9C lathe motor

The SB 9C that I bought last week has a Century 1/2hp motor that I don't think is the original. It is wired through an old brown house wiring wall switch that is attached to the metal stand with a clamp bracket that obviously is meant to attach to the lathe bed, possibly to hold the original drum-type switch.

My question is, did the original type 110v 1-ph motor have the capability of running in reverse, and can this motor be wired to have reversing if the drum switch is used?

The specs on this motor are:

Century Elec. Co.
CSH-81-BH4-3AE
1/2hp 115/230 60cy
1750 rpm 7.0/3.5 A
Ser. No. AA1 Code L
Open 40deg.

This is an impressive looking motor, runs smooth and quiet, but looks a bit large in relation to the lathe. One negative thing is, because of it's physical size, an adapter plate was made to shift it to the right for belt alignment. Also, it is "laying on it's side" to be mounted on the plate, which is vertical. This puts the shaft oil cups on their side and prevents them from holding oil. I wonder if the thru-bolts can be removed and the end caps (with oil cups) be rotated 90 degrees?

Thanks in advance for your replies,

Greg

Hi There,

My question is, did the original type 110v 1-ph motor have the capability of running in reverse, and can this motor be wired to have reversing if the drum switch is used?

Click to expand...

Original equipment motors were able to be run in reverse. As I am unfamiliar with your motor I don't know if it can be wired for reversing easily.

It will depend on whether or not the leads to the starting circuit are available under the cover plate on the side of the motor. If there isn't a wiring diagram on the ID tag, look under the cover plate (where the wiring connects to the motor). Sometimes manufacurers will put the diagram on the back side of the plate.

If that isn't available, try to identifly the leads coming out of the motor. Are they color coded? Do they have numbers or letter/numbers on them? If you check this and get back to us, we could be of more help.

Also, it is "laying on it's side" to be mounted on the plate, which is vertical. This puts the shaft oil cups on their side and prevents them from holding oil. I wonder if the thru-bolts can be removed and the end caps (with oil cups) be rotated 90 degrees?

Click to expand...

Again, it depends. If there is enough slack in the leads, then it will be possible to rotate the end bells 90 deg. Another alternative would be to replace the existing oilers with "elbow" style oilers. Oilers can be bought from McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr Supply Co.

Of course, you can take your motor to a motor shop and they can answer your questions and probably rotate the end bells and rewire (if necessary) your motor for reversing.

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

Webb -

Here's what I've been able to see looking under the wiring cover plate. There are two small schematic diagrams on the back of the plate, one labeled "high" and one "low". Since it is labeled as a 115/230 volt motor, I assume this refers to high or low voltage. There is also a line of fine print that includes the word "rotation", but the paper label is so oil-soaked that is all I can make out. It is currently wired as shown in the "low" diagram, which is as follows....

There are four terminals under the plate, L1 and L2, which have the two lines coming in from the switch and plug. The other two terminals are labeled A and B. B is connected by a brass/copper strap (looks original/permanent) to a movable contact (as in relay type contact) on an apparatus encircling the armature shaft. The other side of this contact set is connected to terminal A (starting circuit?). There is a copper wire jumper (not original) between L1 and A.

There are, as best as I can see, 6 internal motor leads, each labeled with a crimped on brass sleeve, numbered 1 thru 6. Leads 2 and 5 are connected to L2, lead 4 is connected to terminal B. These are the only leads connected to a terminal, and according to the diagram, are the only three used if wired "high" as well. Leads 1, 3 and 6 are coiled up behind all this, and I can't tell if any or all of them are in use or not.

Good idea about the 90 degree oil cups - I've seen those, but just didn't think of them yet (thinking seems to be the hard part, anymore!)

The reason I'm trying to get a handle on this now is there is an original type fwd/off/rev drum switch on Ebay that I will bid on if I can use it.

Thanks,

Greg