Original motor from 1986 gone bad? Busy Bee B-244 lathe, speed is all over the place plus big current draw!

[John O]

Looks good, Canadian tire and parts source have borrow a tool. I also have some pullers here (Yonge and Steeles) you could use.

 

[toysareforboys]

Looks good, Canadian tire and parts source have borrow a tool. I also have some pullers here (Yonge and Steeles) you could use.

Thanks! I've needed one a few times, figure I'll just purchase this one: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/oem-gear-puller-long-2-3-in-jaw-1250064p.html#srp

It says they only have 1 in stock which usually means none, and they close early because of Covid-19, but I'll see if I can get off work early to go there.

Thanks for the offer, if stuff doesn't work out I'll let you know

-Jamie M.

 

[homebrewed]

You've got the start of a killer ELS there -- no need for a spindle encoder with that setup!

 

[toysareforboys]

You've got the start of a killer ELS there -- no need for a spindle encoder with that setup!

Damn, never knew about ELS, that should make me a threading master! Thanks. That closed loop stepper driver has tons of math stuff in it that it can send digitally to another driver so probably wouldn't even need a raspberry pi or anything, put the ratio I want in the main driver and it'll tell the other one to keep in sync. Neat.

I figured out a flawless way to control the stepper with the stock forward/off/reverse knob! Just feed it 5v instead of 110v and it works great, forward or reverse puts out +5v enable signal and forward does +5v and reverse does 0v on the directional signal, sweet. I'll drill a little hole beside the stock knob for the speed dial then I'll be done with the new electrical setup. If I don't mount the driver in a place where I can read the RPM display on it then I'll install the RPM gauge and all the other power display stuff, want to make sure I don't overheat the stepper motor.

Also, someone on this forum sent me a PM with a better belt direction setup so it completely clears the gears, and it works! I'll post a new video soon. I just pray that belt doesn't stretch ever or I'll have to order a slightly shorter one. EDIT: With how much tension I had to put on the belt it rubbed itself with the freaky setup so had to back to how I had it set up before and to make sure the belt cleared the gears. If I had a very slightly shorter belt the freaky setup would probably work.

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

I got the pulleys all aligned! Like butter baby!

And I rotated the motor 90 degrees so the cross slide could never hit the encoder/motor, flawless clearance now.

And I did another short slow speed video. Had some fun trying to slow down the chuck/motor, probably impossible without breaking your wrists, lol.

Once I get the electrical all buttoned up and re-assemble everything I'll do a final overview video.

So happy with how this worked out.

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

Alright, got the mechanical all buttoned up! Only thing left is the electrical now.

Thanks for everyone that tells me ideas, even over a pm, lol. After I posted the last video someone sent me a message with an idea for a stiff belt tensioner that would only cost $2!! I was ready to go out and buy a welder and bunch of supplies to make one.

Their idea was to swap one of the bolts around in the motor mount (so the threaded end would be sticking out into the pulley area) and use a hose clamp from that bolt to the pulley tensioner. They said my last video showing the close up shot of the pulley tensioner helped them figure out.

I tried it but I wasn't able to get a socket on the bolt head (when it's on the motor side, too little clearance to the motor) so instead I used some 7/16" threaded rod as a bolt and that worked out perfectly. With the hose clamp it's super easy to both adjust the tension as well as to loosen it to remove the belt, love it. I put a mark with marker on the hose clamp so after you loosen it or remove it you can put it back to the exact same tension you had before. Thanks again everyone, my idea $500, their idea only cost me $5

I put the pulley cover back on, fit flawless, looks just like stock!

And this pic is just so I can remember what belt I used so I can get some spares or replacement in the future

Now to work on the electrical...

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

Oh baby, SHE'S FINISHED! It all came together perfectly! Had a little issue with the RPM gauge, so if you get the same one as me ignore the wiring diagram on the back of the LED display, lol

The correct wiring is:

Terminal 1 = +12V DC & Brown Sensor wire
Terminal 2 = Ground (DC-) & Blue Sensor wire
Terminal 3 = unused
Terminal 4 = unused
Terminal 5 = Black sensor wire

If you're looking at the BACK of the display with the wires coming out the bottom then terminal 1 is on the left. Do not let terminal 3 and 4 wires short out (they are pre-stripped and tinned) as it will cause the RPM to always read zero. If you're sure you've wired everything correctly but are still getting all zeros on the display try flipping your magnet around as the sensor is magnet polarity sensitive.

Probably the final lathe update video. Thanks everyone for all the support. Time to make some BIG chips.

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

Yumm 240v!

All wired up, making chips today!

-Jamie M.

 

[toysareforboys]

Beautiful thing about being able to run it so slow is that the Delrin and the cutter bit doesn't heat up much. When the Delrin gets hot it gets "sticky" which messes up the surface finish and can grab the bit too.

I love being able to run it at SUPER fast speed on the light cuts and when it starts to get close to the chuck or the end of the cut I slow it right down so I can stop it right at the perfect spot. Love love love the new setup

-Jamie M.

 

[John O]

Nice job, where do you get coloured delrin, I just see black and white?