Pete Wass
Well-known member
Yesterday I went to my Workshop that my ex-wife owns half of and removed the electric motor from my South Bend Lathe, based on advice I got suggesting that the motor was responsable for my spindle not changing speeds when I swap the belt from one pulley position to another.
This AM I went to the nearby city of Bangor, Maine to handle a number of items on a list I had compiled, one of which was to take the motor to an Electric motor rebuilder to see if it was defective.
My fourth stop was to the Electric motor rebuilder. I walked in the shop which was about the size of 10 phone booths combined with a work bench to the immediate right of the door I walked through. I looked at the voice coming from sort of around the corner and a man who can not be taller than 3'10" came walking over to us; me and the bench.
It was difficult not to "Gape" but I was somewhat conditioned to this by virtue of my haveing watched a few episodes of Little People on TV. I thought, "I 'll bet this is going to be a memorable experience" and engaged with the man.
The motor I brough in is a Craftsman 1/2 reversable motor of 1968 vintage and has been on the lathe since then. He looked at the motor and said, "Old One, ain't it?" Yes I said and told him all about it. He observed the black and red wires hanging out of the conection portal and asked, " what are them wires?". I explained that the power had been connected to them and that the other four wires from the switch had been attached to the bayonet fittings on the connection board.
He said " Huh, it wasn't smokin?" I sez no, the lathe had worked since the late 60's but recently the lathe's spindle speed would not increase by changing pulley sized. he said "Huh". He then said well, let's hook her up and see if she runs. He pulled a set of alligator clips attachesd to wires in a cord, from under the right side of the Workbench.
He said "now, before I do anything I am gonna put these wires in where they belong", which he did. He then showed me where the power should have been fed to. He hooked the motor to the power source and the motor began to spin. I asked him if, somehow, the motor could be running at half speed? he said "No she either goes 1725 RPM's or she will smoke.
After a good two hours of "Chatting " he sent me away so that he could go to McDonalds for lunch. He told me to take er back, bolt her on and see if she runs the way she should. He then said, " Call me when you have her hunnin and we can talk about what's next". He wouldn't take any money and told me he was 74 YOA after he guessed my age as 55
.
Bottom line is I don't think I got the right advice about the motor being Pooched! So, what else could be wrong with the old girl? All the shafts seem to run free and they is oil in the cups. The spindle has it's locking pin engaged and the Back Gear is not engaged.
Question: What now?
Later in the PM I went to a bread store I had read about in the Downtown section that is run by Monks. I got the last loaf of Dark Rye and asked if he would slice it for me. He replied that they did not have a slicer and smiled. I coudn't resist trying the bread at dinner. MY WORD! the most flavorful bread I have ever eaten, bar none.
So, another interesting day in the life of a retired old Faht.
This AM I went to the nearby city of Bangor, Maine to handle a number of items on a list I had compiled, one of which was to take the motor to an Electric motor rebuilder to see if it was defective.
My fourth stop was to the Electric motor rebuilder. I walked in the shop which was about the size of 10 phone booths combined with a work bench to the immediate right of the door I walked through. I looked at the voice coming from sort of around the corner and a man who can not be taller than 3'10" came walking over to us; me and the bench.
It was difficult not to "Gape" but I was somewhat conditioned to this by virtue of my haveing watched a few episodes of Little People on TV. I thought, "I 'll bet this is going to be a memorable experience" and engaged with the man.
The motor I brough in is a Craftsman 1/2 reversable motor of 1968 vintage and has been on the lathe since then. He looked at the motor and said, "Old One, ain't it?" Yes I said and told him all about it. He observed the black and red wires hanging out of the conection portal and asked, " what are them wires?". I explained that the power had been connected to them and that the other four wires from the switch had been attached to the bayonet fittings on the connection board.
He said " Huh, it wasn't smokin?" I sez no, the lathe had worked since the late 60's but recently the lathe's spindle speed would not increase by changing pulley sized. he said "Huh". He then said well, let's hook her up and see if she runs. He pulled a set of alligator clips attachesd to wires in a cord, from under the right side of the Workbench.
He said "now, before I do anything I am gonna put these wires in where they belong", which he did. He then showed me where the power should have been fed to. He hooked the motor to the power source and the motor began to spin. I asked him if, somehow, the motor could be running at half speed? he said "No she either goes 1725 RPM's or she will smoke.
After a good two hours of "Chatting " he sent me away so that he could go to McDonalds for lunch. He told me to take er back, bolt her on and see if she runs the way she should. He then said, " Call me when you have her hunnin and we can talk about what's next". He wouldn't take any money and told me he was 74 YOA after he guessed my age as 55
.Bottom line is I don't think I got the right advice about the motor being Pooched! So, what else could be wrong with the old girl? All the shafts seem to run free and they is oil in the cups. The spindle has it's locking pin engaged and the Back Gear is not engaged.
Question: What now?
Later in the PM I went to a bread store I had read about in the Downtown section that is run by Monks. I got the last loaf of Dark Rye and asked if he would slice it for me. He replied that they did not have a slicer and smiled. I coudn't resist trying the bread at dinner. MY WORD! the most flavorful bread I have ever eaten, bar none.
So, another interesting day in the life of a retired old Faht.
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