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Watchmakers Lathe Speed Pedal

jdrichard

By jdrichard
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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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I have been pedal hunting for a few weeks now and have some advise. Could be good advise as well:)

1) Don’t purchase a variable speed pedal from amazon that is from china and claims to be variable. This one looks ok but has only 5 speeds that are set by 5 large bar resistors. Not good for lathe applications.

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2) The next pedal is fairly inexpensive (38 bucks) and may work for some, however, i found that all my motors jittered when running. This pedal is based on a small part that controls the speed through either Pulse Code Modulation or some other algorithm that drops the current. This part is the exact one used in hand drills, etc. I think the Company is good and responsive, just think that this component of the foot pedal is low end. I also think the plunger will degrade quickly with constant use. Part is from a Japanese controller company.

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3) Sewing machine pedal. This is great if you use a sewing machine AC motor. Need to ti make sure that there was not another controller within the sewing machine between the pedal and the motor.

 

4) BEST Controller is the Lucas #9 Lowboy. This controller is a high quality build all metal with a low pedal that will not strain your foot. Not sure what the electronics are, but it has great linear control and feels like butter. The cost is only $50 bucks US ($100 canadian for me with $25 shipping). A great deal for the quality of the build.8d9aa7aa3c0b8e6e4471865e4c1c341c.jpg

 

 

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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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Update on the world of foot controllers. Turns out that the electronics in the lowboy are the same as in the Foredom pedal. On the sewing machine motors, they both work ok but do have a little PCM jitter. The router speed controller i have is smooth and has a circuit board with a knob rheostat. This is not a pedal but works extremely well if you want constant speed.17cf6be4c86fe7f057c64cb647d289e0.jpg
So i must apologize to the Foredom folks as they all seem to use the same plunger Japan component in the foot pedals. I will now investigate smoothing out the power signal to the motors after the foot controller.


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