Sieg baby lathe not starting

[Mike WaldronParticipant @mikewaldron61652]

Can anybody help?

I have a Sieg Baby lathe that is a few years old, but hardly used. I’ve been about to set about cleaning it up for restoration but it won’t switch on!

I have a Sieg X1 mill/drill, so am familiar with the switching on order. Power is indicated, but it won’t turn on with the speed switch.

Any ideas anyone?

Mike

[Mike WaldronParticipant @mikewaldron61652]

Electrical Fault

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Presumably, the motor ran before the lathe was last used?

Ever the optimist, if the motor is brushed, and has not run for some time, maybe there is a poor contact, brush / commutator, or a stuck brush..

Assuming that everything appears to be OK electrically, spinning the motor by hand may urge it into life, and further running for a few minutes will restore things to as they should be.

If not you need to start tracing just how far the electrical supply is going through the circuit.

I would start at the motor (One method advised is to substitute a filament lamp for the motor and to check if the brightness varies according to the position of the speed control. ) band try to work backwards from there towards the input. Since some of the lights come on, the fuse is intact.Again, taking the easy way out, it could be that the track in the speed potentiometer is dirty.. Possibly, a shot of contact cleaner might get things moving again.

HTH

Howard

[Adam MaraParticipant @adammara]

I had a similar problem on my Chester lathe, turned out to be a bad connection on the push on connector for the emergency stop button. Don't know if you get 'dry joints' on those connectors, but my dad was a keen radio amateur and was always complaining about soldered dry joints!

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Description conjures up a DC drive but is it brushed or brushless?

Fed up with the Drummond? I would not be swapping in one of these for a Drummond.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

My 7 X 12 mini lathe has a fuse amongst the controls which used to trip when drilling. I changed from 1A to 1.5A and it is ok now, I hope I haven't overdone the rating.

[KevinWParticipant @kevinw]

There is a microswitch on the mounting bar for the chuck guard. If the guard is not fitted and the bar has been rotated it will not allow the motor to start.

Kevin

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

A similar switch is fitted to the Craftsman lathe. Very easy to knock it off when removing the chuck guard.

Try turning the shaft .

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

There's a fuse accessed by a plastic turnbutton on the far side of the C0's headstock.

Took me b100dy ages to think of it, but replacement fixed it and it hasn't blown again in a year of sporadic use.

[lee websterParticipant @leewebster72680]

A friend looked after my old lathe for a while. When it stopped working he discovered that the motor had got damp. It was removed and placed in a warm oven for a few hours. Fixed.

[Mike WaldronParticipant @mikewaldron61652]

Many thanks all for the suggestions.

when I get time I will work through them.

Mike

[Author]

Posts