Shopsmith Forums

Hey everyone I recently acquired my father in law's SS Mark V and when I flip the switch to turn it on it starts to spin, but stops after a few seconds and just hums. It has not been used for at least a few years. When I pulled the belt cover off to clean and lubricate I saw thin pieces of the top belt had come off. I tried putting 30 wt non detergent oil into the sheaves, but then I noticed it said it needed to be on the fastest speed to apply the oil. Not sure how to get there when it only spins for a few seconds. Also before I saw the warning I turned the speed dial when it was not on. I now realize this is a bad thing to do, but what exactly does it harm and how? Could this have caused my problems? Any tips on my next course of action?

You can turn the speed dial from slow to fast without the shaft turning and it should not be a problem. To turn it from fast to slow, you can mount a sanding disk and turn it by hand and turn the speed dial from fast to slow a little bit at a time. If the speed dial is hard to turn in either direction you need to check inside the headstock to see if all the parts are clean and lubed. There is a hole for the oil inside the headstock on the shaft as well.

As for it starting and then stopping and humming…sounds like issues in the motor to me. Others here are way more versed on motor repair and maintenance, so I'll let them weigh in but my first step would be to clean all the saw dust and crud out of the unit in general, including the motor windings and brushes etc. Also, probably needless to say, but don't turn it on anymore while all it does is hum or you are going to burn up the motor for good.

fredsheldon wrote:You can turn the speed dial from slow to fast without the shaft turning and it should not be a problem. To turn it from fast to slow, you can mount a sanding disk and turn it by hand and turn the speed dial from fast to slow a little bit at a time. If the speed dial is hard to turn in either direction you need to check inside the headstock to see if all the parts are clean and lubed. There is a hole for the oil inside the headstock on the shaft as well.

I don't advise doing that in fact, I don't believe you can.

If you need to get the speed dial moved to the high speed position without the running the motor, turn the shaft by hand while simultaneously changing the speed dial.

It helps to mount a sanding disk or a saw blade on the shaft and use it to turn the shaft. Without some mechanical assist, the shaft can be difficult to turn.

When you get the speed set to FAST and with the motor off, You can unwind the motor belt from the motor sheaves being careful not to let the floating sheave loose as the belt is coming off. With the belt off, you can check to see how long the motor will operate. You can also rotate the quill shaft to see if there is is any binding or tightness. Should be real free to turn. Let us know what you find and we can go from there.

IF you set the speed control to high with it not running, the idler pulley can open up, the belt will drop, the floating sheave will not move and all that extra belt slack can get caught between the control sheave and the idler sheave(idler pulley) and get jammed. The motor will attempt to rotate, but the jammed belt will prevent it from turning.

Look for a jammed belt in the idler pulley(inside). If not, then eyeball the motor!

Either way, step one is remove the belt from the motor pulley.

billmayo wrote:When you get the speed set to FAST and with the motor off, You can unwind the motor belt from the motor sheaves being careful not to let the floating sheave loose as the belt is coming off. With the belt off, you can check to see how long the motor will operate. You can also rotate the quill shaft to see if there is is any binding or tightness. Should be real free to turn. Let us know what you find and we can go from there.

So I can turn the speed to fast with the motor off? I thought that was a huge "no no" My father in law is suggesting we replace the two belts. Which belt are you suggesting I remove first? The poly V/ Gilmer belt? or the other one? I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but can you go into more detail regarding unwinding the motor belt from the sheaves without letting the floating sheave loose.

ryjonesacct[B wrote:]So I can turn the speed to fast with the motor off?[/b] I thought that was a huge "no no" My father in law is suggesting we replace the two belts. Which belt are you suggesting I remove first? The poly V/ Gilmer belt? or the other one? I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but can you go into more detail regarding unwinding the motor belt from the sheaves without letting the floating sheave loose.

I don't think so! But even if you can, I strongly advise against it.

I would suggest that the speed control should never be changed unless the drive shaft is rotating. To do that, simply mount the sanding disk or a face plate to the drive shaft and use it to rotate the drive shaft while simultaneously changing the speed control.

ryjonesacct wrote:My father in law is suggesting we replace the two belts. Which belt are you suggesting I remove first? The poly V/ Gilmer belt? or the other one?

If you post some pictures of the headstock, including the serial number plate, the forum can help you determine if you have a poly-v or a gilmer. (the gilmer is toothed)

These videos will give you a lot of basic knowledge on the subject:
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... rn_Pt1.htm
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... rn_Pt2.htm
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... rn_Pt3.htm
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... rn_Pt4.htm

EDIT: sessions 1, 2, and 4 are offline! that stinks! they were online last week. 3 is still good.

If this removal from Blip is a permanent thing - it sticks.

I just hope that it is due to either some administrative oversight or a periodic update.

Admin: Please tell us that this is a temporary thing and that the videos will return.