Shopsmith Forums

Bill, on those units with that particular bearing problem, can you tell where the bearings were made?

i took the drive belt off and the motor ran smoothly this evening ( a good thing i think ).... thinking of cleaning / repairing / replacing the quadrant assembly ???? hopefully in that order...
THANKS for being patient with me:)

p.s. if the assembly is "stuck" at a high r.p.m. could that be cause the tripping of the breaker

If you have a cord that is small guage wire and are operating on a 15 amp circuit, it is definitely possible that if you are starting at high speed, you may trip the breaker. Especially if you have any kind of load on any of the drive shafts.

I noticed the other day when slowing the ss, there is a loud click around "O". Is this normal? I think it used to do this the first few months too.

Yes, that sounds normal. That might even be "proof" that your anti-rattle spring is still properly present behind the dial. There is a depth change in the relief sections behind the dial, that is encountered by that spring when you're winding down from high speed.

They were the original NSK from Japan that Shopsmith used. What I found was caked sawdust againest the front bearing in each motor that was oil soaked. These are metal shielded bearings so I believe the sawdust wicked the oil from the bearing causing the problem. If the sawdust in the headstock was blown out once in a while, I do not believe this problem will occur. The bearings on the opposite end was only a little worn. I am using rubber sealed bearings (2R) on both motor ends to prevent this problem.

a1gutterman wrote:Bill, on those units with that particular bearing problem, can you tell where the bearings were made?

Thanks for the reply. I was suspecting something else, especially since you had indicated that you had had an unusual run of units with this problem.

termite06 wrote:I noticed the other day when slowing the ss, there is a loud click around "O". Is this normal? I think it used to do this the first few months too.

Hi, termite! Chris (nuhobby) is absolutely correct and the anti rattle spring does slip into the recess about when the letter O is up. However I don't believe a LOUD click should be heard! In fact I have never heard a sound from mine. Think the headstock noise drowns it out.

What I suspect is your anti rattle spring has come loose on one end and is catching in the recess. This should be a simple matter for you to check out.

If you need help - holler!! - or view the sawdust session showin the removing the speed control knob.

good news ???? ...... the gears on the quadrant assembly are kinda stripped ....wonder how and why ...this seems to be an easy fix - just ordered a replacement....thanks to ALL for all of your help;)
might try to file new teeth on the old assembly and keep as a replacement ??

"...wonder how and why..."

Failure to lubricate the sheaves and the quadrant is the most common reason; followed by turning the speed control when the motor is not running. Can also be caused by attempting to run the Shopsmith when there is damage to other parts of the drive train. We once had a headstock in for repair in which the owner had continued to use the machine after the bearing at the end of the control sheave had siezed. Not only were the teeth on the quadrant stripped, the heat from the friction of the parts rubbing actually welded the control sheeve to the quadrant.

With all good wishes,