[Blakelidge]

Hi all,

Had my lathe about 5 months roughly, not been extensively used but today I had it machining aluminium parts for about 2 hours then it started cutting out at random. Turning off and back on got it running again but it would then cut off again. Display still reads the speed it was going before it stopped.

I recently set it up in my in-laws garage as I moved house, could it be a power supply issue you think? (UK 230v) or is it more likely to be a thremal cutoff? though the motor fans is deff running and the motor housing felt cool.

I've left it off for the night to let it settle, I'll see how it goes tomorrow. In the meantime, if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate the advices
Thanks

P.S. What does everone use for cutting their stock? I was previously using a 4" grinder with those neat Makita cutting disks, but it takes and age, the part gets really hot and the blades wear fast - so there's a real cost implication too. As I had around 50 pieces of 2" ali bar and 50 21/4" ali tube to cut I knew it would be REALLY tedious, anyway, I did a little research and bought a "Rage 4" chop-saw for £100 (about $160 I think) and it goes through stuff like butter and leaves the part cool. One downside is that it occasionally gets gummed up in the blade and you have to (UNPLUG) remove the stuck chips from the teeth but the thing is really great at chopping stuff, goes through 2" solid bar in about 10 seconds. Today I chopped the 100 cuts in 2" solid and 21/4 tube and the blade still seems to be cutting as effectively as when it began. I have to be honest, for a cheap tool, I was expecting poor results but so far it's been great. Just have to iron-out my lathe issue now - life is never straightforward

[Jeff-Birt]

Do you have a switch in line with your motor. I would start by measuring the voltage at the motor (motor off) and shaking the cord. That should give you a good idea if it is a problem with something between the mains plug and the motor. I guess it could also be a loose connection where the mains cord is connected to the motor.