Can you possibly link to a brief video clip, Sam, showing us what's happening when you experience the first problem you describe?

Try running the motor with no belt & see how that feels, also rotate the spindle by hand, as previous reply a video paints a thousand words. Not sure why a 2 thou cut would make the tool dig in unless you have serious tool post flex, loose tool, tool sticking out too far, etc. etc.

Tony

Edited By Tony Pratt 1 on 01/04/2022 09:05:46

Welcome to the forum Sam.

Pictures help with this sort of problem, and how to post them on this forum is described here <link>.

My first reaction is the two problems are connected:

• Motor overheats because the tool digs in, Noting that the previous owner probably had repeated dig-ins, and may have kept going regardless.
• Assuming a sharp cutter is correctly set at centre height with minimum overhang, digging-in is usually caused by the tool-post flexing. I'm not clear how your temporary steel block and big bolt are arranged but I suspect it's not stiff enough either. A photo of the arrangement would help even if the lathe is bits. The force exerted on a tool-post by a properly positioned sharp cutter is surprisingly high, and much higher if the tool is below centre, blunt, well away from the tool-post and is hacking into a nasty lump of scrap such as work-hardening stainless steel.

Maybe the motor's damaged, but don't rush to change it until the mechanical tests advised by Tony and others have been tried. Be really annoying to fit a costly 3-phase and VFD only to find the real problem is something else…

Never mind, every cloud has a silver lining – diagnosing and fixing the problem will be highly educational!

Dave

Brushes.

Take them along to a local motor repair shop. They might be able to find you suitable replacements, intended as spares for something like a pistol drill.

Send the dimensions of the brushes to Ketan at Arc Euro. They might have something suitable in stock.

If the tool dug in with only a 0.002" cut, something is seriously wrong.

1 ) Rigidity of tool [post / Cross Slide

2 ) Tool not on centre height (Lack of rigidity could give the same effect

3 ) Grossly excessive feed rate

4 ) Possible excess top rake on the tool., I do a lot of work with Zero Top Rake. (The parting tool in the rear tool post is one such example. ).

If it were me, I would seriously explore ways of reverting to a four way tool post, if possible. This should be more rigid than a QCTP, because of fewer interfaces and reduced overhang.

You could make a four way post by laminating suitable pieces of plate (I made a four way indexing rear toolpost for my lathe (Take a look at my albums for a couple of pictures )

Like me, you may not be able to locate each position by a spring loaded pawl, I used a long dowel to do the job!

Howard

Sam, it sounds as if your WM250 might be even older that my 2007 version. The lathe still works well although probably quite lightly used compared to some here. The DC motor does indeed run hot despite the fan, being tucked away at the base of the headstock there is little in the way of free air circulation, I considered fitting a computer style cooling fan to help but never got round to it. Where possible I keep my lathe in the low speed range so that it can run with higher motor speeds, this helps both for cooling and for power.

A few things I found which help rigidity:

• Check the rear saddle gib strip mine was loose on delivery, this stops the rear of the saddle lifting.
• Check the guide blocks at the front of the saddle these will probably need fitting by filing, machining or rubbing on abrasive paper. Unfortunately not adjustable so it's a one way trip don't overdo it.
• Check the cross-slide gib strip and adjust carefully. Stops side to side play and snatching.
• Check the top-slide gib strip. If not in use clamp up with the allen head screw.
• Adjust the change gears to ensure they are not too tight, use paper between the teeth.

I use a QCTP on mine without any problem but sounds as though yours might be a bit awry. I made a cross-slide toolpost to avoid any chance of play or rigidity problems from the top-slide.

As NDIY has kindly already given me a plug above here are some relevant links to my website:

WM250 review (this is a bit long in the tooth now) 4 pages
QCTP 1 – cross-slide toolpost
QCTP 2 – top-slide modes

There are a few other bits on the lathe, I will leave you to find your way around, hope it helps.

John

Too deep cut with lack of power to the spindle.

Emgee

I've stalled my WM250V several times over the 7 years I've had it. It's saved me a few broken tools and more damaged workpieces, and I've had no electrical or electronic problems with it at all.

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

Easy, just follow this bad advice:

1. Wind the top-slide fully to the left

2. Clamp the cutter in the tool-post at maximum extension:

3. Grip a long job in the chuck, and don't support it at the cutting end

Aficionados can improve on this by fitting a QCTP, loosening the gibs, not locking unused slide-ways, using a blunt cutter, turning a grabby metal like Bronze, and attempting a greater depth of cut than the lathe is fit to take. What a lathe is fit to take varies considerably – might have been lightly built in the first place, have an old-fashioned narrow saddle on a twisty bed, and the bed and spindle bearings might be worn sloppy.

Considerable force is needed to cut metal. As every force has an equal and opposite reaction it's important not to multiply it by creating anything resembling a lever in the set-up. Everything bends, so avoid accidentally crowbarring the lathe as shown in my photos!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 03/04/2022 12:53:20

The rigidity of the Emco/WM tool compound system is a practical joke/offence.