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SS Forum Comprades,
Here's a picture of the coupler that seems to be the issue. The internal teeth are worn/damaged about 50%, and it is out of round. I lined up the head stock and the band saw and they were perfect - I think the issue is obvious!

I'll be ordering a new coupler from SS!

woodshopflunky wrote:SS Forum Comprades,
Here's a picture of the coupler that seems to be the issue. The internal teeth are worn/damaged about 50%, and it is out of round. I lined up the head stock and the band saw and they were perfect - I think the issue is obvious!

I'll be ordering a new coupler from SS!

I can not tell from these photos but if you cannot maintain a smooth operation of SPT while coupled to the headstock - you do not want to use it.

Yep, it's in the garbage. Just ordered a new one from SS. I'm not sure what the previous owner did, the splines on the bandsaw and headstock look to be in perfect condition and line up to each other perfectly to the naked eye.
Thanks for all the friendly help and advice, this forum rocks!

Carl

woodshopflunky wrote:Yep, it's in the garbage. Just ordered a new one from SS. I'm not sure what the previous owner did, the splines on the bandsaw and headstock look to be in perfect condition and line up to each other perfectly to the naked eye.
Thanks for all the friendly help and advice, this forum rocks!

Carl

Looks like insufficient insertion over the headstock hub. i.e, the spring must be compressed as far as possible so the hub bottoms out in the coupler.

Just wanted to say "Welcome to the Forum."

You will find lots of friendly folks here and a wealth of information.

Welcome to Shopsmith Heaven!:)

I have used the Lovejoy couplers for years as Shopsmith had no supply of their coupler. They work out nice but I often loose the spider. Cheapest price that I have found is at use-enco.com.

I use the series L050 5/8 bore Hubs. Enco's Part# 990-4047
And I use the Buna-N Spider. It is a softer rubber meant for jars and soft starts. Various strength spiders are available. They are availble in 1/2" ID and 5/8" ID hubs.
Enco's Part #990-4042.

They are about half the price of the Shoppsmith coupler.

Of course. aligning the 2 shafts are very important to reduce vibration and wear.

Bill,

I looked up the part numbers you posted and it seems to me that I would mount a hub on the bandsaw and the headstock with the spider in between.

Am I understanding you correctly?

I assume there a set screw that holds the hubs in place?

There is a photo in the Enco catalog that shows how these work but it isn't good enough for me to tell how it mounts.

rlkeeney wrote:Bill,

I looked up the part numbers you posted and it seems to me that I would mount a hub on the bandsaw and the headstock with the spider in between.

Am I understanding you correctly?

I assume there a set screw that holds the hubs in place?

There is a photo in the Enco catalog that shows how these work but it isn't good enough for me to tell how it mounts.

Neither the enco nor the lovejoy site reveal the set screw size, but it is indicated on the drawing below the pix at the enco site linked to.

900-4046(5/8) and 900-4047(1/2) would be my choice(no key slot).

Bill Mayo: Good thinking on your part. Then Lovejoy couplers are a standard motor to appliance coulping (used them many times in machine designs), and who would've thought an industrial type would be cheaper than some PVC fabrication? If I ever need a new coupler, that's the route I'll take. Thanks for that tip.

BTW: alignment between the two shafts is critical in both x & y axis. The Lovejoy may compensate for about a degree of angular misalignment, but not any more than that.

I might have chosen the nect size up though, as the motors are rated at 3/4 HP and 1.125 HP, just to have a more substantial coupling. YMMV