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Lathe motor question

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Eugene:
I plan on bringing a long bed Myford M type lathe back to life, and will start in earnest in a couple of weeks; right now it's in the head scratching stage.

I have to hand a big heavy (very) old dragon of a Birmingham built Higgs 1 HP motor with a built in reduction gear that outputs at 240 rpm. It runs sweetly enough albeit with a bit of rumble from the straight cut gears;  I think it's off a feed auger, it sure smells like it and there is ample evidence of chicken poop! The alternative to using this motor is buying a new one for around £90 something I'd like to avoid if I can.

Q1 Is there any reason not to use a 1HP motor on a lathe that usually has motors of half that size?

Q2 Given that I don't have any pulleys to hand and can therefore please myself what sizes I want // fit, is there anything to be aware of with the low initial speed? M Types top out at about 1100 rpm, bronze bearings and all that.

Thanks in anticipation.

Eug

hermetic:
There is nothing to stop you using it from the Horsepower point of view, it will be on top of the job, that is all. Just because the lathe will function fine with a 1/2 hp motor doesn't mean a bit of extra power isn't sometimes useful, you will certainly not do any damage. The real problem is that the lathe would normally be fitted with a 1440 rpm or thereabouts motor, so this motor would need gearing up 6 to 1 to give you approximately the correct speed on the lathe gearbox, I would look for another motor!
Phil

Eugene:
hermetic,

Thanks for the response.

The M Type doesn't have a gearbox, it's an all belt and pulley arrangement. I have another one in the shop with the original 1946 960 rpm motor, countershaft and pulleys.

I reckon the two countershaft speeds available are (approx, just very rough measurements)  260 and 650 rpm which doesn't seem a million miles from 240. So if I arrange pulleys to give around 1:1 and 1:2.7 ratios from the Higgs to the new countershaft I'm close to the factory issue, subject to better measurement. From there I just need to reproduce the factory countershaft / spindle arrangements.

Probably!  :scratch:

Eug

SwarfnStuff:
Go for it. From my extremely limited experience think of the smallest diameter you want to turn and select your top speed ratio accordingly. Bottom end speed would have heaps of torque as I see it. Here speaks a bloke who owns only a 7 x 12 Seig clone so what would I know?  :dremel:  :scratch:

Pete.:
You can't run the M too fast because of the plain cast/bronze headstock bearings. I would not put that large a motor on it either, more like a half horsepower only from the perspective that you could break something, possibly even the spindle, by over-powering a small lathe like that.

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