# Motor direction



## GenezShop (Jul 31, 2011)

A buddy of mine gave me his father's old Sears wood lathe, but the motor is turning the spindle away in a clockwise direction. I checked Google for proper setup thinking that I may need to turn it the other way, but I have it correct; how do I change the direction that the motor is turning?


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

Swap the hot and neutral leads.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

GenezShop said:


> A buddy of mine gave me his father's old Sears wood lathe, but the motor is turning the spindle away in a clockwise direction. I checked Google for proper setup thinking that I may need to turn it the other way, but I have it correct; how do I change the direction that the motor is turning?











It's possible that the motor has the option of direction. On the motor there my be a plate over the wiring connections with a layout for which poles are connected with what color wire for forward or reverse.










 







.


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## GenezShop (Jul 31, 2011)

*Wiring*

This is what I've tried so far:
1. Cut the ground pin to the wall socket, so that I could reverse polarity.
2. Took the plate off of the motor, reversed the connection from the switch box to the motor itself.


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

**duplicate post deleted**


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

GenezShop said:


> This is what I've tried so far:
> 1. Cut the ground pin to the wall socket, so that I could reverse polarity.


Did it work?



GenezShop said:


> 2. Took the plate off of the motor, reversed the connection from the switch box to the motor itself.


did it work?

a pic may be helpfull.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

GenezShop said:


> A buddy of mine gave me his father's old Sears wood lathe, but the motor is turning the spindle away in a clockwise direction. I checked Google for proper setup thinking that I may need to turn it the other way, but I have it correct; how do I change the direction that the motor is turning?


kind of depends if it is belt drive which it is ?? you can just mount the motor around instead of turning counter clock wise it would be turning clock wise. no need to try and reverse motor which probly not reveseable. That is the easest way to reverse rotation .


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

It all depends of what kind of motor it is. If it's an universal motor the direction can not be changed. An induction motor could easily be changed, normally there is a wiring diagram under the lid on the connection box on the motor. If not all you have to do is to change the connection of the capacitor from one of the incoming leads to the other.


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

I have an old motor from my Dad that I mounted on my grinding table. If I pull the wheel to me it runs that way, if I push it away it runs that way. If you have a handwheel it may be worth it to pull to you sharply and quickly hit the switch. Probably won’t work but it may?


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## RetiredLE (Jan 20, 2011)

NCPaladin said:


> I have an old motor from my Dad that I mounted on my grinding table. If I pull the wheel to me it runs that way, if I push it away it runs that way. If you have a handwheel it may be worth it to pull to you sharply and quickly hit the switch. Probably won’t work but it may?


I tried to send you a PM but kept getting an error message. 

Couldn't help noticing your choice of log in name. I am a fan of Richard Boone's Have Gun Will Travel. Is that where you got it?


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## cornskier (Oct 19, 2010)

*Motor direction.*

It depends totally on the motor type and if you can get at the start winding or if it is a brush type motor. If you can find the start winding leads, #5 & #8 or Red and Black, exchange them. That should start it in the opposite direction. If it is a brush type motor, then the leads to the brushes can be reversed and that should change the direction. If it is a DC motor, reverse the out put of the diodes. With the brush and diode options, the brushes will wear wrong because of the holder angle and the commutator rotation. Maybe a qualified professional electrician that specializes in motors can do better. I just try to do it the correct way.


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