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Thread: What's the best way to start/stop your lathe in regular use?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    Lowell, MA
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    What's the best way to start/stop your lathe in regular use?

    I finally got to try out my lathe last night, and I was not sure how I should be stopping and restarting it. I know this is a really stupid question, but I have no idea. I could stop it using the stop button, or by switching the direction to neutral, or by turning the speed all the way down. If I use the stop button, I have to turn the speed down and switch the direction to neutral before I can press the start button. That's nice as a safety feature, but seems to be too much if I just want to stop it temporarily while I inspect my work or move the tool rest closer. Maybe I'm just stopping and starting too frequently.

  2. #2
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    That sounds like a lot of trouble to go through every time. What type of lathe is it?

    I have a Oneway 1224 and starting/stopping is completely obvious. There is a green button to start it and a red button to stop it. Next to this is a rotary speed dial and a toggle switch for forward/reverse.

    Steve

  3. #3
    With the variable speed lathes, a number of people will turn the speed down to 0 to stop it. This is actually a safety measure so you don't start it up at high speed by accident. There are many instances of people mounting pieces on the lathe and not checking the speed before turning the lathe on. Most will have electronic brakes, so they don't spin forever. Just using the speed knob will not hurt your lathe.

    robo hippy
    Last edited by Reed Gray; 11-06-2015 at 12:03 PM.

  4. #4
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    I just use the big red On/Off button on my lathe. I figure that's what it's there for. Never had a problem so far. Sure I have to stop to reverse direction but you should anyway.
    Happy and Safe Turning, Don


    Woodturners make the world go ROUND!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    As Reed said, it is good practice on a variable speed lathe to turn the speed down when stopping the lathe, but I wouldn't use that method to "stop" the lathe. For that, use the red stop button. Most variable speed lathes use a motor with a cooling fan mounted to the shaft of the motor. When you turn down the speed of the motor, you also turn down the speed of the cooling fan. (This isn't true with all motors.) Running the lathe for an extended period of time with the speed turned way down can cause the motor to overheat. There's simply not enough airflow to cool the motor properly. (At least that's the case in Arizona during the summer!) Bottom line: If you're turning the lathe off for more than a minute or two, it's a two-step process: turn speed down and hit the stop button. If you're turning the lathe off for the day, turn the speed down and turn the power off. If you're just stopping the lathe for a moment ot two to check your progress, simply turn the speed down.
    David Walser
    Mesa, Arizona

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    I have the Grizzly G0766. There is no separate power off button vs. a stop button. The off button is under a safety stop plunger, and that hole thing covers the on button.

    I think this motor is meant to be able to run at a slow speed without overheating. I can run it at less than 100 RPMs easily. I'll use the speed knob as my regular stop operation. I do like that as a routine as I'll never accidentally start the machine at a gallop.

    Thanks for your knowledge and wisdom.

  7. Quote Originally Posted by Klaus Waldeck View Post
    I have the Grizzly G0766. There is no separate power off button vs. a stop button. The off button is under a safety stop plunger, and that hole thing covers the on button.

    I think this motor is meant to be able to run at a slow speed without overheating. I can run it at less than 100 RPMs easily. I'll use the speed knob as my regular stop operation. I do like that as a routine as I'll never accidentally start the machine at a gallop.

    Thanks for your knowledge and wisdom.
    The proper sequence on the G0766 is to turn the speed dial to zero, if you just want to check your work. If stopping for the day, then turn the speed dial down, then push the red stop button. Using the forward reverse is not the best idea for longevity of that switch, in my opinion. Of course, as a safety measure built in, they make you have it in neutral first before putting the dial back on forward or reverse to keep you from having the speed dial up then it ramping up with a large blank on it at 1200 rpm . This is the way I do it on my G0766, and did the same on my former G0698 18/47 lathe.
    Remember, in a moments time, everything can change!

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  8. #8
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    Klaus, I have a G0766 also. I also find it easier to just turn the speed control down to zero when stopping and just turning it up to restart. I don't particularly like having to fiddle with the direction control when I'm doing something. But when I'm done with a session, I just push in the red stop button and unplug the machine.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Houston, Texas
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    I too have the G0766, and I just turn the speed dial down when checking my work, then turn it back up when I'm ready to go (as long as it's not too long of an interval). The rest of the time, I do as Roger suggested.
    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  10. #10
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    Wow - everyone does it different than I do - but then - do what feels comfortable to you!

    I do a lot of hollow forms - which means you are constantly stopping to remove shavings. I use the remote switch on my Jet or the regular on/off on the Robust to stop the lathe. I never mess with the speed adjust - once it is set - while hollowing. If I had to stop the lathe using the speed control - remove shavings - then adjust to where I had the speed set before - I would add a lot of time to what it already takes to hollow something! For those of you concerned about safety - when you are finished for the day - THEN turn the speed control down to zero, the on/off switch to off and unplug the lathe. Always check where the speed knob is located before turning the lathe on for the first time. Other than that - to me it makes no sense to mess with the speed once you have it set where you want.
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    "Brownsville", North Queensland, Australia.
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    Klaus this is not a stupid question, too often product manuals rely upon the turners “common sense” as they do not explicitly state the correct protocol to start / stop the lathe safely.

    Variable Frequency Drives offer significant advantages to wood turners with variable speed, increased torque at low rpm, reverse direction etc, however they also introduce new hazards that were not present on "traditional lathes."

    The hazards,


    • VFD’s are typically powered the whole time the unit is connected to a power supply. They can hold a significant charge in the VFD for up to 30 seconds (perhaps more) after the unit is disconnected from power. Potential for electric shocks.


    • If control placement is not ideal, then inadvertent disturbance of controls is possible while performing other tasks – changing faceplates or chucks etc.


    • Unintended start ups from disturbance of controls may lead to significant injury.


    • Inadvertent selection of the “wrong” lathe rotation direction.


    • Inadvertent selection of an inappropriate speed for the type of project, blank condition etc.


    • Rapid acceleration of work pieces “up to speed” may stress “fragile” blanks.


    • Curious or helpful others, invited and uninvited visitors especially children.


    With traditional lathes lathe speed selection was a very conscious decision that required the turner to perform a number of steps to achieve. With VFD variable speed lathes this is merely a simple rotation of the dial, or a flip of the switch to select reverse, with far less time to re-consider your decision or actions. Best to develop a habit to take a few seconds to run through a mental check list. This will become automatic or second nature with time.

    Many manufacturers acknowledge these potential hazards exist and supply machines with a cover over the reverse switch and or combination emergency ON/OFF/Emergency Stop controls and / or software management intervention i.e. time delays etc. Often there are economic factors for combining controls or for the location of controls in less than ideal positions. In some countries the fitment of particular control types is mandated by electrical safety & consumer law.

    From a safety perspective there are a number of tasks and reasons why you should stop a variable speed lathe (any lathe or machine) in a particular manner.

    Isolating power to the whole lathe, i.e. the motor, switches and even the VFD itself, for maintenance tasks performed on the motor or electrical components. Achieve full isolation preferably by mechanically removing the power lead from the wall power socket then waiting for the VFD to fully discharge before commencing maintenance tasks.

    Power to the motor should be isolated by switching the ON/OFF switch to OFF for any task (changing chucks / face plates etc) where inadvertent start up may cause contact injuries with moving parts. Turning the lathe control to zero on the speed selector does not achieve this nor does selecting “neutral.”

    For temporary halts in work, i.e. visually checking condition of blanks etc many turners fall into the “convenient” but not ideal habit of turning the VFD speed selector to zero. Usually they develop this habit due to the perceived inconvenience of using the engineered safety controls i.e. a mushroom Emergency Switch acting as a cover to the ON/OFF switches.

    For longer halts in work it is good practice to develop a habit of switching the lathe OFF and making machinery safe while you are not supervising the machine.

    For overnight or longer halts switch the lathe OFF and fully isolate power to the lathes electronics by switching the power circuit OFF at the wall switch / GPO and or removing the power lead to the lathe from the power socket. This also saves on power consumption.

    As others have mentioned a very good safety habit to develop is to always return the lathe speed to a low speed setting at the end of each turning session or when changing turning projects.

    Another wise safety protocol is to show your family how to isolate power to machines in your shop / shed, purely for your and their safety in an emergency situation where you may have become incapable of doing so.

    A helpful & comprehensive lathe safety list @ http:// www .woodworkforums. com/showthread.php?t=164022 (copy & remove spaces)
    Last edited by Steve Schlumpf; 11-06-2015 at 7:23 PM. Reason: typos & format; direct links to other forums not allowed

  12. #12
    I just use the red off button on my 3520. That's what it's there for, to turn it off.

  13. #13

    griz 766 soft stop

    I can only speak for my own 766 but after weeks of always turning the speed control to zero to give a soft stop I tried flipping the forward and reverse switch to neutral or stop when running at whatever speed I was working at. Discovered that the lathe was programmed with a softer stop than I was giving it. Now I flip the switch to zero. Definitely works best for me as I tend to twist the dial a little rapidly when setting speed too and often overrun the preferred speed. When turning something fragile that could be a good way to eat a turning.

    Once the lathe is out of warranty I may read the manual on the VFD. A novel idea but there are a lot of settings for most VFD's. Setting the speed it ramps up and slows down to a little more gradual wouldn't displease me.

    Hu

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Cuero, Texas--Not too far from the third coast.
    Posts
    54
    Great question.
    Interesting thing is that on my Laguna 18/47--the book says to use the directional switch for most "off" switching and to use the big red "stop" button when a rapid stop is needed.
    On my other lathes-- Nova and Vega--it's just turn it off.
    Using Texas woods--especially Mesquite, the "Queen" of woods.

  15. #15
    I'm like Steve. Once I establish the speed I am turning or hollowing at, the lathe stays there and I just hit the OFF button. I am constantly shutting it off and on and sometimes hitting the emergency stop bar on my Vicmarc by accident and shutting if off when I didn't mean too! I also ave made it a practice to turn the dial all the way down after I am done working and go to shut off the VFD (Vicmarc's are weird and have a master off switch down by the ground on the VFD).
    -------
    No, it's not thin enough yet.
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