Grinder/lathe

[Don Dando]

It would be my opinion that the grinder motor is a 3450 rpm motor and may be too fast for lathe use.

Don Dando

[nailshooter41]

OK.....

Robert

[BobS]

Don,

No but you need either a variable speed motor or a set of step pulleys both on the motor and spindle so you can slow it down - and still maintain torque at the lower speeds. Look at the mini lathes sold by Jet, Delta and others and you'll get a better idea of what you need for a motor.

Bob S.

[CW]

Oh, of course. Every time you need to change speeds, you change motors, right?

[Pop]

You probably misinterpreted; a 3450 rpm motor with standard supplied lathe pulleys on a full sized wood lathe IS too fast; it won't allow low enough speeds for starting a project (scraping, cleaning, etc.), and is way too fast at the top end; fast enough to explode the piece if one isn't careful. I know, I tried one because it was the only 1 HP I had at the time, and I needed the power. Had to use the lowest step to get it slow enough for the rest of the shaping. Great for sanding, though!

Pop