Shopsmith Forums

With the "ShopSmith" knob off, and the outer speed dial freely turning, it's limits are indicated in the pictures. From "Slow" to "R". I'm pretty sure what sets this limit of the speed dial outer ring is the groove on the back, and the solid section doesn't allow it to pass around. So I'm confused why this is. Or, if I'm wrong, then why is it stopping there? And why can't my outer ring go all the way to "Rout-Shape" or "Fast"?

Fear not! That is 'normal'.

Look at the back side of the 'ring'. There is a groove that 'stops' at about the point in your pix. There is a slight ramp out of the groove.

Now look at the headstock. There should be a small weird spring that 'sticks out' from the headstock.

That spring rides in the groove until the ramp hits it. Further rotation of the ring will cause the spring to ride up onto the ramp. This creates back force against the ring.

Push harder! The ring will then advance towards fast.

When being rotated by the control knob(by way of the idler gear) this back force is barely perceptible.

The original design(A headstock) had a depressible stop instead of the spring. The stop spring was located just below the power switch and had a button that rode in the groove.

Man I love this forum!

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. Being my first experience with a ShopSmith, I really don't want to mess it up.

So in one direction, that screw keeps the control arm from going too far, and thereby keeps the dial from continuing to turn. What keeps the dial from going too far in the opposite direction? Is it the tension of the belt keeping the sheaves from moving closer and thus preventing the arm from moving and the dial from turning?

Sorry, don't know how else to phrase that...

lilgodwin wrote:Man I love this forum!

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. Being my first experience with a ShopSmith, I really don't want to mess it up.

So in one direction, that screw keeps the control arm from going too far, and thereby keeps the dial from continuing to turn. What keeps the dial from going too far in the opposite direction? Is it the tension of the belt keeping the sheaves from moving closer and thus preventing the arm from moving and the dial from turning?

Sorry, don't know how else to phrase that...

If you are referring to the high speed stop screw, then yes.

In the opposite direction(slow) the control sheave bottoms out against the idler sheave. The sheaves bottom out before the belt exits the pulley.

Realize the floating sheave on the motor pulley gets in the act. It reacts to belt tension changed by the control sheave etc..

The dial is merely an indicator and moves with the control knob only. It has no 'control'. Normally the control sheave moves with the control knob(by way of the porkchop aka quadrant gear) and that results in speed changes.

Thanks. I had figured as much, just wanted to make sure that's how it worked.

So I finally finished (I think) maintaining the headstock. After thoroughly cleaning everything, lubricating the sheaves, and reassembling... I turned it on. Slow to start, then nervously ramped it up to Fast. Two things:

1. When I hit the switch on and off (though it's louder/more obvious when cutting it off), there's almost a "thunk" or "click"... "tap" or any other onomatopoeia... coming from within. Is this just a normal sound from the motor upon startup and shutdown? Doesn't seem like a big deal, just figured I'd ask.

2. About 1/3 to 1/2 way from Slow to Fast, I notice a slight rattling sound coming from what I believe is the pullys and sheaves. The cover is still off at this point, so either that's not helping, or it's just making it more noticeable. But I'm definitely concerned about this. No real vibration to be felt. Just the noise has me a bit worried.


Let me reiterate that this is my first experience with a ShopSmith, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm being overly cautious on purpose. I skipped the part of the video that mentioned how much pressure the Spring on the control sheave is under. I'm lucky to not have gotten struck in the face with that rocket ship. And, BONUS, I found the truarc ring! That said, I don't want any more surprises, especially with power to the motor. While I think it has a great low speed sound, the higher speeds have me worried for now.

lilgodwin, as I said I am not the expert here, but did rebuild my greenie with all heres help, thank clunk you hear is normal, a capacitor motor. I dont know what causes it but my SS and Jet DC have both and do it. I am sure some one here will explain.

Thanks for that reassurance.

Regarding #2, I found a video that can help describe it. There's not much of a description of the video to indicate whether it has a problem or not, but it's very identical to mine so I suppose that's a good thing. Around 18 seconds, at the "Drum-Sand" mark, you begin to hear a slight rattle that seems to even out with speed. Common/normal?

YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/lahVi60JzAU

On mine, the speed dial handle's post will rattle at certain frequencies. So check that by bringing it up to "rattle speed" and then dampen the handle post between your fingers.

If you are still getting a rattle, there's another very common problem involving the fan sheave and it sounds like you've been down there working, so it might be something you caused or it might be a preexisting condition. There's a thin spacer that prevent the fan sheave from being pushed too close to the motor. If the spacer gets abused/compressed, the fan sheave can get too close and you will get a rattle. There's a replacement spacer available from Shopsmith and it is more robust/thicker. p/n 504205

Stealing a photo from another thread to illustrate the issue.

The Reeves drive is noisey!

Much due to internal slop.(it gets worse with use)

It whines(fan noise).

Unless you wish to replace the entire drive train, carry on!