Power Station Belts and Pulleys

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:07 pm

The next three or four posts contain photos of the pulleys and belts in the Power Station and/or Crafter's Station. These were taken of my Crafter's Station. The transmission is the same in both.

These photos are intended to augment a discussion on this forum about Belt Tension in the Power Station.

I'll post with minimal comment. I think the photos say it all. Ask if you have questions.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:13 pm

Part 2 Removing Belts and Pulleys

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:16 pm

Part 3 Before Removal of Belts and Pulleys

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:20 pm

Sorry, but I got some of these placed in an illogical sequence.

Part 4

reible · Post by **reible** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:04 am

Thanks the whole thing is making more since to me now that I'm seeing more pictures.

Just off the top of my head it would seem that knowing the deepest the belt can go, and the highest it can go you could then come up with a location that is mid-way... likewise the speed dial could be set at half way. If you then ran the machine to see if the belt goes higher or lower... then corrected to get back the the belt to mid point again... then maybe tried it again a time of two it should be very close. Once this sweet spot is found everything else should work out fine enough... no?

If anyone has one of these and wants to donate to me I promise to post detailed information on what I find along with pictures... hey I might even kick in for the shipping if it isn't too much. Think of it as one small donation to benefit all of shopsmithdom. If you here the fife music playing in you head then please contact me so we can get started on this...

Ed

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:37 am

reible wrote:Thanks the whole thing is making more since to me now that I'm seeing more pictures.

Just off the top of my head it would seem that knowing the deepest the belt can go, and the highest it can go you could then come up with a location that is mid-way... likewise the speed dial could be set at half way. If you then ran the machine to see if the belt goes higher or lower... then corrected to get back the the belt to mid point again... then maybe tried it again a time of two it should be very close. Once this sweet spot is found everything else should work out fine enough... no?

If anyone has one of these and wants to donate to me I promise to post detailed information on what I find along with pictures... hey I might even kick in for the shipping if it isn't too much. Think of it as one small donation to benefit all of shopsmithdom. If you here the fife music playing in you head then please contact me so we can get started on this...

Ed

I will have to go to the shop and sit where I can stare at this again. What you suggest sounds logical but that is not the way I did it.

I tensioned the motor belt (with the speed dial set at low speed). This was done by forcing the motor down on the four mounting studs with nuts above the motor. Then the nuts below the motor were tightened. Adjustment is done.

Much the same principle as leveling the extension tables.

Then when I adjust the speed control for high speed (or any other speed for that matter) the adjustable sheaves take care of the rest.

It is interesting to note that there is no belt tensioning procedure provided in the Shopsmith documentation. I have posted questions about this procedure previously and have received no definitive answers. Thus, I developed my own procedure and this has been it. However, with this method, there is some slapping of the belts that I would prefer did not exist. Maybe your approach would be better - I'll try.

reible · Post by **reible** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:34 am

I could be way off base... pulley systems are sometime difficult to figure out and this is no except. If I had one to play with and get the feel of it would be much easier. I've always enjoyed tinkering and belts were one of the fun things I use to watch and toy with. Some of the old wood shops use to have this system of flat belts that went and did many many things... things like tractors with PTO's and belts.

When I was maybe 12 or 13 I was already making things of wood so when my Mom became interested in lapidary arts I decided to build her a bench/table for Christmas... you know what I'll take that back I was 14 and had worked at one of the local grocery stores for a I think it was 85 cents and hour... anyway I went over board and purchased this three legged tool that sort of looked like a pan setting on legs. It had a shaft that you mounted a diamond wheel on or steels or buffing wheels... it had a drip water system for cooling.... The system was belt driven and the intent was to have a motor that would reverse directions depending on the needed operation.

I had no motor like that... but we did have a horizontal mounted one that wasn't doing anything... So I made the two level workbench with the lapidary tool mounted on it, I even got it done for Christmas. It wasn't perfect but it did turn out well and of course my Mom thought I had done quite the job... previous woodworking had been bird houses and things like that so this was my first outing into something like this... I was just happy the things stood level on all four legs. I had an uncle who lived across the street who by all standards had the common since of a dozen men and his mechanical and engineering skills would have been impressive in an educated person.

As Moms do she was bragging about my present so after a few days he stopped by to see what I had done... not that he was expecting to see much. While my Mom a fair carpenter in her own right was impressed with my wood working, my uncle on the other hand stopped and just stared for about 5 minutes. I had fully expected him to be gone in less time. What he was studying was the belt system. I had twisted the belt so the motor was sitting in a horizontal position and had twisted it to meet the vertical shaft of the lapidary machine. I didn't think it was any big deal and to be honest I got a bit lucky I guess with the design. He ask me to turn it on which I did... he must have watch for another 5 minutes waiting for the belt to come off... well it never did. When I took the belt off and twisted it the other way and had it running the other direction.... well I knew I had arrived in my Uncle's eyes.

OK I got a little off subject here but I do that from time to time.

I have this little sketch of the design... not much to look at for others but for me, well it all that I have left of the concept.
[ATTACH]3084[/ATTACH]

Ed

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:43 am

reible wrote:Thanks the whole thing is making more since to me now that I'm seeing more pictures.

Just off the top of my head it would seem that knowing the deepest the belt can go, and the highest it can go you could then come up with a location that is mid-way... likewise the speed dial could be set at half way. If you then ran the machine to see if the belt goes higher or lower... then corrected to get back the the belt to mid point again... then maybe tried it again a time of two it should be very close. Once this sweet spot is found everything else should work out fine enough... no?

Ed

Interesting approach. I have taken a different sequence than dusty.

I adjust the motor tension with the belt at HIGH speed while the sliding shaft is at its upper stop and the motor belt is just above the ridge on the sliding sheave. The ridge corresponds to bottoming out in a v pulley. This causes the outer(spindle shaft) belt to become somewhat loose as shown in dusty's pix. I keep rotating(by hand) the pulleys so that the outer belt seeks its 'high speed' operating point. This 'self aligning' is what makes this 'strange'.

The reason for adjusting motor belt tension at HIGH speed is because the belt gets 'looser' at LOW speed. The bottom ridge on the pulley is a limit to how tight the belt can be tensioned and the hard stop of the sliding shaft is also a logical Upper speed limit.

When speed lever is then(while running) moved to the LOW speed position the motor belt climbs to a larger diameter and the output belt drops to a smaller diameter(it nearly bottoms out on its ridge).

Wish we had a TACH so we could compare it to SS speed specs.

I question adjusting at LOW speed since the tension increases as speed is increased.

I also find it interesting that the PS manual makes NO mention of how this should be done. It IS possible that it doesn't really matter. The sliding pulley flange finds its own equilibrium point. However I think the resultant speeds obtained would differ and speed variation over the control lever range be lopsided.

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