Treadmill conversion. SB9A

[gonzo]

I got tired changing belts in order to change speed on my lathe and so I:

Got an old treadmill from craigslist - free and salvaged the motor and drive board.
I also purchased a digital tach from Ebay for $12.
The motor and pully bolted right up with no modifications.
I mounted the control board and reversing switch underneath the cabinet.
I made a removable plug that mounts in the head stock. The magnet is set radially in a hole in the plug.
Yes, I know I have some rust problems on my cabinet. Always something else to do.
Now I have to go to work doing the same thing to my HF mill.
Give me a holler if you have any questions about doing the same to any machine you want to convert.

 

[hman]

I've converted a drill press to use a treadmill motor, and it makes me jealous to see how easy your installation was! All the treadmill motors I've seen have required pretty extensive modifications to the motor mounts ... not to mention having to fight with the odd motor shafts.

Question - That doesn't look like an MC-60 control board. What model is it?
Another question - All the treadmill motors I've seen have been optimized to run in just one direction. Does yours run the same speed both ways?

 

[gonzo]

I've converted a drill press to use a treadmill motor, and it makes me jealous to see how easy your installation was! All the treadmill motors I've seen have required pretty extensive modifications to the motor mounts ... not to mention having to fight with the odd motor shafts.

Question - That doesn't look like an MC-60 control board. What model is it?
Another question - All the treadmill motors I've seen have been optimized to run in just one direction. Does yours run the same speed both ways?

No. it is not a MC 60 board and I am not sure what it is. It came from a relatively inexpensive treadmill and I think the motor is 1 or 1 1/2 horsepower.
My research indicates that if the motor brushes are mounted diametrically apart, then it will run in both directions.
Also note that the start/stop switch is put in line with the center connector of the speed pot. This does away with the slow start feature.

 

[hman]

No. it is not a MC 60 board and I am not sure what it is. It came from a relatively inexpensive treadmill and I think the motor is 1 or 1 1/2 horsepower.
My research indicates that if the motor brushes are mounted diametrically apart, then it will run in both directions.

What I've seen is that, although the brushes are 180º apart, their angle with respect to the magnetic "axis" of the motor is a bit skewed. That seems to optimize the motor for one direction of rotation.

Also note that the start/stop switch is put in line with the center connector of the speed pot. This does away with the slow start feature.

I did the same with my conversion.

 

[gonzo]

What I've seen is that, although the brushes are 180º apart, their angle with respect to the magnetic "axis" of the motor is a bit skewed. That seems to optimize the motor for one direction of rotation.

I did the same with my conversion.

Yes, I agree. I should have said it the way you did.

 

[Wreck™Wreck]

I converted a drill press into a treadmill, someone gave me the drill press plus $25.00 to take it away.

Works a charm, the cost of shoes has become a burden however.

 

[Cadillac STS]

Is there a problem mounting a treadmill motor vertical like for a drill press?

 

[hman]

Is there a problem mounting a treadmill motor vertical like for a drill press?

I've had absolutely no problem. But then, I mounted the motor with the flywheel/fan at the top, where both natural convection and the fan work together to draw air through the motor. Another factor, at least for me, is that I don't run the drill press for a half our or an hour at a time, as would be typical for a treadmill.

Works a charm, the cost of shoes has become a burden however.

Drill barefoot?

 

[gonzo]

Is there a problem mounting a treadmill motor vertical like for a drill press?

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Nice work Gonzo!