Rusty was into the Christmas spirit, with his own stocking (thanks to Diane) and he got a new set of belts!
Time to mount the motor and belts.
The motor is an AO Smith 3/4 hp running at 1725 rpm. In my previous blog (Episode 5), I rewired the power to the motor, added an on/off switch to the wiring harness, and tested the motor. Unfortunately, my clever pre-wired harness idea from Episode 5 didn’t work. It turns out that I didn’t provide enough length of wire to the switch, and with the motor sitting apart from the headstock, the wire was too short. If I installed the motor onto the mounting bracket, the wire would be sufficiently long enough but there was no room for my hand to reach up into the headstock to mount the switch.
Phooey.
Remove the motor, remove and disassemble the wiring harness. This time, put the wire on the switch with plenty of excess wire on the other end, and mount the switch inside the headstock before mounting or connecting to the motor. I’ll make the connection inside the motor after installation.
I cleaned up the motor the best I could...but frankly it’s not looking that great, and am beginning to think about painting the motor.
Nevertheless, I installed the mounting bracket onto the motor first, then attempted to mount the motor/bracket assembly onto the headstock and its two bracket rods. This was not a slam dunk (and we all know how easy a slam dunk is). I read somewhere that rotating the shopsmith unit vertically made it easier to mount the motor. I tried that. The motor/bracket assembly must weigh 500 lbs (well...almost) so holding it with one hand while aligning it onto the bracket rods with the other was...well...futile (and I was particularly buffed up that day!).
Take two.
Putting the shopsmith back into the horizontal position, I tried various mounting techniques until I was able to mount the motor successfully. I placed the motor about an inch off the bench using a piece of wood, then raising and lowering the shopsmith and adjusting the bracket rods several times (and praying to the alignment gods), I was finally able to slide the rods into the bracket and attach the motor.
Next: Reconnect the Power Wiring
The access hole for the motor wiring terminals has two indents on each end - I suppose to be used as a type of strain relief for the power cables. I ran the wires through the upward strain reliefs (it seemed more convenient) but the cover left small openings which might allow sawdust to build up inside the motor. The access hole cover has a right angle lip on one end, and flat on the other. I reversed the process and ran the power wires through the lower strain reliefs and placed the lip side of the cover on the upward side of the access hole.
I tested the motor and switch again - the wiring works and the motor still runs - thank the gods.
Next are the pulleys and belts.
Many thanks to Skip Campbell (MKCTOOLS.COM) on Shopsmith10ERUsers.com for providing a substantial amount of information on the speed changer and belt installations and alignment.
The three-step cone pulley assembly which mounts onto the motor shaft is strange as it includes the pulley as well as some sort of shaft adapter. The pulley unit which mounted onto the headstock shaft didn’t require such an adapter. It must be that the two pulleys are standard size, and that the AO Smith motor comes with a smaller shaft size hence requiring an adapter. (Duh).
To install the belts, the speed changer pulley assembly must be removed (the belts will not fit between the pulley and the Way Tubes).
Sliding the speed changer off and on (twice if you get the belts in the wrong order the first time) took some effort. I’m holding the way tubes up with one hand (as buff as I am), while sliding off the end Tie Bar and then the Speed Changer, slip the belts over the pulleys (making sure to get the them in the wrong order the first time), slide the speed changer back into position, and slide the Tie bar back on. **Whew**
As a degreed engineer, I was trained to read the instructions only as a last resort. The Shopsmith Speed Changer instruction manual suggested to not slide off the entire assembly, but remove the pulleys themselves from the speed changer spindle. This was much easier.
Now following the instructions, I mounted the belts onto the speed changer, headstock and motor pulleys. The final adjustment is made at the motor mounts by raising or lowering the motor to obtain the correct tension. This I did, but am not too happy with the result as the motor is not level and tends to ride up closer to the pulley. But, I am eager to fire up the total drive assembly so I will not worry about that just now. I have decided to remove and paint the motor, so it will be coming apart again anyway.
...and now the true test...
Inviting Diane out to the garage for the big test (needing a witness despite the subfreezing temperatures), I plugged the unit in and flicked the switch...
It’s Alive!! The unit works!! All shafts turn, speeds adjust, no parts flying off, and no smoke.
However, there is a slight rattle coming I think from the speed changer. After painting and re-mounting the motor, I will need to make sure all belt tensions and alignments are done properly to see if the rattle goes away.
Next step: Disassemble and paint motor, find and paint the pulley cover, reinstall and align everything.
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