is it my lathe, the electrics, or both?

[Lee Alkureishi]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a new lathe,the harbor freight 34706 clone of the jet 1236. I read a bunch of reviews beforehand, and understood that I would be getting a good lathe for the price ($200) but with a potentially underpowered motor which can get bogged down on larger bowls.

I"ve been very pleased with the purchase, but have a question:

The motor seems to get bogged down easier than I've read should be the case. First, on a maple platter 10" x 2.5" deep, I could take only very light cuts, and it would still slow the motor. Next, on an 8" x 5" deep pine bowl, which is actually very lightweight, I'm getting slowdown as well. On a few occasions, on a longer cut, the lathe slowed down then the circuit breaker to my garage tripped. Notably, that has also happened with my bandsaw.

Now, I'm sure there's a problem with the Electrics in my garage,and have scheduled an electrician to come out. But, do you think that fixing that may also improve the lathe's "oomph"? Or is that likely a different issue?

I"m also having problems with the reeves drive slipping at higher speeds, even after changing the belt for a napa replacement, but I think that's down to the cold weather more than anything else...

Thanks for your suggestions,

Lee

[Michelle Rich]

I would check my belts..they may be slipping, thus low output

[Dennis Ford]

If your electrical problems are resulting in low voltage under load (probable), they are definetly contributing to the lack of power. The belt problem may related to spring tension in the reeves mechanism or sticky movement of the pulleys.

[Kevin Lucas]

Lee,

I have the same lathe and no real power source close to it. The main power it a ground fault light switch combo near the door. Of course the lathe is in the rear of the garage. I ran a 3 prong extension cord through the rafters to a power bar. That gave it a little more juice than my other cobbled together power outlet that is closer. Mine will bog down if I am roughing a big log section. The belts will slip sometimes if I get a really good scary catch as well.

The first time I changed the belt I broke the pulleys (I did it way wrong!). When I put a new set on I used real high sand paper just to smooth the area at the pulleys and lubed it well that helped. The Napa belt is like 7 or 9$ and a hardware store one is like 5. To replace one slip it over the spindle pulley then just pry the motor pulley open with your fingers and get it started in it. Turn it and it pops in. Taking off the spring is a pain ) I think a little more juice and lube you will be surprised how it works out.

If you are going to do a lot of bowls you may want to look up jet 1236 lathe speed modification. It will drop the lowest speed down a little more.

[Dave Wagner]

if you extension cord isn't heavy enough (12 or 10AWG) depending on the distance, it will add resistance to line and reduce your voltage input to your lathe. Have you tried to plug it in directly to an outlet and try it to see if the cord is the problem?
Many extension cords are 14 or 16AWG and if you are running 25-50 feet, may cause the problem.

[James Combs]

if you extension cord isn't heavy enough (12 or 10AWG) depending on the distance, it will add resistance to line and reduce your voltage input to your lathe. Have you tried to plug it in directly to an outlet and try it to see if the cord is the problem?
Many extension cords are 14 or 16AWG and if you are running 25-50 feet, may cause the problem.

+1 What Dave said except I would have said "most extension" cords.

[Dave Wagner]

The specs on the lathe say 3/4HP, 6 AMPS. I would think even a lighter weight (16 or 18AWG) extension cord would be okay, maybe your belt is slipping or your wiring is not sufficient.

here a approx. chart for length vs. size vs. amps. (At least according to Home Depot's site).

[Sid Matheny]

If it was low voltage I would think you would see your lights getting dim while it is really pulling power.

Sid

[James Combs]

The specs on the lathe say 3/4HP, 6 AMPS. I would think even a lighter weight (16 or 18AWG) extension cord would be okay, maybe your belt is slipping or your wiring is not sufficient.

here a approx. chart for length vs. size vs. amps. (At least according to Home Depot's site).

Yes those things will operate with the cords indicated, however, there is one thing that is not considered in the chart and that is the amperage increase as the load(amount of gouge bite in this case). As the motor slows down it draws more amperage causing more voltage loss across the cord and less at the motor which slows it even more causing it to draw more amps causing more voltage to drop etc etc until it stops and now there is enough amperage through the circuit to trip the breaker. A larger cord may not solve the problem but it certainly isn't going to hurt.

[Lee Alkureishi]

Thanks everyone for the input - looks like I have some troubleshooting to do.

Best,

Lee

[John Keeton]

Having owned a 34706, it should not behave in the manner described. The belt slippage can be either not enough tension, or some contamination on the drive system given that you have gotten rid of the poor quality belt that comes on the lathe. But, the motor issues should not be happening with what you describe, and I would feel certain there are electrical issues in the power source.

It is an underpowered lathe, but I turned a couple of 11" bowls on mine as I recall.