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Author Topic: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.  (Read 1791 times)

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ileney

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True Confession - I know absolutely nothing - less than nothing, if that is possible - about electricity and am fearful of electrocuting myself.

The Problem - This past weekend I saw and used the Foredom carving station and fell head over heels in love with it. Unfortunately, with the water drip station, it costs $400+.

The Question- I have a bench lathe that looks almost identical to the foredom motor. I can rig up some sort of water drip and plexiglass shield. I can buy a foredom chuck that I am pretty certain, based upon the size I measured, will screw over the right end to hold the bits. the My question is if my bench lathe can safely be used this way with the water drip on a GFI outlet in my house or if I am going to electrocute myself because it only has a two prong cord? Pictures below.

Many thanks for any electrical advice you can offer!

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bobby1

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2017, 12:22:40 PM »

It definitely doesn't look safe or suitable for use in any wet activities; however, I think there might be an adapter where you can attach a flex shaft onto the shaft of the motor. This would get your work 2 to 3 feet away from the motor.
Bob
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ileney

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2017, 12:33:15 PM »

Bummer. I have a flexshaft. I liked this stationary chuck situation because you have more control with two hands free and can really maneuver the piece in a way you can't with a flexshaft, even if you have it mounted in a block or something like that.
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gemfeller

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2017, 01:44:58 PM »

This should probably work as a stop-gap measure until you work out a permanent fixed-point carver.  I've used one of these with a #30 handpiece frequently for wet (dip & grind) carving.

http://www.ottofrei.com/Foredom-HH-30-Handpiece-Holder
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Jhon P

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2017, 05:17:03 PM »

The GFCI will still work on an ungrounded motor, they monitor the the load on what is going out on the hot wire and what is coming back on the white wire if they are not the same it will
Trip so you are still protected. But if you get water into the motor you may short it out. You could build a plexiglass shield to keep the water out or do what I did and find a used dental lathe for a $100. Works great. Limited to two speeds
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ileney

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2017, 06:40:34 PM »

Thank you for all the advice everyone! I'll work something out one way or another.
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Slabbercabber

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2017, 05:34:30 AM »

Just to be clear.  The Foredom machine is sealed and carries UL approval.  The one you are looking at is an open motor and ungrounded.  I would not even hook up a flexshaft to that much less let water get near it.  The housing is double insulated making it legal to sell that way, but if a flexshaft is used, that feature is lost.
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ileney

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2017, 07:27:06 AM »

No worries slabbercabber, I have an ancient, but perfectly safe dental flexshaft that I use for carving now and sometimes secure in a block; I just liked the solid steadiness of that carving station for two handed use and hoped to use my lathe for that, but obviously that won't work. Thanks to you and everyone for saving me from either shocking myself or shorting out the motor or both. Fortunately, I knew you guys would know what is safe.
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Steve Ramsdell

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Re: Please HELP! Electrical issue carving station out of bench lathe.
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2017, 08:30:02 PM »

The unit was intended for bench work and not water.  What I would do is look for another type motor that can be near water.  Run a flex shaft to where you want to grind.  Mount the hand piece so that it is fixed and easy to change bits and that it stays in that position.  This is from another posting. "With flex shaft tools(here they are talking about foredom brand) in general, the handpiece is not part of any electric circuit. Only the motor and foot pedal control are. Getting the handpiece wet has no impact on this, and offers no risk of electric shock. The situation might be different with some types of powered handpieces where the motor is part of the handpiece itself, such as Dremel tools or some of the micromotor types of tools."
Steve
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