Shopsmith Forums

Well, just received this nice SS Speed Reducer from the Sacramento area via FedEx.
Cost was $150 including shipping, so I believe that I got a pretty good deal.

It also came with the manual.

[ATTACH]22046[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]22047[/ATTACH]

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If anybody has any helpful suggestions/warnings/cautions before I tear this thing apart and examine it for maintenance and parts replacement if needed, please speak up.

Of course, I'll post all my pics and findings here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IAQC-EH ... e=youtu.be


Also received a speed increaser, fence, and router guard never used, from North Carolina. That will be another thread at a later date.

My only advice is to read the manual.

I did add strips of UHMW plastic to allow it to slide easier when used in drill press mode. That is a personal upgrade.

I've never had mine apart, never had any issues with it either. It has seen more duty in drill press mode then lathe mode, which was no surprise since I was looking for the function mostly. It of course works well on lathe projects too but I do more drilling then turning large out of round projects.

If you are turning the output shaft with it connected to the headstock you will be meeting a lot of resistance, (less so with the powerpro) and I never attempt to do that so I have no idea how that feels.

Ed

No, that was turning it disconnected from the headstock, as depicted in the photos, not the video.


What is UHMW plastic?

pieceseeker wrote: What is UHMW plastic?

Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Plastic. Very hard very slippery plastic that almost nothing sticks to. Very good for jigs and runners. Other good options are polyethelene, and acetal (delrin)

I don't think there is a problem with the hard to turn issue you describe. It may be a set in the belts, but I doubt new belts will help much. If the belts have set, you may be able to place the set in the belts at orthogonal angles to each other to help. The like-new one I just sold felt exactly as you describe in your video.

Owner's Manual wrote: It is very difficult to turn the speed reducer by hand because of its belts and pulleys.

joshh wrote:I don't think there is a problem with the hard to turn issue you describe. It may be a set in the belts, but I doubt new belts will help much. .

Yea, I suspect you are probably right, but I want to examine the condition of the rubber anyway. Rubber has a shelf life. Never buy a 8 year or older tire...well, I wouldn't want to buy a tire older than a year old. Wouldn't be getting my money's worth

Take a lot of pictures! I don't see a "rebuild" guide for the speed reducer anywhere. Maybe you can write one

Here's a video teaser of the inside of a speed reducer running before teardown.

The video has no sound, it's from my boroscope I use at work.

It's also fairly low resolution compared to my Droid, but it is good enough.

You will notice that all is not right with this speed reducer given the debris field in the bottom of the reducer. Also, lots of rubber chunks around the ends of the idler (lower) shaft. The white looking spots near the shaft end is metal chips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seGbd8pI ... e=youtu.be

One note of interest, the number of grooves in the large sheeves not covered by the belts. The sheeves in the parts diagram look wider than the belts, so that looks reasonable.

Going ahead with teardown. I was going to try and measure the torque required to turn the input shaft before disassembly. A comparison of before and after new belts, adjustments, and cleanup on the torque required to turn the shaft would have been a good thing, but my in lb torque wrench is at work and I don't want to wait another day to do this.



Patient check in.
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On the operating table shortly after anesthesia.
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The 3 screws holding the quill clamp housing are torqued quite tight. If I had to guess, maybe around 20-25 ft/lb. Same for the output bearing housing.
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That plastic female input hub (coupling) might be an item to have a spare...just in case.
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Belt tension adjusting screws, springs, and washers.
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More pics on the way!

Belt tensioner exposed. This end looks good.
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Belt tensioner on input end of idler (lower) shaft. Notice the belt and metal debris. This pic is actually upside down.
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This is a spacer and external snap ring for the output (upper) shaft. This keeps the shaft from wandering in.
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Case halves split
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And finally, these are some of my observations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDe9-NnxcHk

One correction to the video, the upper input output shaft and sheeves were incorrectly described. The sheeve on the upper left is the input shaft and the one on the right is the output. Sorry if any confusion was experienced.

Noted also from the parts diagram in the manual, the belts are a matched pair. Also on the last page in the manual, there is a measurement for belt tensioning. Exactly 27/32" should be maintained between the inside edges of both washers that rides on each end of the tensioning spring. In other words, measure across the length of the spring to the inside edge of the washers.

Less distance....tighter, more distance....looser.

Some more close up pics to follow!