Shopsmith Forums

Gentlemen and ladies,

Owner of two 5's (#269978; (Jun '54) and #003032 (Jul '86) and awaiting delivery of my 7.

Used the '54 since the early '70's when it was passed to me by my father-in-law. Hurricane Katrina gave it a bath and it has remained unused ever since. The 510 I bought after Katrina and it turned out to be a basket case, but for $65 dollars, with a belt sander and bandsaw, who can complain?

I have disassembled the head on the 510. The motor is toast, and I have a replacement. The other components really don't seem too bad. (The belt sander cleaned up nicely with Evaporust, elbow grease and 000 steel wool; The bandsaw renovation is well underway).

My (first) questions; whatever grease that was applied to the shaft to lubricate the sheaves is more like an adhesive than a lubricant at this point. What will effectively strip that gunk off of the shaft, and what should it be?

The 500 did not run at all after Katrina, but the other night I plugged it in and turned it on for some reason. Amazingly enough, the motor turned over, accompanied by the sound of one of the belts disintegrating. The motor whines if left on for more than a couple of seconds. I assume the bearings aren't bearings anymore. Can the motor be reworked? I would like to keep it close to original for sentimental reasons.

Thanks

Rte66

Sometimes the best solvent for the dried up oil is fresh oil. You can try re-lubing the sheaves and then wiping them down so they are clean, the oil again. If that doesn't work, disassemble and soak, scrub or do whatever is necessary to clean them (brake cleaner works, watch the fumes). Good time to check the bearings as well...

That is supposed to be oil? Looks like grease that has gelatinized. Have no manual yet; what weight oil is called for?

Rte66

If the motor runs but makes noise after several minutes then the bearings are definitely due to be changed. Disassemble the motor and give the start switch a good cleaning. Bearings are reasonable and available from several distributors in the internet. I use VXB at http://WWW.vxb.com for mine. Be sure to measure the bearings because one of the motors that SS used has different bearings at one end. One is a 5/8" bore and the other is a metric. The oil that is used on the sheaves is a light weight machine of 10 weight and NO detergents. When you have the motor reassembled on the bench use some light weight oil and some 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper and polish the motor shaft. Clean the inside of the floating sheave to remove the old oil and gunk and use a very liberal amount of oil during reassembly. No such thing as too much oil.

Mineral spirits or just about any petroleum base solvent)(gasoline works:D:eek::))

That stuff is called crud. Oil and sawdust mixed create it. Nick calls it acupucky(or something like that).

You will be amazed at how easily they slide once cleaned and oiled. You cannot over oil them! The inside of the headstock will not mind an oil bath from oil sling..

[quote="rte66"]Gentlemen and ladies,

My (first) questions]
Spray on a liberal amount of WD40 and let it soak in for awhile... it usually does a good job of softening up dried grease. If that doesn't work use acetone.

worknhard wrote:Spray on a liberal amount of WD40 and let it soak in for awhile... it usually does a good job of softening up dried grease. If that doesn't work use acetone.

Mostly mineral spirits!

wa2crk wrote:If the motor runs but makes noise after several minutes then the bearings are definitely due to be changed. Disassemble the motor and give the start switch a good cleaning. Bearings are reasonable and available from several distributors in the internet. I use VXB at http://WWW.vxb.com for mine. Be sure to measure the bearings because one of the motors that SS used has different bearings at one end. One is a 5/8" bore and the other is a metric. The oil that is used on the sheaves is a light weight machine of 10 weight and NO detergents. When you have the motor reassembled on the bench use some light weight oil and some 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper and polish the motor shaft. Clean the inside of the floating sheave to remove the old oil and gunk and use a very liberal amount of oil during reassembly. No such thing as too much oil.

Why NO detergents?

steve4447 wrote:Why NO detergents?

It ain't a lubricant, and you do not need them in a non motor oil application.

It is 'possible' you are seeing the result of using motor oil.(wild guess there!)

I found this at a local hardware store. http://www.rscbrands.com/products/Upload_Images/L1004_LW%20Communication.pdf.

It says it is 5-10 wt. Is that too thin?

Mike