Introduction: Excited to be here!

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:59 pm

stitcher wrote:It seems like there are m,any who have motor problems. Can anyone here on the forum explain why that is? I am new to this wood working thing and I would prefer to avoid the problems that others seem to have. Is there a systemic issue with the Shopsmith motor?

You have to remember his Shopsmith is from the 1950"s. An electric weed eater I purchased 2 years ago is already trash.

robedney · Post by **robedney** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:25 pm

I'm not surprised that the motor on my new/old green machine is toast. I suspect that this machine had relatively heavy use, and the old 3/4 horse motors do seem undersized. When I pulled this one apart I found blackened windings -- a sure sign of overheating. Remember that this machine in particular is 54 years old, although I'm sure it's been sitting unused for some of those years. That's not bad for an electric motor built in 1956. The other issue is that there is a design constraint on the size and weight of the motor to keep the headstock size and weight down.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:55 pm

robedney wrote:I'm not surprised that the motor on my new/old green machine is toast. I suspect that this machine had relatively heavy use, and the old 3/4 horse motors do seem undersized. When I pulled this one apart I found blackened windings -- a sure sign of overheating. Remember that this machine in particular is 54 years old, although I'm sure it's been sitting unused for some of those years. That's not bad for an electric motor built in 1956. The other issue is that there is a design constraint on the size and weight of the motor to keep the headstock size and weight down.

I think a more direct constraint was the limit of a 115V 15A supply source.

Homes were not as robustly wired as today.

------------------------ · Thu Jun 17, 2010 7:15 pm

Hey Robert!
If you need a motor let me know. I am on the Peninsula and have a greenie motor in storage.
Mark

robedney · Post by **robedney** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:32 pm

------------------------ wrote:Hey Robert!
If you need a motor let me know. I am on the Peninsula and have a greenie motor in storage.
Mark

Yes, I do! Couldn't figure out how to direct message you. My email is robert@robertedney.com.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:03 pm

Not to rain on this parade, but now IS a good time to consider the larger motor, rather than a 3/4hp 'original'. 100% compatible!!!!!

robedney · Post by **robedney** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:16 pm

Just a quick update -- I found a motor (the larger one) on Ebay and won the bidding war, so it's on its way. This will give me a little time to go through the rest of the machine and do a preliminary spruce-up and lubrication. I also discovered that although I have lots of accessories I have no power couplers, so I ordered one from the SS website instead of EBay -- offering what little support I can. I'm looking forward to being operational!

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:57 pm

robedney wrote:Just a quick update -- I found a motor (the larger one) on Ebay and won the bidding war, so it's on its way. This will give me a little time to go through the rest of the machine and do a preliminary spruce-up and lubrication. I also discovered that although I have lots of accessories I have no power couplers, so I ordered one from the SS website instead of EBay -- offering what little support I can. I'm looking forward to being operational!

At the very least, blow any detrius out of the motor FIRST. Do so aggressively.

Then make sure it still starts.

robedney · Post by **robedney** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:14 pm

JPG40504 wrote:At the very least, blow any detrius out of the motor FIRST. Do so aggressively.

Then make sure it still starts.

Well do. I just ran a dedicated circuit so I can run my compressor without sometimes tripping the breaker -- this will also be the circuit for the SS.

Depending on how the bearings sound I may just open up the EBay motor and replace them as well. I'd like to do this just once

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:37 pm

robedney wrote:Well do. I just ran a dedicated circuit so I can run my compressor without sometimes tripping the breaker -- this will also be the circuit for the SS.

Depending on how the bearings sound I may just open up the EBay motor and replace them as well. I'd like to do this just once

If you do, make sure you measure the shaft where both bearings rest. Mine had two different size id. The rear bearing was 5/8" id, the pulley end bearing was 16mm id. Unless you detect something terribly wrong with the 'new' motor bearings, leave them be.

IMHO - After looking at both a rubber sealed and a steel shielded bearing(after po used for ???? hrs), I recommend the rubber seals.

Shopsmith Forums

Introduction: Excited to be here!

Systemic problems:

Found a motor...