Lathe stopped working

[Penultimate]

Greetings
I have a 7 x 12 Seig lathe similar to the Harbor freight and Grizz lathes. It stopped working tonite. I was running a center drill into aluminum and turned it off. When I turned it back on to drill the hole I got nothing. I don't hear the "electrical" click when I release the safety stop. Does anyone have any ideas or if there is a way to repair it?
Thanks

 

[MattTheHat]

My first thought would be to check the mini fuse. Next would be the switch, then any interlocks, say for the chuck guard if there is one.


-Matt

 

[Rollingrock]

Same as what Matt mentioned -- make sure you have the variable speed dial set to zero. You can get fuses at Radio Shack

 

[randyrls]

These 7x lathes have a safety arrangement that is rather "spooky". You must turn the speed dial to zero, then turn the lathe on, before the lathe will start.

The switch on the speed control is a NORMALLY OPEN type. Read that again! The switch is CLOSED when the lathe is at zero and OPEN when the speed dial is moved away from zero. Just opposite from how a "normal" switch and pot arrangement usually works.

 

[Penultimate]

Tahnks for the suggestions. I visually checked the fuse but will put a meter on it today. The speed dial was off. I will check the switches next.
Thanks

 

[Penultimate]

I opened up the control panel and found the fuse holder was broken. The flat bottom of the part cracked and separated from the holder. I jumpered it, flipped open the e-stop and got the solenoid click sound so I think that was the problem. It seems strange that would fail since I don't remove the fuse.

I ordered a new fuse holder from LMS. I'm glad it's not the MOSFETs I replaced those last year.

 

[azamiryou]

On mine, the fuse holder was a little loose, and when I went to tighten it, the fuse holder fell apart. I called them and they quickly sent out a replacement fuse holder. The person I spoke to sounded like he was used to this problem, I think it happens a lot. Maybe a bad batch from the manufacturer or something.

 

[MattTheHat]

If you keep having problems with the fuse holder, you could always wire in one of the regular AGC panel mount holders from Radio Shack, and you could use 1/4" x 1-1/4" fuses. If mine ever goes, that's what I'll be doing as I have a hard time finding more than just a couple of the 5x20mm sizes locally.

Those little board-mounted 5mm fuse holders just don't look very rugged to me. Still, you wouldn't think one would just fall apart like that.


-Matt

 

[John Den]

Hello Mike,
Sorry to hear about your problems with your metal lathe.

I've had my Sieg now for about ten years.

My experience is that the MOSFETS are usually the problem when everything goes dead, although I have blown up a few fuses, switches and potentiometers in this time.

mini-lathe.com is a vast wealth of information and particularly in your present case the following link could prove useful:-

Mini Lathe Troubleshooting

If you are able to solder the following trouble shooting guide will enable you to diagnose the fault for yourself.

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/Reference/DriveTroubleshooting.pdf

Don't panic everything is mendable on the Sieg.

I know cos I'm always breaking something on it. After the first couple of problems you get over the sweating!!
Your side of the pond Little Machine Shop stocks most spares:-

LittleMachineShop.com - tooling, parts, and accessories for bench top machinists

Let me know if/when you get it fixed,

My thoughts are with you
Regards,
John

 

[Penultimate]

Success

I received my fuse holder from LMS soldered the leads and I am up and running. The LMS fuse holder seems sturdier than the original.

I wonder what will fail next?

Thanks for all the comments and links.