Shopsmith Forums

Picked this guy up a few months ago and finally found the time to tear it down. Is the bent arm repairable? I'll probably try it either way since the worse case is I break an already broken part...but any tips or tricks on a successful operation would be appreciated!

See the link to Bill Mayo's speed control repair.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 90#p185690

Mike

Awesome! Thanks for the super fast reply and a new thread of great information! Will post back with results.

Check with Bill Mayo on this site. He has a way to replace the roll pin with a 1/4" bolt to prevent wear. I have only straightened one of these arms but it was not bent as badly as yours. Can you post a pic of the gears to show the extent of wear on those parts?
Bill V

I have been replacing the speed control quadrant roll pin with the following:
10-24 x 2 ½” allen head screw, 2 star washers and a nylock nut. This replaces the roll pin (88) used to secure the Speed Control Quadrant. This prevents the one arm from being bent when changing from FAST to SLOW speed. Over 350 of these bolt kits have been installed over 14 years with no reported failures to me.

If the quadrant teeth are not badly bent or worn (25%), I have been able to recondition the teeth with a chisel and needle file. I only bend the one arm carefully that has been pushed out of position.

billmayo wrote:I have been replacing the speed control quadrant roll pin with the following:
10-24 x 2 ½” allen head screw, 2 star washers and a nylock nut. This replaces the roll pin (88) used to secure the Speed Control Quadrant. This prevents the one arm from being bent when changing from FAST to SLOW speed. Over 350 of these bolt kits have been installed over 14 years with no future reported failures to me.

If the quadrant teeth are not badly bent or worn (25%), I have been able to recondition the teeth with a chisel and needle file. I only bend the one arm carefully that has been pushed out of position.

I would use a vise so as to both apply straight line force and to prevent sudden over travel. A drillpress vise is good.

Mike907 wrote:See the link to Bill Mayo's speed control repair. http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 90#p185690

Thanks Mike.

From page 1 of Bill Mayo's link: The major problem is that owners do not lubricate the Control Sheave causing it to slightly bind/stick on the Idler Shaft.

Note to self...get out there and do some basic PM ASAP.

The other major area lacking lubrication is the floating sheave on the motor that can cause speed control problems. I find it sticking more than the control sheave. I found it was difficult to really lube this area so this was the solution I use.

Put the headstock in the drill press position and FAST speed position. Tie the belt housing out of the way. Use a zoom spout oiler and put oil around the top of the motor floating sheave and shaft and on the open shaft key. I use a flat blade screwdriver to part the spring for the zoom spout. Move the floating sheave up and down a little with your hands to get the oil to go around the motor shaft and key. I apply the oiling several times when doing this. I do not use the motor floating sheave oil hole for this lubrication as I find too little oil can be applied through this hole.

tomsalwasser wrote:

Mike907 wrote:See the link to Bill Mayo's speed control repair. http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 90#p185690

Thanks Mike.

From page 1 of Bill Mayo's link: The major problem is that owners do not lubricate the Control Sheave causing it to slightly bind/stick on the Idler Shaft.

Note to self...get out there and do some basic PM ASAP.

Absolutely true, but a significant contributor is the too rapid adjustment towards slow. Since the floating sheave MUST adjust while adjusting towards slow, if insufficient time is given it to do so, greater pressure is applied to the porkchop which causes the tooth wear and the leg bending. The speed control will tell you when this is occurring(it feels stiff).

Towards fast - no sweat, no stiff, no mashing, no bending. The pulleys do not need to be rotating.

I've uploaded pictures of the threads, below. I have no idea if they're worn or not, I am fairly inexperienced with machinery. It WAS very heavily on the side of the unbent arm so the porkchop seems to have some heavier wear on that side, but I am not sure if it's in an acceptable range or if I should replace the whole assembly.

I think I'm going to try to bend the arm back using a vice as suggested by JPG and later replace the roll pin with a screw. There's a lot that needs fixing on this guy so I'm trying to keep the heavier duty fixes/modifications to after I've got everything cleaned or replaced and am ready to reassemble.