Shopsmith Forums

I've been trading emails with a nice guy from an authorized GE electric motor distributor. I asked him about greasing the electric motor, and also whether or not I should remove the shims (which is what I believe the metal rings are).

Here's his reply:



The shims are probably fine,

I’d ...

If I'm going to be buying a new rear bearing, I'm guessing it would probably be a good idea to take the pulley assembly off the shaft and replace the front bearing too.

Is there anything else I should consider replacing/refurbishing while I've got the electric motor apart?

Thanks!

Perhaps the previous owner though adding a bit of grease was a good thing.

The previous owner was the Shopsmith Store in Columbus, Ohio. I bought the unit from them, brand new, in the late 1970's, and this is the first time the headstock has ever been taken apart.

I've never replaced a bearing ...

There was definitely grease on the back end of the bearing, and enough grease accumulated in the back cover of the electric motor that I have a hard time seeing how it could have leaked out of the bearings.

There are two metal "rings" sitting in the grease in back cover of the electric motor. The ...

W... I would not bother with grease. I would put in a new bearing...

Installing a new bearing is a great idea... though I suspect I'll still need to lubricate the bearing with some sort of grease.

For what its worth, the name plate on the electric motor says for other service besides lubrication ...

Disassembling my electrical motor, moving the rubber boot of the centrifugal switch's electrical contacts, and blowing compressed air into the switch made the motor stop groaning and start purring along.

Unfortunately, the process also coated the electric motor's rear bearing with sawdust (if I ...

I know that a 20 amp breaker and 12 AWG wire is going to keep my SS happy. What I'm curious about is exactly what damages the electric motor when a combination of undersized wire and an overly long run prevent enough amps from getting to the SS to do the job.

I watched Dusty's video and have a much more clear idea of what I'll be looking for when I do my testing.

If I understand correctly, if I feed my Shopsmith with a 15 amp breaker connected to 12 AWG wire, there's a chance I'll blow the breaker because the Shopsmith is trying to draw more amps than ...

I've moved my Shopsmith to a detached garage which doesn't have adequate power to run the Shopsmith. The electrical outlet I'd use is about a 65 foot run from the house's electrical box, and I'm guessing the wires are 14 AWG.

I no longer use the Shopsmith regularly and don't want to go to the time ...

That will allow you to 'see' more of the actual switch contacts which are probably under the rubber boot.

YaHooOOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooo!!!!!

I decided that before buttoning up the electric motor and taking it to a repair shop, I'd follow your suggestion and look at whatever was under the rubber ...