Shopsmith Forums

Hello,

I have a 510 which I bought used this past December. It has developed (or I have been missing it right along) a high pitched whine/whistle/screech which starts about 5 seconds after powering on. The pitch is the same regardless of the speed I am running at or the accessory I am using. Power is fine. When I run at higher speeds the sound diminishes somewhat, but never goes away. When I power off the sound gets louder for an instant then goes away, well before the motor finishes spinning down.

Any ideas? The unit is pretty clean overall but has not (OK I'm guilty) been lubricated on my watch.

Eric

By all means lubricate it !

yes, lubricate it and blow out the motor thoroughly. I had the very same sound that cleared right after I blew out the motor. Since then the motor has been quiet for me.

epodietz wrote:Hello,

I have a 510 which I bought used this past December. It has developed (or I have been missing it right along) a high pitched whine/whistle/screech which starts about 5 seconds after powering on. The pitch is the same regardless of the speed I am running at or the accessory I am using. Power is fine. When I run at higher speeds the sound diminishes somewhat, but never goes away. When I power off the sound gets louder for an instant then goes away, well before the motor finishes spinning down.

Any ideas? The unit is pretty clean overall but has not (OK I'm guilty) been lubricated on my watch.

Eric

I would recommend the following:
Remove the belt cover screws and slide the belt cover away from the headstock.
Set the speed control to FAST.
Work the motor belt off the motor sheaves by pulling on the Floating Sheave and working/pulling the belt over the sheave edge. Do not let go of the Floating Sheave but ease it close. Watch your finger tips when doing this. Rotate the motor shaft by hand. It should be free turning and rotate of a sec or two after spinning the motor shaft by hand.
Turn the motor on and see if you still have the noise. Turn off the motor power. I find the motor shaft should continue to rotate for 2-10 sec if the bearings are still good. I replace them if outside this time period.

If you still have the noise, then you will need to remove the motor and have the bearings replaced. I just had a motor with the identical problem. The front motor bearing was seizing. I could not turn the bearing by hand once it was removed from the motor.

If any questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks.

billmayo wrote: If you still have the noise, then you will need to remove the motor and have the bearings replaced. I just had a motor with the identical problem. The front motor bearing was seizing. I could not turn the bearing by hand once it was removed from the motor.

Very thorough and easy to understand, Bill. None of the steps are difficult either. In my post I just said I blew the motor out well, but what I didn't say was that the control sheaves were also stuck open and I had to pull the motor out to fix that. My SS hadn't been used for 10 years or more and the lubrication, gum, pitch had hardened. I did have the squealing too. At that time I thought I needed to get the motor bearings replaced, but after I fixed and lubed the sheaves and blew the dust out of the motor, the squeal was gone and I had free quill rotation by hand. Then I clamped the motor to the workbench and plugged it in before installation and it ran quietly. With no tension on the quill at all, it spun quietly for quite a while after I switched off. The torque when I powered on was surprising too. Glad I clamped it well.
I have new bearings in a box waiting now

Just a side comment. Don't ignore your other motors. It is likely that some of them have bearings(bushings) that need to be oiled. These motors likely need to be cleaned out also. If you are going to use compressed air for this, I recommend that you do this with the motor running. Example: The motor on the Power Station and Crafters Station.

Thanks for all the detailed advice. Looks like I've got some work to do, but I am looking forward to getting to know the insides of the SS a little better.

Can anyone explain why the squealing sound does not start for several seconds after applying power?

only a guess, balance or balance with something else? the keening, whining, shrillness was the same for me (a pause before the sound). It seemed to be a more common occurrence when I was around the speed range "J". At it's worst though, it was consistent through the whole speed range.

Success. Squealing sound has gone away!

What I did and the results:
1. Lubricated sheave and floating sheave. Squealing sound still there.
2. Wiped/Blew out any remaining sawdust (minimal). Sound still there.
3. Tried all speeds - only hearing sound at lower speeds.
4. Removed drive belt as per BillMayo and manual's instructions
5. Rotated motor by hand - no sound, shaft spins 1-2 secs after letting go. Doesn't feel like a seized bearing.
6. Applied power - heard the sound again, but more faintly; shaft spins a good ten seconds after cutting power. Tried this a few times, same result.
7. Put drive belt back on with speed dial on high range.
8. Turned power on. SS spun up but after a few seconds my circuit breaker blew!
9. Reset breaker, checked belt - all seemed OK. Tried again, breaker blew.
10. Reset breaker, turned SS on but quickly turned it to low speed. All OK.
11. Tried all speeds several times - no squealing sound!

My best guess is that it took a bit of time for the lubrication to get where it needed to be. As for the breaker blowing, must be related to the drive belt having to get seated in just the right way.

All feedback appreciated as this was my first venture into SS maintenance.

Thanks for the help!

epodietz wrote: . . . As for the breaker blowing, must be related to the drive belt having to get seated in just the right way.
. . .

Depending upon what else is on the circuit protected by that breaker, it is common for the initial startup current surge to trip it. Since you have determined that starting up at higher speeds WILL cause the breaker to trip, it would be a good habit to turn the speed down before turning the power off. This problem is worse if the ss has an additional load(disk sander...).

Would however be better to have the ss on a dedicated circuit(nothing else plugged into that circuit).

Glad the 'whine' has abated!!!!