Man, you guys are good.
1. I personally think a spacer between the ears would have to be of precise size. Just small enough to compress the bushing AND large enough to keep the ears from reaching failure. I don't know that can be done. Given the inconsistencies I see in my headstock casting, I bet that fail point is going slightly different, if not drastically different for each machine.
2. I removed the drive belt last night and it is stiff as a board. I holds the shape it's been in for the last few decades.
3. The 'black whatever' behind the quill stop is indeed suspicious. With all the grime and sawdust on it, it first appeared to me to be a felt spacer (shows how much I know about these machines). It's actually the collar on the quill feed pinion (best nomenclature I can tell from the exploded diagrams) that's just behind the snap ring. bout 1" of the top of that collar is sheared off about 1/8". It has collected gunk and turned black.
4. The penetrating oil is really seeping down in between parts now and the quill is retracting about half way on it's own. I'm sure this will improve after cleaning.
I think the cord is salvageable.
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I didn't have any spare inner tubes so this is my rig for compressing the idler spring. See, small scrap wood wedges DO come in handy. The 2x4 at the edge of the bench is always bolted there as a back-up for drilling operations, clamping, a bench dog, etc.
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Post- rocket launcher removal.
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It was tough getting to that set screw behind the Speedial and even tougher getting a photograph of it.
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Speedchanger with Speedial removed. All gear teeth present and accounted for, if not slightly worn. Incidentally, I marked the casting where the hole in the Speedial was at 'fast' and the hard crayon I used actually flaked paint off.
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As an aside, here's some
wooden planetary gears from one of my favorite websites. His gear template generator is also worth a look (talk about chasing rabbits).