Just got my first ever metal lathe

Aaron David said:
On a motor that old, all the cloth insulation would have likely turned the same color so as to not make a difference. At least, every old motor I have worked on was that way. The best way is still to use a multimeter to double check the circuits. Once you learn it, you will be able to do it every time. Eventually, if you like it enough you will find yourself with a megohmmeter checking the insulation of each winding.
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Well I can still kind of see the colors and make out what they are and luckily I just had someone send me pictures of there motor that they restored before and after so now I have pictures of the wiring so tomorrow I'm going to get on that and rewire the thing correctly.
 
So here's the schematics and I'm having an absolute hell of a time trying to figure out some of the colors....
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Not sure you're going to get something that was that rusty inside running, good luck!
 
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Where I live there is a place called Motor Mart, all they do is work on electric motors. If it can be fixed, they could fix it. Maybe there is a place like that where you live. They would have the knowledge and the test tools to even see it can be fixed.

I'm with Randal though, if it were me, I would be looking for another motor.
 
Just for fun said:
Where I live there is a place called Motor Mart, all they do is work on electric motors. If it can be fixed, they could fix it. Maybe there is a place like that where you live. They would have the knowledge and the test tools to even see it can be fixed.

I'm with Randal though, if it were me, I would be looking for another motor.
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Actually I was taking a look around in the barn and found a delta motor from an old drill press, it's a 1/2 hp 1750rpm motor with the same size shaft. The lantern style tool post has got to go, even a 4 way tool post would be better. But I'm planning on buying a quick change tool post in the future, but baby steps first. Also trying to turn anything with a four jaw Chuck without having a dial indicator is an absolute headache..

Eventually I'll take the old motor and get it professionally rebuilt then I'll go about restoring it.
 
Nice work, looks like you are ready to make some chips!
 
Looks like the windings on one side have broken wires, but hard to tell for sure from the pic. As said above, sometimes your better off to cut your loses and find another motor. Motors of that size, and type should be fairly easy to come by. Mike
 
Nubble said:
Here's a video of it powered on. I apologize for the shaky camera...
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Also i wanna mount the lathe on a heavier bench because this rattles too much and the top of the table flexes whenever i tension the belts...
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You can add some cement blocks or sand bags to your cabinet to add weight to the stand. Also, as you acquire more tooling it'll get heavier too.

Yes, definitely get yourself an indicator for centering stuff in the 4 jaw although there are methods to do it without. A cheap one will do for now but if you can invest in a good stand.

Get to know your lantern toolpost. Yes they are kinda a pain but like the 4 jaw there is a good reason to use them sometimes and knowing how to set it up is a good skill to have.

John
 
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