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As previously mentioned the motor that came with
the lathe was not in good condition and did not even fit the motor mounting.
To run the lathe in its' normal direction a motor with a clockwise rotation
is needed, if it is to be mounted on the provided mount. This position
is to the right of the countershaft pulley when looking at it from the
front of the lathe. I do not know if the original motor died and
was replaced, or if the lathe was originally purchased without one (the
"standard" configuration at least with Sears brand Atlas lathes in the
1960s). In any case the motor that was with the lathe rotated counterclockwise.
This motor was of a type that can not be reversed (at least not without
extremely major surgery on the motor case). This necessitated positioning
it on the opposite (left side) of the countershaft to get proper workpiece
rotation. To accomplish this a previous owner had use a large aluminum
plate to cantilever the motor over to the left side. This plate was
bolted to the original mounting location and ran over to support the motor
on the other side. Over time this had put enough stress on the original
mount to bust out most of the metal that comprised the far right hand bolt
pads.
As the motor wiring insulation was decayed and
I really did not want to continue with this kludge I replaced the motor
with a smaller (temporary) reversible induction motor. This is too
low in horsepower to do more than light turning, at least it is electrically
sound and gets the lathe operational for now. This motor is from
an old dryer and was originally mounted by pads at either end by the motor
shaft. To attach it to the lathe's mounting pads I fabricated an
adapter. I used a 3/8 X 6 inch plate for the base of the adapter
and 1 X 4 wood for the vertical pieces that the motor's end mounted pads
slip into. The wooden end pieces are split horizontally like a car
crankshaft's bearing caps.
When I replace this assembly with a new correctly
configured motor I will use the steel base plate as a reinforcement to
the damaged mounting pad. It will remain in the present position
and the new motor will blot on top of it. I will fabricate two clips
that will hook over the vertical web by the broken bolt pads. these
in turn with be bolted to the plate. This will serve as an anchor
for that end of the motor, relieving the broken pads of further stress.
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