Mastering Control: Variable Frequency Drive Integration on a Mini Lathe

[@stevedavey1343]

Great video and well demonstrated explained. A couple of comments (that are worth as much as you want to feel they're worth 😉): By adding that 2HP motor to yoyr mini-lathe, you've certainty upped the torque available and with a few rigidity upgrades (Steve Jordan has a few really good videos) you'll be able to make use of most, if not all that extra oomph. However, as you suggest, that does mean you gave the lathe extra oomph to hurt you with. The thing is, the only thing worse than having no safety guards on a machine tool, is having safety guards that obstruct the work you want to do. Much of the work on a lathe is done close to the chuck. That's especially true on a mini-lathe, even with rigidity upgrades. Those chuck guards can obstruct work like that. There's a reason many machinists (and not just those with mini-lathes) remove chuck guards and it's not because they've reckless or complacent. It's because the cure is worse than the disease in this case. Training yourself to never, ever, *ever* leave the chuck key in the chuck and to always know where your chuck key is on starting the machine is a vital part of any machinists safety education. Getting that habit utterly ingrained is a much more reliable safety mechanic than any electrical or mechanical safety device (which could fail without you knowing). Also, if you can get hold of one, the 'Big Red Button' e-stops (the ones that are effectively a big red button covering separate start and stop switches) are preferable to the two switch type arrangements. They're much easier to hit in a hurry and aren't particularly expensive. They'll have the same wiring as your existing switch so it would just be a straight swap wiring-wise. Lastly, I'd be cautious about emphasising too much the danger of machine tools. Yes they're potentially dangerous machines but there's also the danger of exaggerating the risk and reducing the credibility of sensible safety advice. That can lead to people without a sufficient understanding of what the risks really are, dismissing all talk of safety. 😉 Anyway, hope you don't mind me putting in my twopenn'orth. 😊

[@tomrichardson7792]

Good stuff, liked all the detail, prefer this style to the music on all the time like in the bed flattening video.

[@oakfieldscreativeworkshop]

Thank you for the feedback. I have to admit with the bed levelling was a bit of experiment with the audio. The levels somehow ended up all over the place. I know what you mean by the audio music. 👍🏻

[@6NBERLS]

Most excellent.

[@ThanasisThomas]

can this lathe cut threads after the new motor

[@oakfieldscreativeworkshop]

It certainly can yes. The conversion is driven to the original drive pulley. So I did not have to modify the drive gears for thread cutting.