had a 2 hp 3-phase motor which we replaced with a single horsepower 1-phase, with no major problems. You should, however, try to make sure that the speed of the replacement motor is close to that of the original (mine was somewhat faster, which made for sometimes quite exciting turning). :eek:

As for the rest of the questions, I'll leave those to someone more qualified than myself.

HTH,

Tristan

**arose62** · 25th June 2003, 12:59 PM

Looks like you're in NZ - you should look into the Teknatool chucks. Their web site also has info on drive- and tail-centres.

http://www.teknatool.com/

>I also have two Morse tapers one cupped and one with 4 spurs
>on it.

Sounds like "drive centres" rather than "Morse tapers" (which are a standard way of attaching bits & pieces to the motors that turn them - eg: drill chucks into drill presses).

You can get drive centres which have either Number 1 Morse taper, or Number 2 Morse taper, which will then fit into any lathe which accepts No 1 MT , or No 2 MT.

You can also get drive- and tail-centres which are not Morse taper at all, eg: screw-on drive centres.

Sounds like you may even have a drive centre (the 4 spurs), and a cup tail centre ...

I've done all my turning so far with the standard pointy live tail centre that came with my lathe, and have only just purchased a chuck.

You can do a lot with the two centres you already have.

Cheers,
Andrew

**BrianR** · 25th June 2003, 02:56 PM

You can change over to a single phase motor or keep the 3 phase motor and install a variable frequency drive. A VFD will convert single phase mains to 3 phase and give you variable speed and generally more power. You also need a 3 phase mains filter between the drive and motor to protect the drive from transients caused by the motor.

When using a VFD with a motor not designed for one, the motor bearing life will be reduced, but for home use this might not worry you. Motors designed for VFD operation have one of the bearings insulated from ground to prevent bearing arcing caused by the high frequency components in the drive waveform.

**DonN** · 26th June 2003, 09:50 PM

BrianR
Try this site they make tough laths.
www.thewoodsmith.com.au
DonN

**BrianR** · 27th June 2003, 03:24 PM

I looked there Don but saw no mention of lathes. Is this the right site?

**Kiwi Greg** · 27th June 2003, 03:56 PM

I left them an email to ask about lathes as I also could no find any Lathes. I will let you know what reply I get

Cheers Greg

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