Graduate short bed lathe advice on VS

[jay]

  Hi I am Jay an old member re joining (I got lost somewhere in the forum shuffles a year or two  back)
       I have a graduate lathe and wish to convert it to VS .I have been looking at Haydock system.What experiences good or bad (I intend to install it myself ) have any members had with this and similar products ? Secondly I rather like the retro look of the lathe and want the conversion to be as unobtrusive as possible.I notice that everything seems rather compact inside the pedastal.
       

[Andy Coates]

I know people who have used the Haydock converters for other lathes, so I imagine they are fine for the Graduate.

Having said that, I think I'd go with the Graduate specialists, LRE, as they have tailored their kit to the lathe and all the wiring Etc., is designed to be hidden in the heastock body.

Details here: http://www.woodturninglathes.co.uk/_variturn_kit.html

[Roger Groom]

Hi Jay
 Welcome back. I have a Graduate with a Eurotherm inverter and I love it. My inverter sits on a shelf above the lathe and to all intents and purposes the lathe looks like the original. But the gain from having VS is enormous. I have only changed belt positions on the odd occasion and find I can do most items on one pully. My inverter, however, is a very early one and has no adjustments on it and at the highest speeds the motor plays up a bit which is stopped by slowing down a bit. Most of the newer type have adjustment, dont ask me what it does as this aspect goes right over my head, so I doubt you would have this problem with a Haydock. Go for it you will not regret it.
Roger Groom

[jay]

   Thanks Andy for the advice.I certainly like the way the VS is unobtrusive in  the LRE option.
    Roger I have used VS on General 260's in North America both the electronic and the Reeves drive.Of either system I preferred the electronic with the 4 step pulleys to give low speed torque.I certainly miss that feature on my Graduate in the UK.Thank you for the advice.My wallet may not be so grateful   

[hughie]

Hi I have converted a couple of my lathes to VS and to run on three phase as well. Some of  the benefits are a smaller motor and increased torque.
The whole process is not difficult with modern inverters, the information booklet is usally a couple of pages and very straight forward. Unlike my first effort with a German made inverter and 360 pages of what to do and what not to do.
If you do go down this road consider fitting some sort of remote speed control to it as well. Easy? yes its generally a case of buying a 10 turn 'Pot' around 100k if all this sound a bit much just taken your VS down to your local electronic shop and they can sort you out with the right gear.
Then install it with a magnetic base so it can be every where you are on the lathe, I would leave the stepped pulleys as they can be useful to maintain  torque as your speed requirements change.
I can post some pic if required, as I am new I am not sure of the protocols of this

[jay]

  Hi Hughie
         This a bit of an old thread.However the  bottom line after a bit of research was to go with a Haydock.I preferred the look of the LRE as it is hidden in the base.However when I spoke with LRE the fitting required using a cutting disc on a grinder and enlarging the opening in the base by about an inch all round.This is easy enough but I instinctively dislike cutting out the casting regardless of the assurances.They also suggested cutting off one of the pulley steps and drilling the motor platform to fit a metric motor.I looked at Newton -Tesla as well, but their inverter required a metal case to house it.
  I found that the Haydock had a highly moisture proof box and was easy to install. They supplied an imperial mount motor at a slight extra cost .I would also add that they were very generous with their advice the total cost was marginally more but well worth it in my opinion.It took me about 3 comfortable hours to install     

[hughie]

well you surely cant  knock back good advice. My last set up took me some considerable time due to the complexity of the inverter. I had to call in  several  favours to finally get it sorted.

[Haggy]

I have just fitted VS to my Harrision Jubilee lathe and am delighted.
I bought the conversion kit from 'Telsar' of
Warrington .
The same kit is used for the Graduate, the switch gear is real quality as it the customer service.
It was simple to fit, and means I can continue to use all my faceplates and chucks collected over the years.
It was expensive, but worth every penny.
Have a look at their website.
     Good luck. 
         Haggy

[Les Symonds]

Hi Haggy....any chance you could give us a link to Telsar... I'm having difficulty finding them?
Les

[Derwent Woodturning club]

Hi Les, and Haggy,

Hope you don't mind me 'dropping in' on your posts but I happened to come across your last post, regarding Telsar. The company is actually Newton Tesla. The link to their Woodturning lathe packages is http://www.newton-tesla.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=74_145. They do a very neat package but I would suggest having the controls as remotes rather than built into the headstock. Not sure if that is an option they offer but would be worth asking. The main reason is so you have access to the controls wherever you are working, not have that panic of "Can I get to the off switch safely, or just run away". Sounds a bit dramatic but I hope you get the idea. Too many lathes have the controls hidden behind the workpiece.

[Haggy]

Paul is right, he has got the company- I was close!  Thank you.
I will send a picture if you want to see it on my lathe after looking at the website.