OT--worth of Clausing lathe

[rockrat]

Found a 12 x 42 Clausing lathe. 3 phase and only has a six jaw chuck and a taper attachment. Quick change gears and variable speed. Ways in very good shape and overall looks to have been used very little. Guy wants $1000 for it.

Only reason I am thinking about this, is I have an older Clausing, the same size, but alot more wear on it, but it came with a 3 jaw, 4 jaw, toolpost grinder, taper attachment, ect.

Can I get a converter to use the 3 phase? Is this a decent deal? Thanks

[No_1]

Sounds like a good deal since you have the other one with parts. You can get the converter but will not be able to run full power like you would if you were 3 phase. Another option although can pe pricey is to change the motor our to a 220 single phase unit. Figure your present motor frame size / mount configuration then find a suitable replacement. You may have to make adapters for it to mount up but you will be better off in the long run doing the change.

R.

[leftiye]

You are a cruel person. You don't even provide a napkin when you make me salivate like this. Clausings have long been a Cadillac brand in the light lathes (though they made bigger ones too IIRC). Sounds good to me! Real good! (you couldn't tell?)

[454PB]

Actually, by the time you figure the cost of a phase shifter and the wiring, it's probably more cost effective to by a single phase 240 volt motor. What horsepower is this?

[dubber123]

I don't know much about them, but I think you just buy your phase converter to be a size or two above the rated HP of the tooling you will be running, and you will have full power. There are rotary, (preferred from what I gather), and static?, types.

The 8 HP USA made, rotary phase converter my brother just bought for his new/old vertical mill cost about 500$ delivered, and wasn't hard to wire. It's quiet, and seems to work very well.

[JIMinPHX]

You don’t say if it’s a Clausing Colechester gear head lather or one of the vari-drive jobs. Either way $1000 is a steal. Grab it while you can. You can get 3 phase out of a rotary phase converter or a VFD. The static phase converters are OK for a mill, but they don’t do as good on a lathe. Worry about the wiring later. Get the $1k Clausing before someone else does.

[richbug]

What is the model number? If it is a 5900 series I know someone who would be real interested in the taper attachment...


I gave $900 for mine a year or two ago, but the motor needed bearings. Not a big deal cause I converted it to a single phase motor anyway.

IIRC the motor is a 182T frame, I pulled out the 1 HP and installed a 2 HP. maybe a 4-5 hour job including the wiring, new switch, and greasing the inside of the motor cavity.

[rockrat]

richbug----took a closer look at it today, it is a 6900 series lathe. Probably about 10 days before I can pick it up.

[Buckshot]

.............If it's as you say it's a steal! I paid $1500 for my 11x36 Logan, but it was rather well tooled up. That aside, a Clausing is IMHO a step up from a Logan which is hard for me to say much as I like it, but that's the truth. I just don't know how well supoprted the Clausings are today. However, a lathe has the benefit of being able to create some of it's own replacement parts.

..................Buckshot

[richbug]

richbug----took a closer look at it today, it is a 6900 series lathe. Probably about 10 days before I can pick it up.


A 6900 is a healthy 14 inch lathe, probably twice the lathe that a 5900 12 inch is.

[Safeshot]

I am sure that you can purchase a three phase rotary converter for "a price". You can also MAKE one from a three phase motor at very low cost. A friend of mine made one from a "like new" three phase motor that he purchased at a yard sale for $15. He used a pulley and a "rope" to start it for a while and then added a small single phase motor to start it, all at very low cost. He also used some capacitors in the circuit to "balance" the phases. Do a Google search for "three phase rotary converters" and/or "make a three phase rotary converter". There is a lot of information "out there" on the subject.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

It looks like you have got yourself a "Wonderful Lathe". I envy you. Safeshot

[uscra112]

Safeshot's solution will work, I've done it myself. BUT, look at the VOLTAGE that the motor is placarded for. Many, many three-phase machine tools ran on 480 volts, since that was (and still is) the standard electrical service for factory floors. If that proves true, then onlya motor change will do you any good. But I'd buy it in a flash. A Clausing is a nice lathe, and I speak with only a few years experience in the machine tool remanufacturing industry, (1977 to 1989)