1945 sb 16/24

EBW · Feb 11, 2017

Hello all.
I inherited this war era 16/24 and was hoping to gather information from the group. From what I know, it was set up for the Navy due to the swivel leg. ( I may be wrong )
The previous owner had it spliced for 110 and I had an electrician look at it to set it up. I always thought it was 220, but he wasn't so sure and was thinking it may have been 110 all along.
Any help and info from the group would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Sachmanram · Feb 12, 2017

Good morning, and welcome to the club...

That is such a neat looking lathe, with the swiveling foot. I have never seen one like it. I can't help you with your electrical, but it might be more helpful to you if you were able to post some pics of the motor tag and maybe the wiring as it goes out of the motor.

Brian

Ray Behner · Feb 12, 2017

An electrician should know enough to look at the motor. That will tell you the voltage.
As it's wired now, I think it's pretending to be 110v.

EBW · Feb 12, 2017

Thank You gentlemen. I will take more pictures of the wiring.

My question is, were they ever wired from the factory for 110 ??? Or were they always 220.

And for the war effort, would that change anything for having 110 ??

I am trying to get the wiring figured out first and then work on cleaning it up to use like it was designed.

Sachmanram · Feb 12, 2017

Your lathe would have been used in an industrial setting and likely had a 3-phase motor. It could have been 220/440v or 550v 3-phase. Definately not wired 110v as original in my opinion. Quite often, the original motors end up being replaced with single phase motors when they end up in the home shop market. I have a 16" SB that came with an inappropriate 220v single phase motor.

Here's a link to South Bend specs. Page 48 is where the motors are.

http://wswells.com/data/catalog/100B/cat_100B.pdf

Brian

EBW · Feb 12, 2017

Thanks Brian for the link !

kitno455 · Feb 12, 2017

Mike Gre said:
If your drum switch works and reverses the motor then it must be 3 phase.

Why is that?

allan

Mike Gre · Feb 12, 2017

kitno455 said:
Why is that?

allan

The drum switch reverses two phases so that the motor spins backwards.

kitno455 · Feb 12, 2017

You have a three line fuse holder, but only one fuse installed. It is likely the machine was originally 3 phase, but has been modified over the years. The problem here is you are focused on the wrong part. All that matters is the motor's needs. Once you show us that, we can make the rest of this stuff work usually.

allan

kitno455 · Feb 12, 2017

Mike Gre said:
The drum switch reverses two phases so that the motor spins backwards.

A drum switch can also reverse a single phase motor.

allan

Mike Gre · Feb 12, 2017

kitno455 said:
A drum switch can also reverse a single phase motor.

allan

I stand corrected. I did not know that.

packrat2 · Feb 12, 2017

kitno455 said:
You have a three line fuse holder, but only one fuse installed. It is likely the machine was originally 3 phase, but has been modified over the years. The problem here is you are focused on the wrong part. All that matters is the motor's needs. Once you show us that, we can make the rest of this stuff work usually.

allan

Yes photo of the box shows wired for 110 VAC right now, you got a hot{black wire} with a fuse and neutral {white wire}.Your box is for three phase power but only using one leg.

EBW · Feb 12, 2017

Thanks again for all the replies. You guys are awesome !

I will get a few pictures of the motor tomorrow (monday) for verification.
Any specific area ??

Since this is most likely a 3 phase motor, and I don't have 3 phase at my home, what options do I have to wire this and allow the lathe to run effieciently?

kitno455 · Feb 12, 2017

EBW said:
Thanks again for all the replies. You guys are awesome !

I will get a few pictures of the motor tomorrow (monday) for verification.
Any specific area ??

Since this is most likely a 3 phase motor, and I don't have 3 phase at my home, what options do I have to wire this and allow the lathe to run effieciently?

I would not assume the machine is still three phase. You need to look for motor nameplate and wiring diagram, which might be inside the cover of the motor's junction box.

allan

thomasutley · Feb 12, 2017

I, too, see indications of a former three-phase machine having been converted to single-phase operation. I'm guessing you'll find a 120V motor in the leg once you find the nameplate.

Also, another observation: I've never seen a single tumbler SB 16" lathe with a hinged primary drive cover. I previously thought they were only fixed covers until the double tumbler QCGBs came along.

Edit: Now that I think about it, maybe this was inckuded on the 16/24 machines to handle the 4" riser difference...?

EBW · Feb 13, 2017

Hello all. I was able to take some pics of the motor. Although I am not sure these will show much. It says GE but can't find a motor tag.
Any help would be appreciated. My electrician is going to look at it tonight or tomorrow.

johnoder · Feb 13, 2017

Old enough to be ring oiled. I'd expect three phase

kitno455 · Feb 13, 2017

Yeah, probably 3 phase. if your electrician thought he could convert that to single phase just by swapping some wires around, you need a new electrician

You might take those covers off the top side of the 'GE' end and see if there are any labeled connections under there. If not, go digging into the other end of the cable, you should have three wires (and maybe a ground). The resistance between any two of those wires (other than the ground) should be the same as any other two.

allan

EBW · Feb 13, 2017

kitno455 said:
Yeah, probably 3 phase. if your electrician thought he could convert that to single phase just by swapping some wires around, you need a new electrician You might take those covers off the top side of the 'GE' end and see if there are any labeled connections under there. If not, go digging into the other end of the cable, you should have three wires (and maybe a ground). The resistance between any two of those wires (other than the ground) should be the same as any other two.

allan

Thanks Allan.
To be clear, I inherited it like this from a co-worker. My electrician is going to wire it correctly for me.

Seeing the 110 cord cut into the wires made us both scratch our heads and wonder what happened.

Thanks again for all the help fellas. I hope to have it wired soon and begin using the lathe for my projects.

Cmsmoke · Feb 14, 2017

I think a mirror and a good light would help you. I believe most motors are marked closer to the top. These motors hang upside down. It could also be marked on the side you can't see.

1945 sb 16/24

Plastic

Stainless

Diamond

Plastic

Stainless

Plastic

Titanium

Plastic

Titanium

Titanium

Plastic

Hot Rolled

Plastic

Titanium

Hot Rolled

Plastic

Diamond

Titanium

Plastic

Aluminum

Similar threads