Busted Lathe

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bitshird

bitshird

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
10,236
Location
Adamsville, TN, USA.
Boy when it rains it freezes, I was out trying to get some stuff finished went to shut off my lathe and it wouldn't stop turning, tried jiggling the switch , still no stopping the beast, reached up and unplugged it from the ceiling, (don't ask) so I called the very nice people at steel city tool works gave them the serial number and they said they would ship out a replacement ASAP.
I knew that was the one complaint I had heard about this lathe, but I've had mine mine about April or May and it just now went south, the guy I spoke with said they'd had trouble with that switch but the new ones were better, the lathe has a 5 year warranty, and since I nearly stole it on eBoob I can't complain, it's better than a shop fox and real close to Jet in most respects.
 
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Ken,
if the switch is similar to what's on the Jet 1014, it's a multi piece switch that has a little flat spring contact in it... you can take it apart and see if the spring has slipped out of place... a while back my Jet mini wouldn't come on... I thought at first it was the motor and changed the motor... in process I took the switch out and had to re-assemble it.... I'm thinking now it was just the switch and not the motor..
I have also had the switch on my Delta table saw not shut off.. I've pulled it twice, but it's back to having problems with the shut off and I guess need to replace the switch.. right now I have it plugged into a power strip that has on/of switch and it's working fine... The switch on my HF belt sander is getting intermittent and will need replacing soon.
 
Switches retail for all of about $5.00. Not hard to figure out that not much care or design goes into them. Don't hesitate to look for a good replacement switch and put in. May not look pretty if it doesn't fit exactly but you will have a better machine.
 
Thanks guys, I can make an adapter plate for a switch, it's just been too cold to do much, stinkin blood thinner really makes it rough, I used to go out in snow in hiking shorts, now I sit as close to the heater as I can get.
 
I got a bad switch too. Got the replacement in a couple of days. While I was waiting, I just picked one from a stack of electronics stuff I have. I was thinking about putting in a reversible switch that way I can sand forwards and backwards.
 
I've had the same thing happen with my table saw and band saw. Cheap switches sawdust gets inside and coats the contacts. Took them apart and cleaned them work fine until the next time the fill with sawdust.
 
ozmandus said:
Ken,
if the switch is similar to what's on the Jet 1014, it's a multi piece switch that has a little flat spring contact in it... you can take it apart and see if the spring has slipped out of place... a while back my Jet mini wouldn't come on... I thought at first it was the motor and changed the motor... in process I took the switch out and had to re-assemble it.... I'm thinking now it was just the switch and not the motor..
I have also had the switch on my Delta table saw not shut off.. I've pulled it twice, but it's back to having problems with the shut off and I guess need to replace the switch.. right now I have it plugged into a power strip that has on/of switch and it's working fine... The switch on my HF belt sander is getting intermittent and will need replacing soon.
Click to expand...

I did that with my switch, took it apart and cleaned it up and reinstalled it. It worked for about two weeks and it failed again. That time I went to the Borg and bought a $4 switch and it is fine so far. The next time, I may go for the Little Machine Shop switch. The one from the Borg is 10 times the quality as the factory one as is. The LMS one says "heavy duty".
 
stevers said:
I did that with my switch, took it apart and cleaned it up and reinstalled it. It worked for about two weeks and it failed again. That time I went to the Borg and bought a $4 switch and it is fine so far. The next time, I may go for the Little Machine Shop switch. The one from the Borg is 10 times the quality as the factory one as is. The LMS one says "heavy duty".
Click to expand...

Same with the TS switch.. haven't replaced the switch yet... I don't think we realize how many times we switch the lathes and saw on and off...

I fried the switch on my DC and replaced it with a switch from local electrical outlet.. works great now, but rarely ever use the switch on the DC it self... it's plugged into a wall socket that is connected to a switch inside the shop...
 
ozmandus said:
Same with the TS switch.. haven't replaced the switch yet... I don't think we realize how many times we switch the lathes and saw on and off...

I fried the switch on my DC and replaced it with a switch from local electrical outlet.. works great now, but rarely ever use the switch on the DC it self... it's plugged into a wall socket that is connected to a switch inside the shop...
Click to expand...

I had a cheap Crapsman TS and the switch quit after only a few months. I took it apart and it was full of dust that mixed with the grease and caused it to fail. I cleaned that one up and it was working when I gave away the saw. The one on the mini is the typical toggle type switch. The next one may be a rocker type instead. The lathe is probably on and off,,,,,,,,,what,,,,,,,maybe 40 or 50 times during a pen job? Depends on the finish I suppose and the type of material.

My DC is on one of the remote control switches. The remote is plugged into a wall switch. I turn on the wall switch and use the remote phob to operate the DC. The DC's switch is never touched.
 
bitshird said:
Boy when it rains it freezes, I was out trying to get some stuff finished went to shut off my lathe and it wouldn't stop turning, tried jiggling the switch , still no stopping the beast, reached up and unplugged it from the ceiling,
Click to expand...


Ken; It's even more fun (scary) when the power turns back on when you aren't expecting it! :eek:

Right after the first time it happened to me, I installed "KILL" switches to all my stuff. If I turn that puppy off, I know it is OFF! and will stay that way!

The kill switches are piloted switches that are lit when on.
 
stevers said:
I had a cheap Crapsman TS and the switch quit after only a few months. I took it apart and it was full of dust that mixed with the grease and caused it to fail.
Click to expand...


Look for a hermetically sealed switch. These are sometimes sold as "anti-arcing" or "vapor proof" switches.
 
I have to say that Steel City is great to deal with, it took three days to get a new switch shipped to me, I called them late Monday and had the switch Thursday morning. I like the idea of having a kill switch though.
 
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