motor swap on my 16"

leod · Nov 18, 2015

Gonna go ahead and tackle the no doubt painful, time consuming and difficult task of putting a new(ish) 3 hp 3 ph motor in that tightly cramped space down there. It is a baldor reliance super e motor with a 182T frame. With a name like that it's gotta be good, right. That old 1 1/2 hp just aint getting it. When I start it on the highest speed I have to give it a little shove with my hand sometimes since I put on the 10" chuck. Not my idea of adequate power. If anyone else has been brave enough to tackle this procedure, some insight would be greatly appreciated.

moonlight machine · Nov 18, 2015

Make sure your belts from the motor to the jack shaft are tight and not slipping. I have a 12" 3 jaw for my 16" sb, I used to have to give it a push to get started til I replaced the belts from the motor to the jackshaft. The motor pulley is so small that it does not have much area for the belt to grip. My belts were all oily as well.

Dobermann · Nov 18, 2015

The task you have ahead is not really all that bad IF you prepare some things ahead of time. A 182 frame motor is heavy so unless you're in really good shape from weight training and can lift it with one hand while you put bolts in with the other hand, you need to gather up some wood blocks so that you can get the motor in place and support it at the proper height while you put in the bolts.

Having said that, probably the first thing you need to do is see if the bolt pattern of your new motor matches the existing mount. If not, making an adapter plate is going to be easier than trying to drill and tap a new set of holes in the existing mount plate, working inside the support leg of the lathe.

Also, be very careful that you don't leave yourself in a position where you could crush your hand(s) if the motor should slip and fall down to the floor.

Baby steps, baby steps!

leod · Nov 21, 2015

Thank you both, I appreciate it, particularly the part about watching my hands in there. Didn't really think about that yet, that would be bad.

thomasutley · Nov 21, 2015

leod said:
Thank you both, I appreciate it, particularly the part about watching my hands in there. Didn't really think about that yet, that would be bad.

A car scissor jack works well inside the base cabinet to support the motor and/or countershaft assembly. The easiest access is from the bottom but most people won't find it convenient to lay the machine on its back to do it that way.

leod · Nov 24, 2015

One plus for my 1926 13" top drive, swap out to 3hp 3ph took about an hour and a half.

tnmgcarbide · Nov 25, 2015

map those bolt holes . make damned sure they will align , and the pulley is right before you are kneeling on sharp chips and in
agony under the machine.

the original weakish motors were huge , so fitting a post 1960's 3 to 5 hp motor is easy.

get a good motor w/ a better duty cycle , like 1.2 or so .

the belt can't transmit more than 3hp, but a larger motor would be ok if it were cheaper .

leod · Nov 25, 2015

I expect the first thing I will have to do is bore out the pulley to 1 1/8" or turn down the shaft, which is probably the better way to go, but much more difficult. Then work out front to back, left and right placement, then height, then bolt pattern. Ugh. Gonna bore a lot of long 1" and larger bores, so I gotta have decent power.

Dobermann · Nov 27, 2015

You can do what you want but I would recommend that you not turn down the motor shaft. It's that size for a reason which is torsional and bending stresses which develop from motor torque and belt tension reactions. Bore out the pulley you have or find a proper pulley with the correct bore. Places like Surplus Center have lots of them of various sizes for reasonable prices. Look for a cast iron pulley.

moonlight machine · Nov 27, 2015

You may have to turn the shaft because the motor pulley is so small on that thing. There is not even a set screw on mine, it has a key with a slight taper that is used to lock the pulley in place.

Dobermann · Nov 27, 2015

Forgot to add that if you turn the motor shaft, you'll lose the keyway so unless you have equipment to cut a new keyway, Don't do it. And don't do it anyway. You can easily find a pulley that will work and if you get the lathe working properly, you can make your own pulley to exactly the diameter(s) you want. Based on what I understand about your project--that is the lathe runs but not to your satisfaction--you should be able to make a pulley for it now.

leod · Nov 27, 2015

This is getting tougher, I really did not like the idea of turning the shaft and would only do that as a last resort and not more than 1/8". But after measuring things, I have found that like it or not, I have to go to a larger pulley. At 1 1/8" bore, there would only be .110" of meat left without a keyway. I don't believe I am going to be able to buy one with those dimensions. It is going to be tough enough to find a 4 groove pulley to begin with. There are only three belts on my lathe now, but it does take 4. I am sure I could make due but I doubt SB went to the work and expense of building it with 4 for no reason. It appears I will be making one. The keyway situation will be a problem. Update, maybe after what I have just read on pulleys on here, maybe I will just go with two grooves. Gonna start a new thread on it.

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