Hi,
@Retired Do you have any experience with the BZL ? Im finding it a bit of a job finding someone who can give a experienced opinion on the Graduate vs BZL decision, they seem largely the same but due to lockdown i dont have a chance to get hands on with them. Thank you
Thanks for asking ; unfortunately I can't compare for you because I've never run a Wadkin BZL lathe; however I can state the big Dominion wood turning lathe I owned was a right pain to use; it didn't have a clutch and because of its size it took ages to slow down and come up to speed; it was 3 phase 415V; I had bought a Transwave 7.5hp static converter and detested this converter with a passion it being extremely poor on starting power under load and if on the Colchester taking a heavy cut it used to chatter its head off; I was forever adjusting the Transwave control between machines; in the end I got rid of my big 3 phase machines just because of the converter. I did however modify the Dominion adding a long lever at the front; when I pulled the lever to horizontal it would lock and physically raise the motor hence the drive belt was allowed to slip thereby affording a crude clutch letting the motor run but being able to stop the mandrel. Both the Colchester and Dominion were simply too big and with the poor Transwave winding me up I sold the lot.
My Graduate is a joy to own and use; I can state what it's like to own my Graduate but it came at a cost and needed a comprehensive rebuild and heavy upgrade. The Graduate came out of an academy where it had been badly abused virtually reducing it to scrap; I like buying old cast iron machines in such condition because I get them much cheaper and being a mechanical engineer with a decent workshop it's no problem for me to restore any such machine.
I replaced the headstock bearings and drive belt; next I replaced the 3/4hp single phase motor with a top quality 3 phase inverter rated Brook motor at 1.5hp. I already had a VFD I'd bought and used on my Jubilee; here's the type of VFD I have mine is a 3hp but runs a 1.5hp motor happily with parameter adjustments.
Once set up with a VFD then forget about belt changing for speed just turn the dial for full variable speed also forward & reverse aren't a problem; these VFD's make a motor virtually talk but for a novice they are extremely complicated to connect and adjust the parameters. The Graduate will be a better machine due to availability of parts through places such as eBay but for me I can make missing parts so it's not a problem.
I'm sure you love your Graduate deema and if it's in good condition it will last many lifetimes with the odd change of bearings; like the Wadkin the Graduate is heavy cast iron and for general use won't even need bolting to the floor it being very steady indeed; I'm 6' tall so used raising blocks to make it 3" taller to suit me. I wanted a Graduate for many years often drooling over a brand new Graduate at John Boddy's but at around £3,300 I could dream on. I wouldn't turn my nose up though at anything with the Wadkin name on it.
@Retired with your Lorch Schmidt I notice that the belt is on the middle pully, How do you move it to one of the other pullies and keep the tension? Does the motor move or something similar? ( Genuine question)
Actually a good question Garno and if you don't ask you'll never know so ask away I'm always happy to help if possible. As I've explained both my Graduate and Lorch lathes are powered through one VFD; I've never seen two lathes connected like this but I like to experiment; working at Brook Motors here in Huddersfield for 24 years before retiring I was always on the lookout for motors and workmates too kept me updated; the research department often tested brand new motors putting them through load test etc. then the motor still in excellent condition would be scrapped of no further use; one day a workmate told me two such motors were awaiting the scrap wagon so I made it my business to visit the scrap area and retrieve both these are the two motors I now have on my lathes; the motors are inverter rated 3 phase 1.5hp 3 phase; all I had to do was ask for permission to bring such motors home and it was always granted on the understanding I promised never to sell any of the motors; I've still got a good selection of these motors and I also used to be allowed to raid the shaft department bringing home lots of both mild and stainless bar ends that motor shafts were made from.
With both motors being identical it occurred to me that with a bit of experimenting I might be able to run both motors through the one VFD so I set about sorting out the wiring and switching; I'm not a sparky so took lots of care not to electrocute myself; I have plenty of electrical test equipment having restored vintage valve radios for ten years so I knew the dangers of mains electricity. I encountered many problems and in the end after hours of frustration I found the main problem wasn't my circuits or switching after all it was "cross talk" I had connected remote controls to both lathes arranged allowing one lathe at a time to be used by selective switching; the low voltage signal cables were picking up cross talk because they were too near the power cables; I tried CAT 5 cables but after lots of more hassle and frustration in the end re-routed and used CAT 6 cables which to date have cured the problem.
Please don't ask for circuit diagrams because as I say I'm not a sparky and I don't want to electrocute anyone; it's so long ago too that I've forgotten a lot of the details but running two identical motors from a single VFD one at a time definitely can be done.
Wiring to the VFD.
The switch that switches signals between the lathes. Middle position is stop but then up or down selects which lathe needs to be controlled.
Here's the Lorch remote giving vairable speed with forward/reverse and start/stop.
Here's the power rotary switch allowing power to be switched between lathes.
The VFD in its dust proof enclosure is so quiet I added the power on warning lamp then I don't leave the VFD switched on in error.
Here can be seen lathe selection switches the big switch for power the small switch for remote controls.
Here are the Graduate remote controls. As I say I'm not a sparky but I've picked up a lot of knowledge over a lifetime and no way would I ever encourage anyone to follow my lead because a simple mistake could be the last mistake you'll ever make; mains electricity doesn't take prisoners.
So to answer your question regarding speed changing on the Lorch the drive belt remains on the middle pulley full time and I just turn the remote VFD control to change speed from stop to full speed; it's all so easy once set up but setting up is the really difficult part; I did it the hard way but connecting a single motor to the VFD is easier.
All this work restoring and modifying both lathes with comprehensive full rebuilds and modifications took quite a while but now both are set up they are a delight to own and use.
I often say I'm an old fashioned dinosaur but I was taught the old fashioned way and with deep respect for survival and safety whilst using my head and hands to make or repair anything;
Kind regards, Colin.
