Noisey Power Pro Headstock

[hfmann]

During this COVID-19 isolation, I'm learning to turn. Lately, my PowerPro headstock has gotten noisey. Mostly been turning small bowls 5" diameter and less. Things started getting noisey when I begin hollowing out the bowls. Today with my first larger blank (14" diameter) it got really bad.

Here's a 13 second video in which you can see when I put the chisel to the wood, the noise increases dramatically. [youtube]https://youtu.be/5W1bVOiQBk0[/youtube]
https://youtu.be/5W1bVOiQBk0

I've also made a very short audio recording that is closer to the headstock and records the headstock sound better. I put it my my Google Drive and made it accessible (26 seconds).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1flW1VF ... sp=sharing

Should I take the cover off the headstock and see if there's something obviously wrong?

thanks,

hal

[DLB]

I haven't had that experience, but the first thing that comes to my mind is that some owners have reported the pulley getting loose on the motor shaft. In some cases, tightening down the set screw does not resolve it and the pulley must be replaced.

But I'd start simpler. Take off the accessory drive hubs and belt cover and see if the belts both seem tight. They should also appear square to the pulleys, if the lower isn't square this would be the first sign that the motor pulley has moved. You can also take off the motor pan for better access to inspect the motor shaft and pulley. I would inspect that the motor mount screws are tight while the motor pan is off.

More info if you don't see anything: What RPM are you using for the large and small bowls? How closely does the PP track to that setting? (You might record the screen on video to see the behavior with chisel engaged.) Any noise on any other operations? Is it under warranty? How well balanced is your turning blank?

If anyone has had similar noises I'm sure they will respond. If nothing comes up fairly quickly I would consider engaging the engineer at Shopsmith. If it is under warranty I'd do that right away. Good luck.

- David

[jsburger]

Does not one usually round up the outside of the bowl to get it balanced before hollowing the inside?

[hfmann]

Does not one usually round up the outside of the bowl to get it balanced before hollowing the inside?

Yes - I just meant that I did start to notice the noise in the earlier smaller bowls after shaping the outside. I noticed the noise getting louder when time came to work on the inside.

In this case with the larger blank, I did try to flatten the end before rounding the outside. It was so uneven I wanted to flatten it so I could do some other work on the blank before bringing it back to the lathe for rounding.

[JPG]

The 'rattle' occurs in the first video even with no chisel pressure.

I agree that looking for loose set screw is appropriate.

[hfmann]

But I'd start simpler. Take off the accessory drive hubs

...

David, that info is so helpful. I really had no idea even what to look for. So I'll work through your suggestions. Thank you.

RPMs - for the small bowls I start with with about 600 and crank up or down to where the vibration disappears. Then as things get round I move it up further usually ending at about 900-1000.

For this bigger blank, I started at 250 and checked again to see where vibration started. I think it was at 300. Then later got up to 600 before deciding the noise might indicate something was seriously wrong and stopped altogether.

Warranty is long gone. I'm an infrequent SS user, but getting back into it now. I guess it would be worth paying for the engineer consult if I can't fix the problem through suggestions here.

Not sure what you mean about the PP tracking to the RPM??

I don't think there's more noise than usual with other operations.

The turning blanks are usually not well balance at all, so I use slower speeds until I get them rounded.

I'm anxious to get out there later today and check out what you've highlighted.

thanks,

hal

[wa2crk]

HFMann
I have had the set screw on the motor pulley come loose twice when I first bought my Power Pro. The second time it backed out of the hole completely and I had to use a magnet to find in the sawdust. If yours did indeed come loose a drop or two of blue Loctite will keep it in for a long time. Mine has never come loose again. By the way, the hole for the screw can be difficult to get to. As someone said earlier if it was loose for a long time the key way in the pulley may have come distorted and the pulley
may have to be replaced.
Bill V

[hfmann]

HFMann
I have had the set screw on the motor pulley come loose twice when I first bought my Power Pro. The second time it backed out of the hole completely and I had to use a magnet to find in the sawdust. If yours did indeed come loose a drop or two of blue Loctite will keep it in for a long time. Mine has never come loose again. By the way, the hole for the screw can be difficult to get to. As someone said earlier if it was loose for a long time the key way in the pulley may have come distorted and the pulley
may have to be replaced.
Bill V

Hey Bill,

All that is very helpful. That helps me know what to look for. Never would have thought about using the magnet or looking for the key way distortion.

Much thanks,

hal

[Chad]

Yeah, it sure sounds like something(s) is/are defiantly loose and rattling around inside the headstock. Couldn't hurt to remove the quill and check the bearings, and for a bent quill shaft as well, even though I highly doubt the quill is the problem.

[hfmann]

Couldn't hurt to remove the quill and check the bearings, and for a bent quill shaft as well, even though I highly doubt the quill is the problem.

Hi Chad,

oooh - that sounds like an intense operation. I'll save that for last. Not even sure how to do it.

Thanks for the idea.

hal