Treadmill Motor for the Mini Lathe

[@stefanomazzoleni4603]

If you over power the lathe without changing the plastic trasmsission gear located inside the box spindle support, with new stronger gears driving the spindle, you will soon wear them and have a major seroous fault.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That's a good point. Mine are metal and I've modified my headstock so that the gears sit in an oil bath. I did this right after I got the lathe. But it's a really good point for others to keep in mind.

[@johnrussell6620]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop How about a video on the oil bath setup? I have seem dozens of mini-lathe upgrade videos, but not that one!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

@@johnrussell6620 I've been thinking about doing a video on it. It wasn't the most straightforward modification but one that I've been quite happy with. That's a good idea. I think I will!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

In the interim, here's one of the posts on my blog where I show what I did. There are quite a few of them but if you start with this one, you'll find the others. radare.net/2021/02/oil-lubrication-for-the-mini-lathe-primary-shaft

[@johnrussell6620]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop ​ I read through the referenced links and have a couple of suggestions... 1. Use of automotive engine oil is not good. It has detergents and surfactants that will keep debris generated by the rubbing action of the gears inside, in suspension, that will go round-n-round again-and-again, grinding all the way, all the time. You need to use "non-detergent" oil inside an oiling system operating without an oil filter as these debris will be allowed to eventually fall to the bottom and stay there... 2. You could remove the inner rubber seals on the spindle bearings to allow oil splash to get inside these main bearings... 3. You could use angular contact, or, tapered roller bearings once you get your main spindle oil seals worked out. Excellent ideas and execution, similar to my plans for my lathe!

[@yertelt5570]

Great job!! I really like the fact that it was a direct wire up. Seems like every other mini lathe motor upgrade video involves wiring up new controls and or a new power supply. 👍👍

[@stancooper5436]

Beautiful bit of craftsmanship there brother. Best treadmill motor install I've seen.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That's real nice of you to say, Stan Cooper. Thank you.

[@GlennNowOnYouTube]

Very nice job. A very professional look to your work. Enjoyed every bit of this video. Thanks for sharing.

[@uguyssss]

Did I miss something? How did you wire the motor and control? Nice job,tho!

[@dandesjardins6875]

Great attention to detail, and really well explained!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you, Dan Desjardins. That's really nice to hear.

[@Motocue912]

Very nice job , I’ve owned probably 10 mini lathes as I build pool cues and use them to put tips on . I did notice you using the compound slide , My suggestion swing that over at 29° and lock it out By snugging up the gib. The reason I say this is you will get a lot more rigidity , you only want to use the compound slide for tapers and to assist in threading. Otherwise great job.

[@mirosawkrzysztofczyk4788]

Dziękuje Panu za film długo myślałem jak to zrobić a tu pan rozwiazał mi problem z zamontowaniem silnika szacunek dla pana prosze wiecej filmów...

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you.

[@markstevens7211]

Hi, wondering what gearing you think works best for this application, ie the ratio between driven and the drive pulley.

[@middleway1885]

What a glorious find!!! Cheers!!

[@gwater12345]

Normally, carbon brush is replaceable. However, BLDC motor is recommended for future revises.

[@Forge5894]

Bravo, excellent video, thank you!

[@kamilotapowicz7427]

Wow, amazing work!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you!

[@kwayne1125]

Hey, I'm surprised I haven't seen your channel before and I think you've convinced me to upgrade. A couple things that can cause that arcing is the temper of brush spring is sprung from overloading heat (spring conductors) and brush crud between the armature coppers. It's usually a sign you need to turn your armature but a simple inductance measurement across the brushes will tell you if its shorted inside. But make sure there's no graphite crud in it first. It really messes with rpm controllers.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you, K Wayne. That's really good info. I still have that old motor on the bench. I'll put the meter on it and see what I find.

[@michaelevans2989]

Great video. I'm doing this to a craftsman 109 i picked up. Since it's been a year how has that. Motor held up in the enclosure those things heat up a lot.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Honestly, I don’t have the Mini Lathe anymore. I replaced it with an Atlas 12”. But it ran great while I had it. The fan on the treadmill motor did a good job pulling air through the shroud.

[@michaelevans2989]

I'm glad to hear that. Cause like you i want a shroud covering it that will match the powder coating of my lathe when I'm finally finished with it. Yeah i just finished watching your Atlas build videos. Have to say I'm enjoying your work.

[@JohnThawley]

Haven’t seen any updates on the mini lathe since you did the treadmill upgrade. Do you still have it and use it? Does it excel at anything over the Atlas? Love to hear your thoughts and perspective since it’s been a while.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Hey, John. No, I no longer own it. I sold it to guy on Craigslist last year, just about broke even. The Atlas lathe is just quite a bit bigger than the mini lathe was so I can do a lot more with it, and the 3/4hp motor and VFD gives it plenty of power. The mini lathe did a lot of good work for me. I turned down the shafts for the surface grinder with it, made a number of bicycle parts and it even fixed a defective harmonic balancer in a pinch, when I needed it. I've no disappointment with the mini lathe. The Atlas is just a better tool for what I use a lathe for. But the Atlas also cost about 5X what the mini lathe did and it takes up a lot more space in the shop.

[@paulsurbanhunter2457]

I think you need to reverse the polarities inside your welder. Your welds will look a lot better. Thanks for the video.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I'll give it a shot.

[@jackmefford6902]

Just broke a belt on mine and it doesn’t have enough power. Where did you get the belt and pulleys? I have a treadmill motor I want to use.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Amazon and eBay. They are XL timing belts and pulleys. 3/8 width. Number of teeth and belt length contingent on what your ratios and dimensions need to be.

[@McKildafor]

Just found this channel and just subbed. Looking forward to seeing some more!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thanks Marco. Welcome!

[@jakechoi2359]

How do you mount the chuck on the mini rotary table ? BTW, Thank you for the video.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Studs and magnets. The studs that are already on the chuck fit into the rotary table just fine. They worked to make sure it was aligned correctly. Then I used large neodymium magnets to hold the chuck to the table.

[@rafkend1422]

You built a tank which you did not have to really. Great job regardless, I wish you had changed all the plastic gears to steel gears as well.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That was the first thing I did to the lathe when I got it. Change gears and headstock gears are both metal. Check out my lubricated headstock video. It shows better what gears I used. I think you'll like it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKWTZ31mgLqIpqs

[@ralphjennings9064]

Good design and good information.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you, Ralph.

[@kendonahve924]

Thanks! I just got my Chinese mini lathe. Once I get accustomed to it I'll decide if I want to upgrade the motor. Can you say how much parts cost?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Hey, Ken. It's been a while since I've done this one. Treadmill motor was an eBay find, $40. The XL pulleys and belt were in the $30 range on Amazon. And the steel was probably another $30. The 3/16" I used for the mount was kind of expensive. That totals about $100 not including the couple weekend's worth of labor.

[@raystevens687]

I think you did a great job thanks for sharing

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thanks for watching!

[@kevino6670]

Well Done! I predict a bigger lathe in your future.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Ha! There’s a 12” Atlas lathe on my workbench right now. It’s a project that I’ll share with you soon. You called it!

[@binomair9326]

Nice work I did the same stuff a long time in 2012 but if you like to keep this mini lathe I advise you to change the back gears from plastic to steel or aluminum for heavy cutting u can buy it from eBay ...good luck

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That's good advice. I had changed them to steel gears when I first got the lathe. I no longer have the mini lathe, though. I put together an Atlas late (there's a video on it) and it replaced the mini lathe.

[@JohnThawley]

I've been planning to make this upgrade but I had no idea using the existing controller was an option. That's the most intimidating part of the project to me. My modest electrical knowhow doesn't go much past running romex to a new breaker...

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Hey, John. The only thing to watch out for is that your voltage matches the voltage of your existing motor and that you don't pull too many amps through the DC controller. Wiring is straightforward. Two wires and a ground and if you get them hooked up backward, the motor will just spin backward. Good luck with your conversion.

[@JohnThawley]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop thank you sir.

[@gvet47]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop I'm just surprised the controls worked for the bigger motor. Normally even the fuse would not handle more current. You probably needed new brushes on the original motor to maintain the brush tension. Cleaning the commutator as it developes bridging from arcing.

[@Houseworksaws]

Wow impressive video.. Really fantastic results. Thank you for taking the time to document this project.

[@orion7353]

How do you keep the collet chuck in the drill press when side loading (cutting)? There no room for a draw bar?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

On this old drill press mill, I turned the end of the spindle down to 12mm and hard-pressed the collet chuck onto the spindle. There's a setscrew there, too, but the tight press fit is what is keeping it in place.

[@checopacheco420]

Super good stuff 🎉

[@77jerufe]

Good job, the DC motor control is other, or is equal old motor

[@markkoons7488]

Nice video and timely for me. Thank you.

[@uwewatermann5463]

Hallo ich habe ne frage hast du die elektronick auch geändert mfg Uwe Watermann

[@cfnaround1585]

I was thinking of getting a sewing machine motor to upgrade my lathe. Is 750watt 1HP too much or will that work fine?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That's probably the perfect size. Mine is only a 1/2HP unit. I went with that since it was the same size as the original and I didn't want to cook the controls. But should work out, especially if you use a sewing machine control and pedal. If the sewing machine motor is AC current, you won't be able to use your existing controller as it's DC, so keep that in mind.

[@cfnaround1585]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop I ordered it. I also got the tapered roller bearings and metal change gears. I also picked up sealed angular contact bearings. My thought is to start off with those, then upgrade to a sealed bath later down the road as I get enough tooling to complete the job.

[@QwikKota]

Nice work, came out great.

[@Jameson4327]

Impressive!

[@david-the-aspergian8977]

You didn’t show fitting the belt, though you mentioned an idler shaft.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Belt runs from the motor directly to the lathe drive pulley. On the two-speed headstock, it connects onto the intermediate shaft. Single speed spindles do not have the intermediate shaft.

[@airrifletech8085]

Quality, nice job

[@NickShl]

What size tool post do you have? OXA or AXA?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It was an oxa.

[@Pushyhog]

what motor would u link to us if you had any choice??????

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I don’t have a specific link I can post. Look on eBay or Amazon for a “90v DC motor” or “90v treadmill motor”. Look for one that runs around 2500rpm and is the same HP rating as your DC controller. Those are the three important characteristics: Voltage, HP (or kW) and RPM.

[@minskmade]

you can find free treadmills on craigslist and facebook market place all the time...you can actually use the treadmills speed controller also...kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH-cf56cYteZZ68

[@someotherdude]

I take your question to be more wide open than the others who answered. Going AC 1 hp along with a quality VFD would be the way to go. Also having a separate cooling fan that is on at any motor speed may be needed. If you are turning the motor very slow, it's own cooling fan isn't doing anything.

[@c2jacks]

Where did you get the gear that goes on the Treadmill Motor?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Amazon. I looked for XL pulley. Looking at my order history, it seems I ordered 6 of them. They were all Uxcell branded. I don't remember which one I ultimately went with, though. I had to bore it out and face it.

[@c2jacks]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop Thanks. I am about to do the same thing, I have a treadmill motor but I am concerned because of its weight that it can add its own distortion? I have a 7 Gauge steel table and will mount a steel box to it and then the only connection between the motor and the lathe is the belt and electrics. The lathe is already bolted to the same table. I have a single speed so my motor has to be higher up than yours to get at the drive within the lathe without the belt intersecting bolts within the cover. So higher and heavier may caused more problems bolted to the frame. I also got a 750mm belt so I am able to clear the levers I have. I enjoyed your video! Thanks very much for doing it.

[@AVmanKP]

Вы справились с поставленной задачей, но есть очень важный момент, который Вы не учли: станина в штатном месте крепления двигателя имеет "карман" (по сути, это консоль), как следствие - она нежесткая с этом месте, Вы освободили это "карман", а двигатель (более тяжелый, учтите также вес кронштейнов и защиты) вывесили еще с большей консольностью, чем неминуемо скрутили станину, передняя бабка тоже сместилась, в сторону консоли. Мои советы: 1) Программа минимум - добавьте еще одну опору под двигателем , снимите часть консольной нагрузки со станины через эту опору на стол . 2) Программа максимум - изготовьте пластину-имплант из стали 10-14 мм, установив его в освободившийся "карман от двигателя", тем самым ужесточив станину на порядок, а уже к импланту прикрепляйте переделанный кронштейн с двигателем, в этом случае дополнительную опору под двигателем можно и не делать.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Really good advice. I hadn't considered additional bracing. Thank you.

[@AVmanKP]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop I will be glad if you implement this proposal in your design - both for increasing the rigidity of your machine, and for the viewers of your channel who will learn how to improve their lathes. I wish you not to stop there, you have interesting ideas and you implement them with high quality.

[@anthonyalleyne8724]

Great video!! Why is it humming?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

You know, I really don't know. It's always done that from new. I figured it was some sort of capacitive discharge and assumed they all did it. I'm guessing that's not the case?

[@anthonyalleyne8724]

I figured out the issue with humming! I think you need a ferrite core between the treadmill motor and bridge rectifier, dimensions are 38x19x13mm ferrite core.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

@@anthonyalleyne8724 Awesome, Anthony. Thank you. Looks like I can get one on eBay. I’ll snag it and give it a try. Appreciate it.

[@anthonyalleyne8724]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/imOVoX2DfqZ8iLM

[@anthonyalleyne8724]

Watch this guy he would explain the ferrite core to motor.

[@mxcollin95]

Great job! 👍

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thank you!

[@paulfreed6394]

Very nice👌

[@tommypugh1208]

Why didn't you show how you hooked the belt to the spindle

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

That’s what is happening at 14:27. My lathe is a 2-speed model . The belt drives the intermediate shaft. The shaft drives the spindle via spur gears inside the headstock.

[@mfs5493]

Why did you hold the bolt in a collet? It isn't concentric as it's held in the same inaccurate 3-jaw chuck!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I wanted to try it out. It was concentric enough to turn the head off of a bolt. Just playing around.

[@MrSamonkel]

Very good

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

Thanks Ralf.

[@hedning003]

what's the point of putting a colletholder in a 3jaw? ?

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

For the fun of it.

[@hdooley]

Leave enough space for airflow through the motor on the inner fan shroud!!!

[@hdooley]

Ok looks like there enough space on it later in the video...

[@puntoyfinal2553]

Muy muy bien 👌

[@LE-6920]

The headstock of your lathe is hanging in the air, cause chineses were made it such. The first, which you was needed to make - give rigidity to it and only then invent a new motor mount. But with mount, which you was made, you just twisted a lathe bed down...

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

It's bolted to a metal table with four M8 bolts. It's pretty stoutly mounted. But that's a good reminder for others who may do the same thing, especially given how much weight this adds to the back side of the lathe.

[@LE-6920]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop Four M8 bolts is nice. But... I'll not convince you of anything and prove nothing. An ordinary bubble level will show you all... I highly recommend you to check with it along the V-guides of the carriage... Of course, check position of tabletop firstly...

[@SergeiPetrov]

Editing a video about the operation of this machine devalues everything.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I guess I can understand that. The video was getting to be quite long and cutting the head off of a bolt can be boring. I released a video a couple weeks ago where I rebuild a 6" chuck. In that one, I did quite a bit of work with it on the Mini Lathe with the new treadmill motor. That 6" chuck is heavy and the Mini Lathe handled it well. You might check it out to see how the treadmill motor worked out on a bigger project: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3K6cmiEdrGFntk

[@Dodi-nz3fd]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop , Please address the dealer/distributor of this mini lathe, in *Indonesia* .

[@robert5]

Do not use treadmill motors unless you find a commercial type higher quality treadmill motor and if you might need to buy a DC controller, then don't bother. Buy a small 3 phase motor 3/4 hp or 1 hp or what ever you need. I like the 1 hp motors as the VFD of that size is cheap. MUCH BETTER. I did a conversion on a old craftsman 12: lathe with a 2 hp DC motor. Though it worked out great I later gained a lot of experience with 3 phase motors and VFD controllers. MUCH BETTER CHOICE. More common easy to find and usually far better quality then the Chinese treadmill motors.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

I like my treadmill motor. But I have a 3-phase on both my Atlas and Walker Turner and it is the better way to go. Downside is that the equpment is large so the mini-lathe looks like a toy next to it.

[@Pushyhog]

u still have the mother board and they cost.

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

KB Electronics makes a DC motor controller that I’ll use when mine dies. KBMD-240D. It has the potentiometer built in and matches voltage and amperage specs for the treadmill motor.

[@stewartfrye]

I'm not surprised, that "LATHE" will barely cut plastic much less metal, you get what you bought. garbage

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

You're wrong!!! I've had this lathe for 2 years and have cut everything from brass to steel on it. Look at some of my other videos and you'll see what I've done with it.

[@Ketis1985]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop yeah. With good sharp tooling, right rpms, correct feed rate and light cuts you can machine pretty much any material with small lathe.

[@marcobotha9376]

@@RobertAdairWorkshop I feel your pain Always get picked on you have crap but cant expect everyone to have 10K for a industrial lathe

[@panjandrum.conundrum]

Have you ever watched Clickspring? It's astonishing what you can do with a minilathe. You won't believe his stuff.

[@bustednuckles2]

Turned out nice but man was that a project!

[@RobertAdairWorkshop]

it was a lot more work than I thought. Could have saved a lot of time with the shroud if I just made it a single-piece rectangle. Thank you for the compliment!