speed reducer dragging

[Chiespet]

I have a Mark V and recently picked up a speed reducer from a friend to be able to run my band saw slow enough for metal.
The speed reducer turns by hand but not freely.
When I connect the speed reducer to the headstock it will turn it but the motor is laboring heavily and quickly tripped my breaker.
I have been looking for information such as videos on refreshing it but so far have found nothing.
I will check with SS next week to see if they have a manual available for this unit.
My assumption is it needs bearings/lubrication

[dusty]

Maybe, JUST MAYBE Now you know why you have a speed reducer.

[chapmanruss]

Chiespet,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

I don't know if Shopsmith has a manual available for the Speed Reducer any longer. It is not listed in the Manuals and Instructions here on the website.
I have a PDF copy (although a poor quality one) attached below.

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555428 845254 11-89 Speed Reducer.pdf

(1.23 MiB) Downloaded 2323 times

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I hope this helps. The Speed Reducer is one of the few Shopsmith Accessories I do not have so not much help beyond posting the manual.

[HopefulSSer]

Thanks for posting that Russ -- I just acquired a speed reducer this morning! I'll be following Chiespet's voyage of discovery! ;-)

[Chiespet]

Thank you for posting the manual Russ. I was hoping it included more but at least it has the parts explosion. It will be coming apart one of these days.

[chapmanruss]

Chiespet,

Please post what you find out to correct the problem you are having with the Speed Changer. It may be helpful to others. Pictures are always helpful too. Pictures can also be an asset when taking tools apart when it comes time to put thing back together.

[HopefulSSer]

With the help of Russ's manual I took mine apart for inspection. My belts are very stiff. I've emailed SS CS to see if replacements are available. They are made by Pirelli but I found no numbers on them. Reassembly is not that difficult but I found you have to remove the 4 plugs in order to get the belts properly on the pulleys. It's more fiddly and annoying than it is hard.

[HopefulSSer]

I got info back from SS. The belts are [515988] Speed Reducer Matched Set Speed Belt Assembly and as of today (2025-09-10) they are $50.95 the pair. You have to phone them to order the belts. They said they are not showing as available for immediate shipment, but the person I spoke with did not know if that meant there were none on hand, or if they were actually in inventory but needed to be transferred into the order system. We shall see.

[HopefulSSer]

They've shipped, so it must have been they just needed added to the order system

[HopefulSSer]

They arrived. For future searchers, they are Bestorq brand, number 5F2048. Shopsmith specifies they should be matched pairs, so the best option is to purchase them directly from Shopsmith. If in the future they become unavailable from SS, then at least we have the number for them.

Incidentally, they came with a pair of 6" zip ties. No idea what those are for. I presume they're some sort of assembly aid but I don't know what you'd use them for.