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