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1983? Leblond 14" T&D- Completely new to lathes and have no idea where to start.

AlfaGTA

Diamond
Joined
Dec 13, 2002
Location
Benicia California USA
Can anyone shed some light on the tail stock quill? Appears to have an aluminum plug fitted. Looks to be through the entire quill?
Believe VFD is a no go because there are multiple 3 phase motors that are in play (hydraulics for servo shift)
Not a huge LeBlond fan but i like this one. Liking the "D" spindle and short bed.
Cheers Ross
 
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Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Location
marysville ohio
do you mean "T and G" ? never heard of a 't and d' lathe . get a vfd that will convert the voltage and phase to your needs.

nice machine . not all leblonds' are rattle-trap regals.

that could be anywhere from 5-10 hp... not an 30HP -NFL , but not an 3hp Regal .

Probably not, you have a spindle motor, shift motor and a motor to rock the spindle when you are shifting, I have heard of problems running 2 motors on 1 VFD. Just get a phase converter and be done with it.
 

cnctoolcat

Diamond
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Location
Abingdon, VA
LeBlond's were some of the best engine lathes around back in the day. We had an entire row of them at the vocational school machine shop class back in the early '80's.

A unique feature of these Leblond lathes is the front square guideway is replaceable...although I can't imagine anybody ever doing it?

Normally I would suggest VFD all the way, but since you've got several motors and switchgear, a phase converter is the ticket.
 

Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
Now I understand. Vfd 's do not like loads switched on and off downstream of the vfd. They see a sudden change in load and panic sets in. Turning those extra motors on and off would make the VFd go crazy.
If it was just some solenoids, like I thought, those could probably be supplied by single phase seperate from the vfd.
Bill D
 

Overland

Stainless
Joined
Nov 19, 2017
Location
Greenville, SC
As soon as I opened this thread and looked at the photos I was horrified how the straps were sitting on the handwheels on the carriage / compound slide. Lucky nothing was damaged, I hope.
Good luck with the lathe.
Bob
 

MNCold

Plastic
Joined
Apr 13, 2023
Location
Afton, MN
Can anyone shed some light on the tail stock quill? Appears to have an aluminum plug fitted. Looks to be through the entire quill?
Believe VFD is a no go because there are multiple 3 phase motors that are in play (hydraulics for servo shift)
Not a huge LeBlond fan but i like this one. Liking the "D" spindle and short bed.
Cheers Ross
So there is what appears to be a plug with 2 small bearings screwed into that. Homemade support of some kind.
As soon as I opened this thread and looked at the photos I was horrified how the straps were sitting on the handwheels on the carriage / compound slide. Lucky nothing was damaged, I hope.
Good luck with the lathe.
Bob
Nothing was harmed but you are 100% correct, that was a horrid tie down point.

I am looking into a North America RPC, PL-10 to get three phase. Any experience with them? I saw Made in America and was sold.
 

amaranth

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 5, 2002
Location
Manchester, MI USA
I have a LeBlond Regal, a bit lighter that yours, but I like it.

The flat ways are supposedly replaceable, but I've never heard of anyone doing it. And you'd probably have to grind them in place once you replaced them anyway.

You'll probably need a 10hp RPC. They're easy to make it you want to save a few bucks (which you'll need for tooling). A 10hp 3ph motor, some caps and a contactor or two and maybe some buttons. Lots of threads with information available on that. With some scrounging you could likely put one together for less than $100.

An advantage of an RPC is if (actually when) you get other machines, you can just plug them in and go. No rewiring needed.

Changing the motor voltage to 240 should be easy. There should be a connection plate on the motor showing what you need to connect.

Look for a wiring diagram, there may be a step down transformer used to run the other 3ph motors that needs to be strapped out to run at 240. Or check with LeBlond Ltd. Parts are pricey, but they can be helpful.

Read up on all of the 'how to run a lathe' books and pay strict attention to safety practices. That lathe could wind you up like a pretzel, there's not going to be any belt slip to save you if you screw up. Check with your local community college/votech school and see if there are any classes. Having an experience instructor can make life a lot easier.

Have fun!
 

gbent

Diamond
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Location
Kansas
I believe there are only 2 motors, spindle and hydraulic(shift) motor. The shift motor also rocks the spindle (or does on regals). Before rewiring the spindle motor, make sure the shift motor can be rewired for a different voltage. Some of those little motors were not dual voltage. If the motor can't be reconnected, buy a transformer to jump your voltage. If in good shape that lathe is worth the effort to do it right.
 

tnmgcarbide

Diamond
Joined
Jul 6, 2004
Location
N. GA- 33.992N , -83.72W usa
. That lathe could wind you up like a pretzel,
maybe not that lathe , but any lathe can fuck you up and kill you if you aren't completely aware.


don't watch this one ..
https://www.reddit.com/r/watchthingsfly/comments/p2um2o
it is pure horror to see something as disgusting as this video. it is real .

the truth of what could happen. be careful. be safe..
 
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MNCold

Plastic
Joined
Apr 13, 2023
Location
Afton, MN
Great information, I downloaded a copy buy like to have printed versions for the shop.

Safety First and always! I have a great deal of respect for these machines and understand that they are actively trying to kill me at all times, absolutely. Complacency Kills.
 

Rob F.

Diamond
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Location
California, Central Coast
With multiple motors in the lathe is it better to use a transformer to step up the voltage from 240 to 480?
If it were me I would use a 3 phase transformer after the RPC. That way you will have both 240v 3 phase and 480v 3 phase. You can also use a single phase 240 to 480 transformer on the input to you RPC but then you are only making 480v 3 phase. You are sure to get other 3 phase machines now that you have one.
Bottom line is you can use either a single phase, a 3 phase, or even 3 single phase transformers to do what you need, get whatever is closest and or cheapest and you can get it to work. ( just be sure to get correct KVA rating)
 

MNCold

Plastic
Joined
Apr 13, 2023
Location
Afton, MN
With multiple motors in the lathe is it better to use a transformer to step up the voltage from 240 to 480?
If it were me I would use a 3 phase transformer after the RPC. That way you will have both 240v 3 phase and 480v 3 phase. You can also use a single phase 240 to 480 transformer on the input to you RPC but then you are only making 480v 3 phase. You are sure to get other 3 phase machines now that you have one.
Bottom line is you can use either a single phase, a 3 phase, or even 3 single phase transformers to do what you need, get whatever is closest and or cheapest and you can get it to work. ( just be sure to get correct KVA rating)

So, I like this idea for the versatility it provides and ordered a North America PL-10 for getting 3 phase power. Now I have to find a 3 phase 240V to 480V transformer.
 

ken moss

Stainless
Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Location
woodland wa clark
Alot of us have been down this road. For this machine you will need 3 phase to run so a phase converter/or 3 phase for the Power Co. As for chucks I wouldnt buy a used chuck unless you can look at it.next the top speed of that machine is 2400 rpm so I would stick with a steel chuck. size of chuck 8" for a 3 jaw would be about that lathe and a 10" 4 jaw. if you buy a used chuck make sure you get both sets of jaws or if it has the removeable top jaws you need the top jaws not just the soft jaws. a thing about the phase converter is now you have a lathe you may want a mill or drill press or some other machine you will have the 3 phase to run one. ken
 
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ken moss

Stainless
Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Location
woodland wa clark
one more thing if you get in touch with Lablond dont gave them your Email address. I bought some parts from them a few years ago and still get emails from them lots of them Ken
 

MrWhoopee

Hot Rolled
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Wow, you must have been a Very Good Boy! I thought I'd won the prize when I was gifted an SB Heavy 10 and Kent vertical mill. Congratulations and welcome to the rabbit hole. Open your wallet and jump in.
 








 
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