broken shopsmith in need of assistance

algale · Post by **algale** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:15 am

patrickooomazing wrote:it might be a bit hard to see. the wire hoop is present, but the piece on the shaft appears to have broken off.. i would have thought it would have taken the hoop with it?

also, the ball bearings inside the bearing appear close to falling out. so thats obviously a problem

question is, is that the only problem?

ordering parts in canada is.. difficult. there is only one supplier in canada and their website doesnt list replacement parts. so before i go ordering a replacement bearing, or whole pulley assembly, i want to try to make sure i have everything covered that has gone wrong.

i do have access to a bearing press. is it inconceivable that i couldnt just buy a bearing to stuff in there?

Yup, your button bearing has sheared off and is kaput. I'm also surprised the loop is hanging on to the porkchop. I've not personally had to make this repair/replacement but here's what one of our best experts said on the subject. http://shopsmith.net/forums/showpost.ht ... ostcount=2 I think I'd be looking on ebay for a replacement of the entire assembly. I don't know how to answer your question whether this is the only problem. Have you found the piece(s) of the bearing that broke off? You don't want that rattling around where it could jam up the motor or the sheaves or a belt.

algale · Post by **algale** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 7:49 am

Here's another fella's take on fixing this bearing.
http://jacobs-repairshop.com/my_web_site_023.htm

ChrisNeilan · Post by **ChrisNeilan** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:34 am

Looks to me like you've already lost that bearing. If you're handy and have access to a lathe you can carefully machine a new seat for the replacement bearing, carefully drive a new one in and pean the shaft to seat the new bearing. That is what I just did on mine. Used a square carbide cutter from Captain Eddie (Google him). Worked like a charm. I don't think Shopsmith sells just the bearing. I got mine from a seller on ebay along with new belts and other bearings. If that seems out of your comfort zone (it was out of mine but I did it anyway), just buy a set of replacement sheaves fro Shopsmith. Their bearing is probably a bit better. Good luck.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:53 am

patrickooomazing, I sent you a PM (private message) about a source for your needed parts.

patrickooomazing · Post by **patrickooomazing** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 4:08 am

EUREKA! i figured it out!

i was seriously confused as to why sometimes i could spin the quill by hand, and sometimes not. turns out that when the button bearing at the end of the control sheave (dont i just sound like i know what im talking about?) broke off, the depth limit that the control sheave could move away from the stationary sheave increased by the thickness of the bearing. when the control sheave moved far enough out, the fins on the outer surface of the control sheave came in contact with part of the speed control quadrant

i dont care how strong i think i am, that metal on metal contact wouldnt budge. BUT if the control sheave moved upwards even a little towards the stationary sheave, the mechanism could spin freely.

HUZZAH!

looks like i can get everything i need to fix this in letter "I" on this page:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/part ... dparts.htm

surprisingly the sheave and the speed control seem to be in fine condition.. you know.. except for the bearing. can you say dodged a bullet?

im going to have to take the control sheave off the idler shaft and inspect the shaft. is there a tutorial anywhere on how to do that? i think i remember seeing it in the sawdust videos.. but honestly i watched about 10 of those all in one sitting. if anyone knows which one it is off the top of their heads, id appreciate it (though i have no problem going through the videos myself, so dont go hunting through them on my account)

im still not sure where the clicking sound came from. but im not about to re-connect the drive belt to find out while that bearing is toast.

interestingly the motor makes a whining sound now. im not sure if its just the motor spinning under no load, or if ive buggered up something in there. any suggestions? ive finally oiled the motor sheave oil hole. should i let it run for a while to distribute the oil before i get concerned? its mighty cold here in canada right now, so i can imagine itll take some time for the oil to fully distribute itself.

algale · Post by **algale** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:39 am

Patrick,

That's the part you need.

To remove the old sheave to inspect the shaft you will need to remove the speed control mechanism/porkchop, then the sheave will slide freely off.

While you have the speed control out it is a good time to inspect the pork chop for wear. If the wear is minor it can be filed and permanently fixed with Bill Mayo's free quadrant bolt kit. http://shopsmith.net/forums/showpost.ht ... ostcount=1

Al

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 2:27 pm

Did you pm prm...? Having an address north of the great lakes will be a problem. SS does not ship to there.

patrickooomazing · Post by **patrickooomazing** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:00 pm

yes, ive been reading all the private messages, so thanks for those.
i also have a broken table height pinion that i ordered through the canadian distributor. i managed to get the control sheave added on to my order through them.

its a bit more than i would have liked to pay, but i guess that covers currency exchange and shipping from the american warehouse. and this way if there is a problem, i can return it.

i spoke with bill mayo also, who suggested that i replace the idler shaft as well to ensure that the sheaves match up properly.. but id rather not buy an extra part if i can get away without (and just count on returning the part if need be).

patrickooomazing · Post by **patrickooomazing** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:18 pm

first i want to say thanks to everyone who helped me out on this. i finally received my replacement control sheave and installed it today (took a while.. seems like you need 3 very small hands to do this operation). i turned the shopsmith to low by hand and then spun it up. its nice to see the machine running again. so again, thank you to everyone who threw in their assistance.

of course when you fix one problem, another presents itself. for some reason the poly v belt is getting chewed up. im looking through the search results, but i dont see anything like what i think happened (im going to keep looking, but i figured id ask the experts while im at it).

there was no problem turning the speed up, but once at high, the belt began to smoke and shred apart. it seems like the belt is getting pinched at the idler shaft end, not the quill end, and i think the idler shaft is slipping out backwards from the headstock.

id like to upload a photo of its situation, but im wondering if i should do that here, or open a new thread?

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:39 pm

patrickooomazing wrote:
id like to upload a photo of its situation, but im wondering if i should do that here, or open a new thread?

Do what ya think is best. Now did ya do a high speed adjustment?