Replies

1. 
   philip | Dec 11, 2009 06:40am | #1

   Ordinary cast iron is easy to drill. Use a center drill to mark the exact location and ensure that the tap drill doesn't move off. Unlikely, but if it is an old machine this part could have been made with a hardened cast iron-and you will know as soon as you use the center or spotting drill-in which case I advise you to find another means of mounting the panel.
   Use of a center drill is not essential, but if you are not familiar it helps avoid problems.
   Cast iron is drilled and tapped dry, without cutting oils etc. Speed is not too critical, best to err on the fast side.
   Be sure to drill the correct size tapping hole.....
   Hopefully the holes are not penetrating any critical areas....Philip Marcou

   
   

   ---

   Edited 12/10/2009 10:42 pm by philip

2. 
   RickL | Dec 11, 2009 09:25pm | #2

   Pretty much like Phillip said. You guys ever just google for the answers to simple questions like this???

   Where'd you get the VFD?? I've been buying mine from http://www.factorymation.com  The manuals are pretty intimidating on VFD's.  Lots of nice bells and whistles and most of the lathe makers are going with VFD's.

1. 
   Quickstep | Dec 11, 2009 09:57pm | #3

   Why would I wade through the endless responses from Google, may of which may be unfounded, when I can pose the question to a group of people who are more experienced and smarter than the average bear?

   I got my VFD from FactoryMation based on your recommendation. I'm hoping to not have to do the level of programming  that's possible. The folks at FactoryMation were very helpful and the unit I got will give me variable speed, braking and reverse, for less than a new single phase motor would have cost. I have do do some re-wiring which is in progress. Now if I can just come up with a way to mount the control panel on top of the lathe's headstock, I'll be in business.

2. 
   wotnow | Dec 12, 2009 03:42pm | #4

   Hi RickI am interested in changing my lathe to variable speed control, changing pulleys sucks. Looked at that website and from what I can gather, it appears that I will have to change my motor from single phase to three phase. Did you have to go through all this?wotI started out with nothing...and I still have most of it left!

1. 
   Quickstep | Dec 12, 2009 05:02pm | #6

   My lathe came with a three phase motor, so that's why I am using the Variable Frequency Drive to avoid buying a new single phase motor. I think they will only work with three phase motors. The good news is that three phase motors are relatively cheap compared to single phase motors.

1. 
   wotnow | Dec 12, 2009 06:14pm | #7

   Guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and invest in some three phase motors.Re tracking your lathe revs, how have you addressed this. I guess there are digital counters available. Do you use the output to feedback to the speed controller?wotI started out with nothing...and I still have most of it left!

1. 
   Quickstep | Dec 12, 2009 06:46pm | #8

   I literally just got mine connected up late last night. If I'm reading the (poorly written) manual correctly, you can customize the display to show something that approximates RPM.  

2. 
   wotnow | Dec 12, 2009 07:28pm | #9

   Thanks mate.Went web wading and found there is one company makes a controller for single phase. They then went on to mention shaded poles, synchronous, brushed etc and my brain said what the hell you doing here, get out at once. They were very exe as well.Guess there is a lot to be said for treadle power, may have to build myself a pole lathe.Good luck and let us know how it all turns outwotI started out with nothing...and I still have most of it left!

3. 
   RalphBarker | Dec 13, 2009 01:27am | #10

   After the 25th, you might get a good deal on a north pole lathe. ;-)

3. 
   | Dec 12, 2009 04:18pm | #5

   Hello Rick,

   Goggling is one way to skin the cat; another is to use a different type of digital forum, and ask your friends on Knots:)

   Bob, Tupper Lake, NY

4. 
   JeffHeath | Dec 14, 2009 01:12am | #14

   RickI'm not starting an argument with you, but simply giving you another perspective.Quite frequently in the past I see you mentioning to "just google it!". There is a lot of misinformation out there on the net. The whole purpose of a forum like this is to ask people who you feel like you know and trust to give you a good answer. Just about every question discussed here could be answered with a google search, but the reliability of the answer could definitely be in question.For instance, I know for a fact that I can trust an answer from you on repairing or re-aligning some part on some machine. I'll also get great answers from John White and Mookaroid (Philip), too. The trust factor is why people come here instead of just using Google. A simple question is only simple if you already know the answer. Happy Holidays,Jeff

   Edited 12/13/2009 5:13 pm ET by JeffHeath

3. 
   Jfrostjr | Dec 13, 2009 07:40pm | #11

   Others have told you how to drill the hole but not how to 'tap' the threads.

   Since it is a small hole, the tap(s) should not cost too much. In that case a 'starter' tap is very helpful. It has a taper so that getting it started properly is much easier.

   If are tapping a blind hole and you will need a full thread length, you will want a 'bottoming' tap. These have threads all the way to the bottom to make up for the loss of threads on the taper of the 'starter'.

   In any case, I have found it best to make a turn of the tap, then back out - and repeat till you are home.

   Good luck

   Frosty

   “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
   in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”

   Milton Friedman

1. 
   pek-r-wood | Dec 13, 2009 09:26pm | #12

   Good advice from Milton about "peck" tapping, i.e. tapping in small increments. I'd only add that between pecks, a shot of compressed air is a good idea. Most metals make stringy chips when tapped; cast iron makes dust. This can make tapping it problematic because the particles, or "fines" as they're called, can build up ahead of the taps cutting edges, and eventually bind the tap.
   Also, when tapping blind holes, spiral fluted taps are preferred because the flutes pull the fines up and out of the hole, whereas straight fluted taps are better suited for through holes .Oh, and what size threads are you cutting? A .125" drill isn't technically correct for any Unified or National threadform that I'm aware of; too big to tap a strong 6-32, and too small for an 8-32.
   Are you approximating the correct size for a metric thread?

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Dec 13, 2009 10:41pm | #13

   "and eventually bind the tap." So that is what happened to me.My tap experience came 60 years ago in the shop of a CAT dealer. I assume that things are the same now.It is interesting that Caterpillar did all of there manufacturing in FRACTIONS!. Prints were to 1/64" or maybe it was 1/128". There was an uproar when then went decimal and to my knowledge, even though they manufacture worldwide, they have not gone Metric.Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
   in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman

1. 
   pek-r-wood | Dec 14, 2009 02:23am | #15

   I see fractional dimension callouts on prints sometimes, too. Mostly a matter of designer preference, the product being made, and the culture of the organization. +/- 1/64" is a more than tight enough tolerance band for a lot of work. In fact, I wish more engineers would use fractions when appropriate. So many these days just set the default callouts on their drafting software to a three place decimal, which unless otherwise specified, a machinist will interpret as having a tolerance of .001" There's nothing more frustrating than working to a thou all day and then finding out that +/- 1/64" would have worked just fine. I've had to "educate" a few of our younger engineers on this point in the past.
   As far as Imperial vs. metric, whoo boy that's a whole other thread.