Shopsmith Forums

I recentlty acquired a power station "71" Was in parts, but the price was great. No rust all the parts are here.

The motor ok.. belts ok..Now here's my problem I had to replace the motor bolts..Can't figure out the alignment length for the speed control to work . Does the owners manual have it?? also the nuts vibrate off, Think I need fiber locknuts??

Any help would be appreciated..

jACK

"Belt Tension (Power Station)", that was the title of my post when I asked this same question.

I never got a definitive answer. The "Users Manual" (the bible for all questions of this nature) does not mention belt tension.

I reinstalled the motor and tensioned the belt so that I got about a 1/4" of deflection in when I squeezed the belt together. It worked when I ran the Power Station speed up and down so I just left it that way.

It looks as though there is a lot of slack in the belt when it is operating.

If I recall properly, another question is - should this be done initially with the speed control set at high speed or low. I do not remember. I'll do some checking and get back.

Tim; You responded to my question with a reasonable answer, your answer was just too logical. The problem comes in when you adjust the speed. At one end of the speed range the belt we're trying to tension is tight while at the other end the belt is loose.

I guess logic tells us that we should do the adjustment at whichever speed causes the belt to be tight and just let it be whatever it will be at the other end.

[quote="dusty"]...Tim]Thanks, dusty, I appreciate the added information and explanation!

As the eventual recipient of THIS power station I will document my trials and tribulations!

1) All the parts were not there(missing long table leg braces, shaft clips).

2) Extra parts were included(do not know what it belongs on).

3) Motor mounting / belt tension was not even close.

To understand how to adjust the belt tension one needs to under stand how the speed is changed.

The speed changing pulley is a different design from the mk 5. It consists of a single part with two outer flanges and an inner flange which slides between the outer two.

This 3 flanged pulley is mounted on a horizontal shaft which is attached to a platform having a gear RACK on the opposite side.

Moving the speed control lever rotates a gear which then moves the rack(and pulley shaft) up and down.

This gear is positioned on the square shaft (controlled by the speed control knob) and retained by the missing clips(not the extra part used as a spacer).

The belts(2) used are identical. One connects the speed control 3 flanged pulley to the output shaft pulley(fixed diameter). The other belt connects the to motor pulley(fixed diameter) located below.

The motor is attached to the 'base' by 4 very long 5/16" stove bolts. Several nuts/lock washers are used.
Each bolt is inserted through the 'base'(sheet metal) and is secured by a nut on the opposite side. I added lock washers both under the bolt heads and the nut.

On the other end of the bolts(4) I used 2 nuts and 2 flat washers with 1 each on either side of the motor mounting flange.

This allowed adjusting the motor up and down(hopefully level).

To properly tension AND position the motor required the following sequence.

The output shaft belt needed to be positioned so that the movable flange caused the belt to be NEAR bottoming out This corresponds to a slow speed limit. Therefore the speed control lever needed to also be at the slowest position. The positioning of the speed control lever SHOULD cause flange to move causing belt to GO to the near shaft location.

The three flanged pulley is also free to slide back and forth on its shaft. The horizontal position of the pulley must also not be extended too far so as to interfere with the cover over all these whirligigs. The back and forth motion allows constant centering of the v belts with its paired pulley.

The motor belt is then positioned on the other side of the 3 flanged pulley and SHOULD be close to the outer edge of the flanges(output belt down close to shaft and motor belt on pulley away from shaft). The length of travel of the movable flange determines the combination obtained. i.e. the closer to the shaft one belt is, the farther away the other.

Having set these conditions(speed control position, belt positions on 3 flanged pulley), we are now able the 'adjust belt tension' with no shortage of difficulty. All 4 sets of bolts/nuts/washers are infinitely adjustable up and down as well as front to rear(the motor mounting holes are elongated). These elongations are what is normally used to adjust tension. Not so with this beast! These slotted holes allow front to rear movement so as to align motor shaft below shaft above(and hopefully parallel to it).

When all this was done(after figgerin it all out) it seems to run/adjust properly.

The part which moves the shaft/3 flanged pulley up and down slides on triangular shaped 'ways' which appear to be worn. I called SS and was informed this is normally 'sloppy'. This makes the shaft/pulley wobble at some speed settings. I have obtained the slide/way parts(after being back ordered--hey! I did finally get them) but have not yet had time to see if they stop the wobble.

There you have it - probably more than wanted, but this is how one lost soul did the task(adjust power station belt tension).

jpg40504 wrote:As the eventual recipient of THIS power station I will document my trials and tribulations!

1) All the parts were not there(missing long table leg braces, shaft clips).

2) Extra parts were included(do not know what it belongs on).

3) Motor mounting / belt tension was not even close.

To understand how to adjust the belt tension one needs to under stand how the speed is changed.

The speed changing pulley is a different design from the mk 5. It consists of a single part with two outer flanges and an inner flange which slides between the outer two.

This 3 flanged pulley is mounted on a horizontal shaft which is attached to a platform having a gear RACK on the opposite side.

Moving the speed control lever rotates a gear which then moves the rack(and pulley shaft) up and down.

This gear is positioned on the square shaft (controlled by the speed control knob) and retained by the missing clips(not the extra part used as a spacer).

The belts(2) used are identical. One connects the speed control 3 flanged pulley to the output shaft pulley(fixed diameter). The other belt connects the to motor pulley(fixed diameter) located below.

The motor is attached to the 'base' by 4 very long 5/16" stove bolts. Several nuts/lock washers are used.
Each bolt is inserted through the 'base'(sheet metal) and is secured by a nut on the opposite side. I added lock washers both under the bolt heads and the nut.

On the other end of the bolts(4) I used 2 nuts and 2 flat washers with 1 each on either side of the motor mounting flange.

This allowed adjusting the motor up and down(hopefully level).

To properly tension AND position the motor required the following sequence.

The output shaft belt needed to be positioned so that the movable flange caused the belt to be NEAR bottoming out This corresponds to a slow speed limit. Therefore the speed control lever needed to also be at the slowest position. The positioning of the speed control lever SHOULD cause flange to move causing belt to GO to the near shaft location.

The three flanged pulley is also free to slide back and forth on its shaft. The horizontal position of the pulley must also not be extended too far so as to interfere with the cover over all these whirligigs. The back and forth motion allows constant centering of the v belts with its paired pulley.

The motor belt is then positioned on the other side of the 3 flanged pulley and SHOULD be close to the outer edge of the flanges(output belt down close to shaft and motor belt on pulley away from shaft). The length of travel of the movable flange determines the combination obtained. i.e. the closer to the shaft one belt is, the farther away the other.

Having set these conditions(speed control position, belt positions on 3 flanged pulley), we are now able the 'adjust belt tension' with no shortage of difficulty. All 4 sets of bolts/nuts/washers are infinitely adjustable up and down as well as front to rear(the motor mounting holes are elongated). These elongations are what is normally used to adjust tension. Not so with this beast! These slotted holes allow front to rear movement so as to align motor shaft below shaft above(and hopefully parallel to it).

When all this was done(after figgerin it all out) it seems to run/adjust properly.

The part which moves the shaft/3 flanged pulley up and down slides on triangular shaped 'ways' which appear to be worn. I called SS and was informed this is normally 'sloppy'. This makes the shaft/pulley wobble at some speed settings. I have obtained the slide/way parts(after being back ordered--hey! I did finally get them) but have not yet had time to see if they stop the wobble.

There you have it - probably more than wanted, but this is how one lost soul did the task(adjust power station belt tension).

After that long winded dissertation, I think you said that belt tension is adjusted by moving the motor up/down on its mountings bolts and locking it in place by securing the the eigth nuts. How tight is the drive belt now that you have it adjusted? How about the other two belts-is there any adjustment to be done other than what is inherently produced by the sheaves? Stop the power station at any speed and check those belts. They seem awfully loose. Is that normal.

markfive510 wrote:After that long winded dissertation, I think you said that belt tension is adjusted by moving the motor up/down on its mountings bolts and locking it in place by securing the the eigth nuts. How tight is the drive belt now that you have it adjusted? How about the other two belts-is there any adjustment to be done other than what is inherently produced by the sheaves? Stop the power station at any speed and check those belts. They seem awfully loose. Is that normal.

Actually I said more than adjust 8 nuts. The tension is enough so that it doesn't slip under load. That is NOT very tight. Considering the mounting of the motor on 'sheet metal', too much tension is not desirable. The remainder of the 'dissertation' was to explain HOW tension could vary depending on speed control position if NOT correct INTERNALLY.

There are ONLY two belts. One(output shaft/variable sheave), and the other(motor/variable sheave). The adjustment of the motor belt can affect the range of motion of the other. This is why setting position of output belt at speed control setting on slow is important. Actually it could just as well be done in reverse(output belt to outside of sheave and control handle at high speed setting). Due to the nature of the movable sheave seeking equilibrium, the position of the output belt will be affected by motor belt tension adjustments. For this reason I think it MUST be done while NOT running!

I realize this IS long winded, but it all needs to be said to understand this animal.

jpg40504 wrote:Actually I said more than adjust 8 nuts. The tension is enough so that it doesn't slip under load. That is NOT very tight. Considering the mounting of the motor on 'sheet metal', too much tension is not desirable. The remainder of the 'dissertation' was to explain HOW tension could vary depending on speed control position if NOT correct INTERNALLY.

There are ONLY two belts. One(output shaft/variable sheave), and the other(motor/variable sheave). The adjustment of the motor belt can affect the range of motion of the other. This is why setting position of output belt at speed control setting on slow is important. Actually it could just as well be done in reverse(output belt to outside of sheave and control handle at high speed setting). Due to the nature of the movable sheave seeking equilibrium, the position of the output belt will be affected by motor belt tension adjustments. For this reason I think it MUST be done while NOT running!

I realize this IS long winded, but it all needs to be said to understand this animal.

The user's manual doesn't speak to this subject or if it does I have not found it. So for that reason, I have sort of done my own thing with this belt tension routine.

As stated, there are two belts (identical part numbers). One rides on the motor pulley and the inside sheave pulley. The other on the outside sheave pulley and the transmission drive shaft (output shaft if you will).

At low speed, the belt rides high in the inside sheave. This is the belt that also rides on the motor pulley. The tension on this belt is highest at low speed.

The tension produced by adjusting the motor position must be done at low speed. If one attempts to adjust the belt tension at any other speed it will likely become impossible to increase speed. The inside belt cannot be pulled any tighter thus limiting the movement of the sheaves.

At high speed, the belt rides low in the inside sheave and high in the outside sheave.

Hey Dusty thanks for the pictures! You guys get to have all the fun owning a neat tool like that and the rest of try to read the text and can't picture what anyone is talking about... Now I'm beginning to wish I had one to tinker with...

Ed

reible wrote:Hey Dusty thanks for the pictures! You guys get to have all the fun owning a neat tool like that and the rest of try to read the text and can't picture what anyone is talking about... Now I'm beginning to wish I had one to tinker with...
Ed

Ed, I am not too good trying to explain myself with words. Now that I have learned to post images, I may have become overly dependent on pictures. I can hardly communicate without a photo presentation anymore.

I guess you guys already know that.

I think you do quite well with your words, if you confuse me then I ask more questions... seems a reasonable way to go.

I have not ever seen a power station except on the pages of a catalog or on the internet and for the most part the images really don't tell you much detail, and they never show you inside the machine. I've never had much thought as to how's the what's and why's.... I just read the posts here and move on since I don't have one nor could I guess as to how they worked without a peak under the hood.

Ed

dusty wrote:Ed, I am not too good trying to explain myself with words. Now that I have learned to post images, I may have become overly dependent on pictures. I can hardly communicate without a photo presentation anymore.

I guess you guys already know that.