Shopsmith Forums

I was up at my nephews this weekend, he has a 54 greenie, that was having a speed problem. He uses it for a lathe, so does not change speed much. Motor sheave was stuck in the "slow" position, we got it freed. He is were I need help to help him.
No access hole under SS plate to get to lube idler sheave,
A; how do you get to it to lube?
B; to cut one in, can you use a carbide tipped hole saw, if not what is used?
C; His greenie does not have the spring cup cover and "C" clip to hold on the spring to the motor shaft, it is a nut on the threaded shaft end. What is a safe way to take it off and then compress the spring to getter back on? Did not see a lube hole on the sheave bushing under the spring either!
As always, a great weekend with him and thanks in advance here.
Bob

Welcome to the 'old' greenie world.

"A" headstock, no access hole. Drop motor to get access.

Nut retained spring. LEFT hand thread. Makes it more 'interesting'.

Those sheaves never had oil holes. Adding them recommended!!!!

If you raise to vertical, insert the table from the (what used to be the bottom) rear then lower the headstock until it almost rests on the table, the gtable will easily support the motor/pan as it is removed(after pulling the belt off the pulley first).

I know how I remove/replace the spring nut, but it involves a 3 jaw machinist chuck and a 'socket wrench'.

The floating sheave can be oiled by dribbling oil into the keyway with the ss in vertical. The oil will seep down the length of the key. Oil the rest of the shaft by dribbling it on the exposed portion and also letting it seep down. overnight, then repeat.

Sawing hole has been done, but not by me.

Another thread recently discussed drilling holes in the sliding and control sheaves for oiling on older machines that lack them. (or perhaps an old thread I recently saw).

They said to remove the sheave and just drill so the hole gores into the keyway. Deburr and you're good. They discussed where to drill along the shaft but I didn't pay attention other than to note they said it wasn't that critical. I suspect you can just put it about where it is on later models. It was emphasized not to try drilling with the sheave in place on the shaft. Seems obvious but I know I've certainly done things that most would instinctively avoid.

... Like not safely making sure the spring on the motor sheave can't get loose and fly off at speed, bouncing Hard off my ear.

When I removed the spring on the other one I first drilled a hole large enough for the spring and washer to fit in partway through the spring removal board they say to use. I then drilled a smaller hole all the way through that the shaft and c clip fit through. That worked well to keep the spring from sliding loose as I released the tension and helped even more when compressing it again later.

The ear insult event involved using a stupid quick shortcut instead of the suggested board.
With the commonly suggested board it was easy. Can that approach be adapted with the reverse threaded nut version?

I have a '55 with no access hole.

If using the drop motor pan method then there is no need for the oil holes as you have all the access possible with the motor out of the way. I drilled them in mine but hardly use them as I did not cut an access hole in the back of mine. My hand is too big and drilling a hole large enough for my paw would have meant re-engineering the cover and I prefer to keep Papa's SS as original as possible.

Here is my process
Elevate to DP mode
Mount Table through the bottom of the carriage so it will support the motor pan when it is folded down.

With motor running Adjust to high speed.
Turn off and unplug
Remove cover and hold up out of the way with spring clamps on the way tubes.
Loosen motor pan and fold down onto table.
You'll have to disengage the belt. Now is a good time to inspect and measure the belt.

Apply 3 in 1 oil liberally to shafts and move the sheaves back and forth on the shaft to ensure good coverage. If you can't move the sheaves by hand then let the oil soak for a bit, even under spring tension you should be able to move the motor sheaves back and forth enough to get the oil moving on the shaft.

Re install motor pan and belt.

leave in upright position overnight so the oil will drain down the shaft.

Wipe down any visible excess oil. lower cover and test.
No is also a good time to perform high and low speed adjustments if needed.

If test is good tighten the cover up and get back to work.

Thanks guys that answers that!!
Maybe Bill M will feel good enough to explain drill the access hole, the good and bad of it!!!

fitzhugh wrote: With the commonly suggested board it was easy. Can that approach be adapted with the reverse threaded nut version?

I use a 30" X 4" board drilled the same way you did to remove the spring on motors with a snap ring. I actually have 3 holes drilled in the board, one for the washer, one for the spring shield and one for the nut. These are different size holes half way through the board and are a snug fit. I finish the hole with a 7/8" bit. I have a board screwed to the wall behind my bench to place the board under so I only need my hand or arm to hold the compressed spring. I find with the nut, I have to break the nut loose with a wrench first before using the board. I turn the motor shaft using the floating sheave and reverse the procedure to install the nut. I use a wrench for the final torque on the nut.

On the "A" headstock casing, I have jig to center the 3 1/16" carbide tip hole cutter. I file the inside and outside edges of the hole to remove the sharp edge that will quickly cut you. I use a bracket vertically behind the LOGO cover and drill a hole in the top and bottom moons on the LOGO cover. I tap the bracket for the 2 #10 screws. This allows me to set the bracket inside the headstock and then side it upward and tighten the screws to hold the LOGO cover.

I just saw this
http://mkctools.com/markvaccesshole.htm
When looking at their version of what Bill calls a "poor man's speed reducer"
(Which is under shop projects on that site)

Not as nice as having a proper hole saw but should work. Of course I'm not recommending it as a better way.

Fitz, I thought of that right away, been that route B4 on other projects when I did not have the $ for the right tool. Last resort!!!! Thanks though.