atlas lathe tach

[oldschoolcj5]

Hello
I'm fairly new to this board but have had my atlas lathe for about 4 years. i have a 1/2 hp 90v dc motor on it and love being able to control the speed. one thing i was looking at adding was a Machtach to it. my question is has anyone added a tach and what type of pick up did you use?

Stephan

 

[master53yoda]

I use the machtach and Ir sensors. I switch between the mill and the lathe with both the speed control for the motors and the machtach. I have the factory bench style 12 x 36 and there is a good surface alongside the back gear and pulleys to mount the sensor. This picture isn't my lathe but it is how I'm mounting mine.

 

[Hawkeye]

I used Hall Effect sensors for all of my MachTachs, usually with 6 magnets.

 

[SG51Buss]

Mine has 12 fixed speeds, so I just got one of those $13 handheld tachometers to confirm (and correct) my pulley/speed chart. As cheap as it is, it could be an interesting project to crack one open, part it out as a kit, and retrofit it to a machine...