Home Hobby Lathe For Turning Metal

Something else for you guys to think about is how do you want to power this thing?
If single phase then you will pay a premium for what can be an inferior product.
Three phase opens a whole can of worms, inverters, static and rotary phase convertors all add to the experience (expense) if you're in a domestic property!

Who mentioned business rates if you have 3ph installed in your garage?

One of the best routes in my mind is to go for a rotary phase converter. The principle is that a motor and a generator is basically the same thing it just depends on which end of the equation its on; driven or driving.

For a reasonable good one you could be looking at a further £500 plus like mine (circled in picture). Naturally they have a rating and if I remember rightly mines rated to 3hp.
Mine runs a 3ph saw (Mec Brown) and by pulling the plug and sticking the lathe plug in we're off.

Don't consider any 3ph welding gear as the electrical inrush requires a phase convertor of x10 capacity. I had a lovely square wave AC Tig set but sadly couldn't economically power it up in my current set so had to let it go.

At one point I had x4 lathes in my workshop and they would have been ideal for you guys, think Churchill Cub and Boxford AUD etc. but that was a few years ago.

 

Good point Eldon about buying cheap used 3 phase industrial equipment for home use, voltage also comes into play, even though many industrial motors are multi voltage rated, spending $450 for different starter heater contacts can kill a bargain. Many residential electrical service systems will struggle at 5 hp with other loads running. Due to inrush current.

 

I have used a washing machine motor thats donkeys years old works fine except when its really cold and then it just requires pivoting to take the weight off to get it up to speed....proper Heath/Robinson stuff gets a little slow if i take big cuts or boring but works.