I've retrofitted some with better, more modern motors. The old three
phase Bridgeport mill motors work great with a VFD (variable frequency
drive).
A good poor man's trick is to find a used treadmill (people always
seem to be tossing them out by the curb) and scavenging the DC motor
and controller to use on machine tools. Most are decent sized, 1HP or
so DC motors. DC motors are good for torque and easier to speed
control.
However you power/control the lathe I suggest a big, red STOP button
that can be hit easily. Another nice thing about fancy DC
controllers and VFDs is you can program a brake.
Also, a good dead man's foot switch is a wise thing to have sometimes,
if you let off the footswitch, it shuts things down.
On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 9:29 PM, Chris Manuel <cmanuel at wi.rr.com> wrote:
> Can't find a period motor for the lathe?
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