Shopsmith Forums

The speed control handle came loose and the dial lost it's positioning, so I figured it was a good time to take it apart, clean and lube it. Should I remove the worm shaft to clean it and then put some dry lube on it, or is that overkill?

Bruce wrote:The speed control handle came loose and the dial lost it's positioning, so I figured it was a good time to take it apart, clean and lube it. Should I remove the worm shaft to clean it and then put some dry lube on it, or is that overkill?

As long as you are "up close and personal", I would do everything there is to do. There is no such thing as too much TLC. Just don't fix what is not broken!

If you are going to take it apart - you will find the worm gear is not the one that wears. It is the rack or "pork Chop" that take the brunt of wear.

No need to take it apart to lubricate the rack and pinon - you can lube it from the access hole. Some folks use bee's wax, some use other lubricant. I use wheel bearing grease. only a small amount applied with my finger. I wipe it down every lubrication cycle and re-apply a small amount of grease.

charlese wrote:If you are going to take it apart - you will find the worm gear is not the one that wears. It is the rack or "pork Chop" that take the brunt of wear.

No need to take it apart to lubricate the rack and pinon - you can lube it from the access hole. Some folks use bee's wax, some use other lubricant. I use wheel bearing grease. only a small amount applied with my finger. I wipe it down every lubrication cycle and re-apply a small amount of grease.

My pork chop is a little worn. I guess I'll get one on the next parts sale. I decided not to remove the worm shaft since I couldn't fine a split ring tool that would fit those tiny hole in the split ring. Where do you get one of those tools? The ones at Autozone had pins too large to fit.

Harbor freight is where I bought mine. Not the highest quality, but they set gets the job done.