Shopsmith Forums

I’m still reassembling my new (to me) 510. I had broken it down almost completely for transport, and have not powered it up yet. I was performing “basic maintenance” on the headstock (waxing quill, oiling sheaves, etc.) and noticed something that doesn’t seem right. When the speed control is in the fast position, the lower belt is very loose, such that I can move it up and down off the pulley hubs, or pull it together in the middle so the two sides touch. It still turns the motor when I spin the attached sanding disk, but that surprises me given how loose it is. When I spin the speed control back around to slow (while spinning the disk), it is very difficult to turn the control dial, and the indicator will go past the last “slow” mark and back into the “fast” range before the belt climbs all the way to the perimeter of the top pulley. It is relatively easy to spin it back to “fast”, where it stops on mark, but again, the belt ends up quite loose.

I figure one of two things: my lower belt is stretched beyond specification, or my speed control dial is out of calibration (is that possible?). I see in the manual how to adjust the tension on the (upper) drive belt, but don’t guess there’s an adjustment for the lower belt, given how it works. The belt looks OK… and the P/O reported no problems. This machine saw very little use and is very, very clean. All I did was move it from hot AZ to cold WY…

Should I even power it on in this condition? Order a new belt first? Any help or insights much appreciated! I am failing to progress, and it’s driving me nuts…

Let's not jump to any false conclusions here. Yes - when the speed control is turned to 'fast' the upper two sheaves will be spread as wide as they will go. This could allow for looseness of the drive belt. Even if the floating sheave is being pushed in by the spring the belt should be trapped between the two lower sheaves. This could be normal!

However, I am concerned the motor spring is somehow not able to adequately push the floating sheave toward the inner fan sheave. If you can pull on the floating sheave and it slides smoothly along the shaft, that would not be a problem.

You should really refrain from moving the speed control while hand rotating the spindle unless it becomes necessary. The reason for turning the shaft by hand is to allow the drive belt to walk up between the upper two sheaves while the drive belt penetrates between the lower two sheaves, pushing the lower sheaves apart, against the motor spring. If the speed control is turned too rapidly, damage to its parts can occur.

To answer your other question - Yes, the speed control can get out of adjustment to give a funny reading. The process for aligning the speed control is in the manual - and also here in the Forum somewhere.

Providing the only thing you can find wrong is the loose belt. once you get the drive belt close to the top of the upper sheaves and the speed control turned to slow - go ahead and start you machine. It should run, but may be out of adjustment. Check this according to instructions.

jma wrote:I’m still reassembling my new (to me) 510. I had broken it down almost completely for transport, and have not powered it up yet. I was performing “basic maintenance” on the headstock (waxing quill, oiling sheaves, etc.) and noticed something that doesn’t seem right. When the speed control is in the fast position, the lower belt is very loose, such that I can move it up and down off the pulley hubs, or pull it together in the middle so the two sides touch. It still turns the motor when I spin the attached sanding disk, but that surprises me given how loose it is. When I spin the speed control back around to slow (while spinning the disk), it is very difficult to turn the control dial, and the indicator will go past the last “slow” mark and back into the “fast” range before the belt climbs all the way to the perimeter of the top pulley. It is relatively easy to spin it back to “fast”, where it stops on mark, but again, the belt ends up quite loose.

I figure one of two things: my lower belt is stretched beyond specification, or my speed control dial is out of calibration (is that possible?). I see in the manual how to adjust the tension on the (upper) drive belt, but don’t guess there’s an adjustment for the lower belt, given how it works. The belt looks OK… and the P/O reported no problems. This machine saw very little use and is very, very clean. All I did was move it from hot AZ to cold WY…

Should I even power it on in this condition? Order a new belt first? Any help or insights much appreciated! I am failing to progress, and it’s driving me nuts…

Hi jma,
I cannot answer your question, but I will offer a little advice:
First, you could ask Bill Mayo what he thinks. http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/member.htm?u=1010
Second, you could call SS technical support and ask them 1 800 762 7555

Let's not jump to any false conclusions here. Yes - when the speed control is turned to 'fast' the upper two sheaves will be spread as wide as they will go. This could allow for looseness of the drive belt. Even if the floating sheave is being pushed in by the spring the belt should be trapped between the two lower sheaves. This could be normal!

However, I am concerned the motor spring is somehow not able to adequately push the floating sheave toward the inner fan sheave. If you can pull on the floating sheave and it slides smoothly along the shaft, that would not be a problem.

You should really refrain from moving the speed control while hand rotating the spindle unless it becomes necessary. The reason for turning the shaft by hand is to allow the drive belt to walk up between the upper two sheaves while the drive belt penetrates between the lower two sheaves, pushing the lower sheaves apart, against the motor spring. If the speed control is turned too rapidly, damage to its parts can occur.

To answer your other question - Yes, the speed control can get out of adjustment to give a funny reading. The process for aligning the speed control is in the manual - and also here in the Forum somewhere.

Providing the only thing you can find wrong is the loose belt. once you get the drive belt close to the top of the upper sheaves and the speed control turned to slow - go ahead and start you machine. It should run, but may be out of adjustment. Check this according to instructions.

Thanks guys. I will look in the manual again for instructions on adjusting / calibrating the speed control dial. I didn’t see it when I was going through the maintenance section, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there!

I was running it up and down by hand because the book (I think – it’s out in the shop so can’t check right now) recommended doing just that “several times” after oiling. Did I miss a change bulletin or something that corrects that procedure? I made sure the spindle was always turning while adjusting the speed control dial. I never turned the dial very fast. It was difficult to turn it at all in the one direction, and I was careful in the other. It was while doing this that I noticed the belt and dial behavior.

I will inspect the spring on the motor shaft. It seemed like it was doing its job – expanding enough to expose the oil hole in the fast position, and compressing towards the slow position. But perhaps not all the way?

So… read manual some more, ask Bill M., call SS support. All suggestions well taken, and I thank you.

John

What you are seeing is normal. You can always turn the speed control handle toward FAST with no problem as you are opening the control sheave. The motor floating sheave is slow to take up the tension on the motor belt. Turning the speed control handle toward SLOW is compressing the belt and you have to rotate the quill (I use the disc sander) and it will be a few times harder to do.

After oiling the floating and control sheave, I believe the instruction is to have the motor operating and go from SLOW to FAST and back a few times to distribute the oil inside the sheaves. The control sheave needs more oil, 6-8 drops, than the motor floating sheave. I do 3-4 drops, operate the motor, cycle the speed control handle and do 3-4 drops a second time. This oil needs to lubicate the small bearing on the end of the control sheave that the speed control quadrant contacts to move the control sheave.

I wish everyone would would do this maintenance as it is the major repair problem that I see. The other problem is not operating the Shopsmith a least once a month. Just like a car, the Shopsmith needs to be operated to prevent problems.

The speed control dial calibration is easy to do with a 3/32" allen wrench. Loosen the Speed control handle set screw, pull the speed control handle out a little and turn the dial to the correct position. Reseat the speed control handle and setscrew. It may take a couple tries.

Bill Mayo

jma wrote:I’m still reassembling my new (to me) 510. I had broken it down almost completely for transport, and have not powered it up yet. I was performing “basic maintenance” on the headstock (waxing quill, oiling sheaves, etc.) and noticed something that doesn’t seem right. When the speed control is in the fast position, the lower belt is very loose, such that I can move it up and down off the pulley hubs, or pull it together in the middle so the two sides touch. It still turns the motor when I spin the attached sanding disk, but that surprises me given how loose it is. When I spin the speed control back around to slow (while spinning the disk), it is very difficult to turn the control dial, and the indicator will go past the last “slow” mark and back into the “fast” range before the belt climbs all the way to the perimeter of the top pulley. It is relatively easy to spin it back to “fast”, where it stops on mark, but again, the belt ends up quite loose.

I figure one of two things: my lower belt is stretched beyond specification, or my speed control dial is out of calibration (is that possible?). I see in the manual how to adjust the tension on the (upper) drive belt, but don’t guess there’s an adjustment for the lower belt, given how it works. The belt looks OK… and the P/O reported no problems. This machine saw very little use and is very, very clean. All I did was move it from hot AZ to cold WY…

Should I even power it on in this condition? Order a new belt first? Any help or insights much appreciated! I am failing to progress, and it’s driving me nuts…

Thanks Bill. Hearing “normal” - that makes me feel better. Also, having found the “repair” and “troubleshooting” sections of the manual will help. They were hiding between two SPT sections, not with the maintenance pages… It’s time I went through every single page and put them in better order.

The paragraph on oiling that had me confused:

“When you’ve oiled both sheaves, replace the nameplate and the belt cover. Mount the sanding disc on the main spindle. Turn the disc by hand slowly. Turn speed control to “Slow.” Do not force the speed control handle. You could ruin the speed control mechanism. Run the machine through its complete speed range several times to help spread the oil out over the sleeves and shafts.”

I guess since it didn’t say “power up” or similar, nor change to a new paragraph, I took “run the machine” to mean keep turning by hand as at the beginning of the paragraph, to spread the oil. I saw logic in spreading oil before powering up. I went up and down, uh… “several” times as suggested. What that paragraph really instructs is to return the control back to “Slow” before turning the machine on, and then "run" in the usual sense.

I hope I didn’t damage it.

John

Turning the speed control handle while rotating the quill will not cause any problems. I believe the word "run" is the same as "operate" or "turn the switch on" in the instructions. Turning the Speed control handle to slow before starting or stopping the Shopsmith is not needed or required, it is just a safe way to prevent attaching and starting the bandsaw or the belt/strip sander when the speed control handle is set at a too high a speed. Too high a speed for the bandsaw will remove/destroy the belts and damage the blade sometimes. This is why I have a dedicated Shopsmith just for the bandsaw and the jigsaw/scroll saw as I did forget to check the speed with bad results. Another Shopsmith is dedicated to the belt or strip sander with the flat or conical sanding disc on the quill end.

I find that doing a second oiling (3-4 drops) of the control sheave seems to prevent the need to have to replace the small bearing at the end of the control sheave in the future. This is only my idea, not a Shopsmith directive.

Bill Mayo

Hi again John! Yes, Bill Mayo is absolutely correct! Manual turning is a normal operation, and when done right, nothing will be damaged.

When I cautioned against it - (post no. 2) I was concerned you might be forcing the speed control to a slower position while turning the spindle shaft. Should have explained myself better.

It is the forcing of the speed control that is bad. The worm gear rubbing with force against the aluminum pork chop (rack gear) will cause undo wear, causing speed control problems in the future, like speed creeping up by itself. Forcing these gears can be compared to failure to lubricate them. But, it is really pretty simple. Don't be afraid to learn the system.

When I find that I left the speed high and have connected the bandsaw, (always check the speed at the bandsaw before switching on the power) I just simply slide the headstock an inch away from the connector - start it and wind it down to A or B.