Quote Originally Posted by cbmkr View Post
Anyone with a small shop can save a lot of money buying the 3 phase equipment and running it on a dedicated 3 phase converter and breaker panel for a fraction of the cost of comparable single phase machines. Drill presses, lathes, and milling machines bring a lot less money at auctions if they are 3 phase power instead of single.
You are sure right about that... Interesting story... I built a phase converter probably about 10 years ago... I used it on a tire balancer. It would spin the tire and when it would slow the tire down it would slow down and then speed back up. Never stopping??? Hmmm... The motor on the phase converter would slow down and reverse. I picked up a larger motor for the phase converter and everything was fine. Nobody can use 3 phase unless they have a shop wired for it, so the machines are usually a very good bargain if you want to dig into a phase converter.