Lathe Help?

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BoJo

BoJo

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Messages
8
Location
Mount Vernon, Illinois
I have a Rockler Excelsior variable speed mini-lathe that is a little over one year old. I have used the lathe exclusively to turn pen blanks. It is in my garage and the temperature in the garage has not dropped below 35° this winter.

During the past week, I noticed the speed dropping several hundred rpms and then returning to normal – it is as if I was turning the speed dial to cycle the speed down and then back up again.

The first couple of times this happened, I thought it was the result of my exerting too much pressure while turning my pen blanks. However, this speed variation occurs with nothing mounted on the headstock; it happens with no load whatsoever.

Could the temperature cause a problem with belt tension or should I look for something else?

I'm not very mechanically inclined so any suggestions as to how I should resolve my problem would be appreciated.
 
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Maybe the belt is not tensioned properly. If not that you need to check the brushes on the motor, thats usually the first warning that the brushes are worn out.
If the belt tensioner is packed with dust you may have trouble getting full tension so you need to be sure it's all cleaned good and the belt is not worn or stretched. I've also accidentally slipped the belt onto the shaft next to the pulley and it got a little slippery.
 
Are you also running a heater in your garage? It could just be that the heater is kicking on and pulling power from the lathe. I know the wiring in my garage is not that great and I'll trip the breaker if I have a heater, lathe and dust collector running at the same time...
 
That's my first thought - electrical problem. What else is on the circuit with the lathe? It has to be something that cycles on/off (heater, air compressor, hot water heater)?
 
The variable speed pot on these lathes are prone to get fine dust in them. Check the motor brushes first though, and then see if blowing out the pot with compressed air corrects things.
 
When I was looking at lathes,I was told by a salesman at Rockler that if there was a problem with the lathe,as long as it was not older than 2 years,they just give you a new one.He said they don't sell spare parts for it.I don't know if that's correct.If blowing it out doesn't fix it,maybe read the warranty statement and see.You don't want to take anything apart if it's under warranty,or it may get disqualified.

Steve
San Diego
 
Thank you for your suggestions. I now have some ideas as to what may be causing my problem. I'll also contact Rockler to see if they want to give me a new lathe...:biggrin:
 
The next step is to remove the belt (or all tension) and see if the problem continues. If yes it is a motor or electrical problem, If not belt problem.
If yes hook up another tool (ie sander,etc with approximately the same amp draw) and see if the problem continues with the sander.
If yes, electrical problem, if no, motor problem.
 
I have the same lathe and had the same problem. I bought mine Nov. 2008. I gave the controller board to a friend who put it on the bench at work. He had to re-tune the POTs. It worked fine for a little while then started again.

Fearing the worst, I called Rockler to ask for the manufacturer's name so I could order a new board. This was about a month ago. The polite lady on the other end said she'd have to check and would call me back. She called me two hours later and said, "Since we no longer offer that lathe, we can offer you credit toward a new lathe, or a full refund."

I was shocked. I opted for the refund. They even refunded shipping for me!

I later bought the variable speed upgrade kit from PSI. It took about 10 minutes to install. It is exactly the same motor and board. I will try to fix/tune the old board, as it would be great to have spares.

Hope this helps.

Lux
 
If Rockler offers you the same deal as Lux, you might be well served to apply the credit toward a Jet Mini. Jet is not the best out there, but is certainly not the worst. Everybody I know with a Jet Lathe has gotten many years of good service from them and replacement parts are one day away via UPS. Mine gets a hard workout daily and has only needed regular maintenance.
 
These lathes have a problem "seeking" for speed control -especially at lower speeds and higher weights. Make sure your belts are in a low speed setting if you are running at lower speed on the control unit. High end belt and high speed setting not a problem.


The pots inside the box can be adjusted for speed settings but torque is not very available at low speeds.
 
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who addressed my problem. Every single reply provided a possible solution. Yesterday, a friend, who is much more mechanically inclined than I am, stopped by for a visit. After he read the various posts, we went into the garage to trouble shoot the problem.

Well, to make a long story short…it seems that the one of the brush covers had loosened up. As a result the tension on the spring was not what it should be. (There was a bit of a groove in the brush that indicated it was not making full contact).

After examining both brushes to assure they were "good," they were reinstalled with the covers tightened properly. This appears to have solved the problem…the speed is once again constant.

I hope this is the "end of the story." If the problem arises again, I have many other possible solutions thanks to all of you.
 
Bob,

Thanks for the info. I have a neighbor who is quite good with motors and circuits (I found out later), He's offered to get the original up and running again.
 
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