new Harrison L6 mk3

[Graham WhartonParticipant @grahamwharton]

Also note that both the 3hp static and rotary converters from transwave have a maximum single motor rating of 2hp.

You would need to buy the 4hp one, which supports individual motors up to 3hp with a max total draw of 4hp.

Another thing to be aware of is you would need a 16A supply with a type C MCB fitted to avoid nuisance trips. Neither the 3hp or 4hp converter will run from a 13A socket. The 4hp rotary converter requires a 25A supply.

Graham

[Alan Waddington 2Participant @alanwaddington2]

Worth mentioning that you can easily build your own Rotary Phase Converter, plenty of info on the web including circuit diagrams.

I built one to run a Harrison L5a, worked a treat and cost less than £50 in parts, infact its still in use 20 years on, powering my pedestal drill which has a two speed motor.

At one point i had a workshop with 3 phase and ran the Harrison from it thinking it would run better than on the RPC…..it didn't, there was no discernible difference.

Only bugbear with RPC's is the noise of the idler motor gets on your nerves, i keep meaning to relocate mine to the shed. On the Harrison i had the idler motor mounted inside the lathe cabinet, so you didn't notice it so much.

[Graham WhartonParticipant @grahamwharton]

Alan,

Did you include a transformer to step the voltage up to 415, if so do you know of a cheap source. I have a half built rotary phase converter in my workshop and need a transformer for it.

Graham

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

As an observation I run my 3HP lathe from a Transwave static inverter. The motor on the lathe is not set up for delta/star so would require finding the star point in the motor or a motor change. If this had been done I could have used a VFD. The electrician who wired my static inverter could not get the lathe to run and I had to get the guy from Transwave to sort it for me. Once done it has been reliable for nearly 4 years of use but on some days sounds a bit odd, turning off and on again usually smooths things out. I run a Chinese VFD on a 2HP Bridgeport mill and it is very smooth.

[Alan Waddington 2Participant @alanwaddington2]

Posted by Graham Wharton on 16/01/2017 20:06:16:

Alan,

Did you include a transformer to step the voltage up to 415, if so do you know of a cheap source. I have a half built rotary phase converter in my workshop and need a transformer for it.

Graham

I didn't use a transformer in mine Graham, although I'm sure I've heard of people using transformers repurposed from welders when building RPC's.

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

Ok well, i had a coversation with dave at drives direct and we seemed to of solved the problem with a dual stage digital inverter, which will handle both the suds and the main motor at the same time

[Graham WhartonParticipant @grahamwharton]

Nice work James, I'm sure that will get you up and running quickly. Those dual stage units look quite capable.

Graham

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

Hi all

On continuing servicing my new lathe, and a rewire, i have come across a problem with the tailstock brass nut thread which is pretty mashed up.Also the leadscrew for the tailstock looks mostly fine, apart from two of the threads at the far end which look a little wider than the rest.any ideas on spares?

Thanks

James

[Graham WhartonParticipant @grahamwharton]

GandM Tools stock some spares for Harrison lathes. **LINK**

They have a couple of tailstock nuts listed on ebay but they are for the L15 not the L6. It might be worth giving them a call to see if they can get hold of one for you.

The alternative is that the nut and screw are both perfect items for you to make on your new lathe

Cheers

Graham

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

This is true, but im not to sure what thread it is, will i need a tap for the internal thread in brass nut? Or can u screw cut an internal thread?

James

[Graham WhartonParticipant @grahamwharton]

Yeah, you can screwcut the internal thread on your lathe, but you will need to grind up a suitable cutting bit to get inside the bore (or commercial internal cutting tools are available).

You can also get taps.

You can calculate the thread pitch. Look at the handwheel and read off the scale how many thou are in one full rotation. On my later L6 it is 100 thou per revolution, which equates to 10TPI. The thread will be a left hand thread. You will have to measure the outside diameter of the screw to get the OD of the thread. Thread form will most likely be ACME.

You can get 3/8", 1/2", 7/16", 5/8" 10TPI Left Hand ACME taps on ebay for around the £20 mark, although it will be pretty hard going cutting a 5/8" x 10TPI thread in brass in one pass so people would normally rough it out on the lathe using whatever tooling they had first, and then push the tap through as a final pass to finish to size and thread form.

Graham

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

Ok so ive contacted gandm see what they say, done a bit of research and i think its a 30 degree tool i need for a acme thread. The tailstock wheel doesnt have and grads on it, only the quill metric and imperial. Best place to get the tool for the internal? Dont think my grinding skills are up to it yet.

Thanks

James

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

James,

I know it's not much, but; I can't see how you could possibly need a 30° tool for an ACME thread.

ACME has an included angle of 29°

… Trapezoidal threads are available [and increasingly common], but these are not ACME.

MichaelG.

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

Ok could well be, i must admit threads are not my strong point atm, turning im quite good at now, but screwcutting especially scares me a bit. I understand the theory of adjusting the ratio between spindle and leadscrew but thats about it.

James

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

James … it's worth a look at **LINK** to appreciate the difference.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapezoidal_thread_forms

MichaelG.

[james huxstepParticipant @jameshuxstep40895]

I see theres a lot of these 60 degree tools hss out there, can i get one of these and grind it down to 29 degrees? Saves grinding a square and the offset portion.

Cheers

James

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Abso ###### lutely

.

P.S. … useful video here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pn8ehbquSrY

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 21/01/2017 21:24:00

[Phil WestParticipant @philwest50254]

Hi,

I've recently acquired a Harrison 155 lathe. I've been running a Myford ML7 for a number of years so I have some lathe experience but this is a new unit and I have a few questions!

Hopefully anyone running a 12", 165 or MK2-3 etc. might be able to assist. I've just spent 40 hours cleaning it. That's a LOT of really dirty work. It's wired and works just fine i.e. I've just turned it on and the chuck spins and the motor sound good etc. Well, in actual fact the motor runs backward which I'm pretty sure means I haven't quite got the 3 phase connections right but we can get to that later.

First off – lubrication. I've done an oil change on the headstock, 2.5 litres brought the visual oil level indicator perfect. I've used my Wanner oil gun to oil all nipples (24 oil nipples I think I counted, including the 2 on the clutch arm). Plus grease the 2 nipples on the motor. That's a load of nipples!

Next – gearbox – the oil sight level indicator is very difficult to see properly, I couldn't actually tell where the oil level was. So I removed what I believe to be the drain plug under the gearbox and nothing came out. I assume there's no oil there. When looking down the filler hole I can see some gears but no oil. But that's not at the base of the gearbox anyway. I put 400ml of oil into the filler hole but now I am getting oil (quite a puddle) coming out the side of the feedscrew area. Does anyone know what the oil capacity of the gearbox is? The sight level indicator is very near the bottom of the gearbox so I would again assume that there is very little oil actually used in the gearbox. Also is the small plug under the gearbox the drain plug. If there was already oil in there how come it didn't drain out when I removed the plug.

I do have a manual – for the MK2-3 – but it's not very good on those sort of things. I've read the manual many times now.

Next – the carriage has the pump oiler on it. When I pump it – nothing happens. So I put some oil in the filler hole on the Apron and it immediately drained out the bottom. At least I have identified the drain point. I can't quite see how it should be plugged, is there a hex screw that is supposed to fit in? Also once I solve that does anyone know the capacity of the oil pump chamber. I guess I just fill until completely full.

That's it for now, the next batch of questions is about 'those darn selector levers with a ball bearing that just doesn't want to move out of its recess in the body of the lathe' and 'why can't I get either the feedscrew or feed rod to do anything'. And I should probably address the running in reverse issue while I'm at it!

Many thanks

Phil

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