Motor Switch location options on smaller Logan lathes

[HiltzVW]

Hi guys,

After a very long search of over a year, I finally found a factory Logan motor assembly on eBay for my 922. Until now, the 922 had a home made unit that was just unsatisfactory every way... the people who put it together had to use a ratcheting strap to hold belt tension... oof...

Anyhow, once the new to me assembly came, there just wasn’t a really good place to put the motor switch. The way it was set up was ridiculously bad, and unsafe.

One thing I’ve always disliked about most bench top lathes was the switch positioning. A lot of times, they are mounted in a way that forces you to reach over the spindle. To me, I just think its unsafe and not the best placement. My old Atlas 12 had a small toggle switch directly on the belt cover, and I always hated it.

I came up with an idea to make a bracket that sets the switch high enough and far enough from the spindle that I’m not reaching over the work, but also comfortable enough to easily turn it off and on. I’d like to see any pictures of how members of the group have decided to mount their reversing switches.

Thank you for your time.

 

[wachuko]

Interesting… I modified mine back to stock location… But even before I made that change, it was not where yours was…

But mine is an 820. Turns out it is just as comfortable in the stock location as it was where the previous owner had placed it…

Before



After

 

[wa5cab]

Your old Atlas 12" did not ship from the factory with a small toggle switch mounted directly on the belt cover. From about 1936 or 1937 until mid-1957, it was mounted in the center of the flat on the left-front of the headstock. Some prior owner must have relocated it. However, the factory switch mounting flat is not really large enough to accommodate any of the large variety of barrel or drum switches, none of which came installed anywhere. On my Atlas 3996 I mounted the barrel switch slightly up under the drip pan and on the right face of the cabinet underneath the headstock. It is at about the level that my hands hang at and neither hand is exposed to anything moving on the lathe. The 3996 is a cabinet model. The equivalent bench model would require some extra work in order to mount the switch in the same location but it would be doable I think. In any case, that is the safest place to put any type of switch on any make of lathe.

 

[Winegrower]

On my Atlas 3996 I mounted the barrel switch slightly up under the drip pan and on the right face of the cabinet underneath the headstock. It is at about the level that my hands hang at and neither hand is exposed to anything moving on the lathe. The 3996 is a cabinet model. The equivalent bench model would require some extra work in order to mount the switch in the same location but it would be doable I think. In any case, that is the safest place to put any type of switch on any make of lathe.

Couldn’t agree more. This is where I put the switch on my 10” Logan, and is basically where the end of the Takisawa On-Off-Reverse switch lever is located.

 

[hman]

My lathe is an older Grizzly, not a Logan.I bought it used and had to replace the switch. I was able to locate it on the front face by doing a little bit of carving into the panel(s).Later on, whenI replaced the original motor with a 3 phase, I added a speed control pot at the left.