PM-1030V Slow to Get Going

[erikmannie]

I received my new PM-1030V lathe two weeks ago. It takes awhile to get the chuck spinning, and I wonder if this is normal.

So how it works is that I press the power button and nothing will happen until I rotate the RPM potentiometer, regardless of the original position of that knob. Then the chuck will get spinning. This adds time because I start and stop a lot when working on the lathe. I had hoped that I could leave the pot set to my working RPM and just turn it off and on.

If anybody reading this has a 1022 or 1030, my simple question is do you need to turn the RPM knob in order to get the chuck spinning?

As far as I know, my lathe may be acting normally. When I took machining classes, we had large, old lathes that would get going as soon as you turned them on (or engaged the drive lever).

 

[Tom1948]

I have a PM1022. It should come up to pre set speed as soon as you hit the start button. Call PM I believe they will take care of the problem.

 

[erikmannie]

I have a PM1022. It should come up to pre set speed as soon as you hit the start button. Call PM I believe they will take care of the problem.

That’s what I understood from reading the manual. It says that if you press the green button the chuck should start spinning. The way that it is acting now, it would make all jobs take a bit longer.

Every time I start it, by the time it starts, I am worried that it is faulty in some way. Like the title of the thread says, it is slow to start.

 

[T Bredehoft]

CAll PM, they'll make it right. My 1030 starts in a couple of seconds, regardless of what speed it was going when stopped.

 

[shooter123456]

Definetely not right. Even with a heavy 6" chuck, mine gets up to a set speed quickly. Up to 500 in less than 2 seconds or so. I also don't need to drop the speed control to zero to get it to start.

 

[erikmannie]

Definetely not right. Even with a heavy 6" chuck, mine gets up to a set speed quickly. Up to 500 in less than 2 seconds or so. I also don't need to drop the speed control to zero to get it to start.

PM Tech Help says "When starting the lathe, you have to have the speed knob all the way down...Thats how its made, that is correct."

I tested this. I have the low gear belt on, so my lowest RPM is 50. The lathe works just like Tech Help says: if the knob is all the way down (to 50 RPM), the machine starts right up; I can extend this up to 102 RPM.

However, at speeds as low as 126 RPM, the chuck will not start rotating until the operator turns down the knob almost all the way.

This seems to me to be a safety feature. This is an entry level lathe, so it is more likely that a novice will start the lathe at a higher speed with something in the way of the chuck.

 

[erikmannie]

I just spent a few hours on this lathe practicing parting, turning to a diameter and facing to a length (on mild steel). I love my lathe!

I honestly think I might be at my happiest when I am working on a lathe.

 

[AlanB]

You have a forward / stop / reverse switch, right? What happens if you go from forward to stop and then back to forward?

 

[erikmannie]

You have a forward / stop / reverse switch, right? What happens if you go from forward to stop and then back to forward?

Going all the way from forward to reverse or vice versa kills the power. It clearly states that in the manual.

Same result if you go from forward to off, and then try to go back to forward. The power shuts off. PM set me an email saying this is normal.

Some other lathes brake intelligently, and will reverse the direction so you can continue working with no loss of power. I saw that in a Frank Hoose YouTube video, perhaps in his PM-1228 Series. It may have been a on a mini lathe, however.

 

[AlanB]

The 728 mill power stays on through forward/stop/reverse. It better, how else would I do tapping?

It seems to me like the setup on your lathe is odd, I understand when shutting power off (or when power is interrupted) and restarting that the speed knob needs to be reset to zero for safety, but when just going from forward to stop to whatever it should not be the same as a power cycle. In my opinion that seems like a bug.