Good news and bad news. I put new bearings in my motor and ran it for a couple of minutes and it is shot. Smokes like a locomotive. So evidently I need a new motor. It is a two hp three phase. I would like to keep it all original but whatever makes it work will also do. Anyone have a excello motor laying around?
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FINALLY bought a mill
- Thread starter Leggman
- Start date
I stopped in at a local motor shop and they said they could rebuild it but it all depended on if it was worth it or not. I will drop it off tomorrow morning and hope for the best. I DO have a lawnmower engine that would fit up there 
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2015
- Messages
- 4,762
Would probably still be better than tracking down a used one and not knowing how long it will last.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2014
- Messages
- 1,107
Ouch, sorry to hear about that. "Smoking like a locomotive" - that isn't good. Really hard to get the smoke to go back in. I have never had a motor out and out fail like that. Amongst about 6 machines, some with 2 or 3 motors - all 30 to 50 years old (and I'm sure some of them would have sat idle in storage for years at a time) - I've been lucky that none have cratered on me. I am surprised that your motor protection didn't trip and minimize the damage to the motor.
I would cook up some sort of a temporary lash up just to get the mill running and all checked out. That is a good mill and worth investing some money into (you only have a few hundred into that machine - it may end up dollar cost averaging by the time you are done). If I knew that the rest of the mill was in good condition I'd spend the money to get the proper motor fixed right, probably cost more than what you paid for the mill (even have the shop bump up the insulation rating so it is actually rated for VFD service). Definitely go through the motor control circuits and confirm they are set up properly.
I believe you were intending to run both your new machines on a static phase converter. I have no experience with static phase converters, but I can share that rotary phase converters are very tolerant and even with quite a variety of weird old machines I have never had a lick of trouble.
I have a friend that has a 5 hp three phase motor that he is willing to give to me to use as a rotary phase converter. I can start it with the 3-5 hp static phase converter I bought for the mill and run both the mill and the lathe off of that. (not at the same time).
I will have to re do my wiring but I don't mind.
At least the lathe seems to run fine (once I replace the magnetic switch).
I will have to re do my wiring but I don't mind.
At least the lathe seems to run fine (once I replace the magnetic switch).
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2013
- Messages
- 21
Are there any parts sources for the old lathes and mills? Reason: years ago, the lady and I disassembled a Bridgeport knee mill, to enable us to "come a long" the parts up the previous owner's cellar steps, and then carry the heavy stuff through his kitchen. Since then, low life thieves broke into my refrigerated, storage trailer, and stole a whole gang of car parts, as well as the box of parts from dismantling my Bridgeport. Now that I am retired, its time to reassemble but, like Johnny Cash said, "all the bolts (and fittings) are gone."
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