Shopsmith Forums

Well, my clutch is in nasty shape. There was a bunch of black powder loose in the clutch and the plates were quite hard to separate. I managed to destroy one of them - it was very stuck to the inside of the outer clutch housing.

Looking online it seems they are similar to various older motorcycle clutch plates. Anyone ever find a source for new ones? Or have old ones they will sell? Or know of a source for material to cut them out of?

I've read the threads where people say there clutches have fewer alternating sets since they have multiple fiber plates next to each other. Is it a bad idea to try with one less?

I think your best bet is to PM Bill Mayo. He probably has rebuilt clutches available, and may have some parts, as well.

Ron

With a bit of luck Bill Mayo will jump in here.

I figure (hope) Bill will drop in. Seems more polite to post a request here than email him directly each time I want something I know he's the most likely source for, be it part or information. I've already spoken to him about getting a whole top shaft with clutch, but then a friend said he had a bearing puller I could try and I jumped at the chance... replacing bearings are one of two things I had yet to work on, the other being opening the motor cases. I am finding it so empowering to be able to do all the work myself (even when it makes more sense financially to have someone like Bill do it) {OK, so I'm writing this from hippy Berkeley and you can tell}

So, Hi Bill, after saying I'd rebuild it myself, here I am after all!

I have the bearings and the tools, just not the clutch plates. A whole clutch or just the plates would be great.

fitzhugh wrote:Well, my clutch is in nasty shape. There was a bunch of black powder loose in the clutch and the plates were quite hard to separate. I managed to destroy one of them - it was very stuck to the inside of the outer clutch housing.

Looking online it seems they are similar to various older motorcycle clutch plates. Anyone ever find a source for new ones? Or have old ones they will sell? Or know of a source for material to cut them out of?

I've read the threads where people say their clutches have fewer alternating sets since they have multiple fiber plates next to each other. Is it a bad idea to try with one less?

When I rebuilt mine the metal plates were rusty and nasty looking. I cleaned them and the fibre plates by rubbing them lightly on 1000 grit abrasive paper
After I had it re assembled and it checked out within specs I discovered I had left out one of the fibre disks.
Sooo, try cleaning up all the disks but the destroyed one, I suspect it will work just fine.

Great, thank you!

I love getting answers that say "don't worry, it should work fine," especially when the writer has a reason to know.

Now I recall reading a post were you mentioned that. Hmmm, not all that impressed with my recall these days

Sorry, I only read posts later at night. Yes, I have extra clutch plates and disks. I wire brush the clutch plates and disks to restore their surfaces. I also use shim washers for increasing the spring tension on the clutch pack. I go for 12 to 16 ft pds of torque to slip the clutch. I could never find anyone who knew the correct torque needed for the Gilmer clutch. This was my best guess for the dozens of clutches I have rebuilt. I have made special tools for the rebuilding and testing of the Gilmer clutch.

Thanks Bill, as always. I'll email you directly when I can get back to the computer. Dinner is about to commence...