Reeve's drive maintenence

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eyekode

New User
Salem
I started up my new-to-me PM 1150A drill press tonight. It ran pretty smoothly and I may not need to replace any bearings. But when I tried to change the speed via the Reeves drive I hit some issues. It seems like as the back pulley gets smaller (which actually means the hub is expanding) the belt starts to get wedged in there and creates a ton of drag. Enough drag to stall the motor!

The PM manual isn't very good about describing the maintenance for the Reeves drive and now I am trolling for tips. I could find two manuals on the web (both on OWWM). The older manual says to dress the belt with parafin wax. I could see this helping keep the belt from getting trapped. IT also says to lube the hub area of the VS pulleys. I assume they mean the interface between the actual pulley and the shaft it rides on? I don't think it means to lube the actual pulley to belt surface. Any hints here?

I was also wondering what typically provides the "return" pressure for the pulleys? Looking at the PM there is a cam that forces the driven pulley's hubs together (effectively making the pulley radius larger). But there is no spring or anything to push the pulley hubs back apart. Is the idea that the spring on the driving pulley is strong enough that if the cam is not forcing the driven pulley larger then the tension in the belt will force the pulley to expand until the lever arm hits the cam?

I ask this question because after the motor stalled I took the belt off to see what was stuck. And I manually manipulated the pulleys. After turning the dial all the way to "fast" I could not get pulley to drop back down by it self. There is no return spring. So I grabbed the pulley and tried to open it back up. Didn't move a bit. This makes me think the hub that the pulley moves on needs some lubrication?

Any hints?
Thanks!
Salem
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
I started up my new-to-me PM 1150A drill press tonight. It ran pretty smoothly and I may not need to replace any bearings. But when I tried to change the speed via the Reeves drive I hit some issues. It seems like as the back pulley gets smaller (which actually means the hub is expanding) the belt starts to get wedged in there and creates a ton of drag. Enough drag to stall the motor!

Is the motor running on the VFD? Were you trying to run it at 5 Hz? Remember what I said about the hp at low freq. I forget the exact numbers and they may vary by manufacturer, but they usually recommend you don't try to run the motor below about 20% - 25% (12 Hz - 15 Hz). There has to be some wedging and friction or else the belt will slip. If the spring is too strong or the sheave not sliding easily enough on the shaft it can pinch the belt too tightly, but I doubt anyone ever messed with the spring so the compression force shouldn't have change.

The PM manual isn't very good about describing the maintenance for the Reeves drive and now I am trolling for tips. I could find two manuals on the web (both on OWWM). The older manual says to dress the belt with parafin wax. I could see this helping keep the belt from getting trapped.
I never heard that, but it could be true.

IT also says to lube the hub area of the VS pulleys. I assume they mean the interface between the actual pulley and the shaft it rides on? I don't think it means to lube the actual pulley to belt surface. Any hints here?
Lube the shaft and sliding parts so the pulleys move in and out easily. Check for rust also.

I was also wondering what typically provides the "return" pressure for the pulleys? Looking at the PM there is a cam that forces the driven pulley's hubs together (effectively making the pulley radius larger). But there is no spring or anything to push the pulley hubs back apart. Is the idea that the spring on the driving pulley is strong enough that if the cam is not forcing the driven pulley larger then the tension in the belt will force the pulley to expand until the lever arm hits the cam?
When the cam is moved out, it allows the driven pulley sheaves to separate resulting in a smaller diameter. The belt is prevented from going slack because at the same time the spring on the drive pulley is able to push sheave halves together which makes the effective diameter larger.

I ask this question because after the motor stalled I took the belt off to see what was stuck. And I manually manipulated the pulleys. After turning the dial all the way to "fast" I could not get pulley to drop back down by it self. There is no return spring. So I grabbed the pulley and tried to open it back up. Didn't move a bit. This makes me think the hub that the pulley moves on needs some lubrication?
I didn't quite follow this. With the speed dial cranked to "fast" the halves of the driven pulley should easily slide apart. The cam may have a "keeper" to keep it in contact with the sheave. If it does, you won't be able to slide the sheave with your hand. On the other hand, the speed crank should move very easily with no belt installed. If things don't move easily with no belt installed, lube the shaft and all sliding parts. Also, remember, don't change speeds (don't turn the crank) without the motor running. That can cause excess friction on the drive and possibly prevent the motor from starting.

Another thing to consider- Reeves drives don't especially like stiff belts. Your belt may be old and have hardened. Replace it with a new one, or do like I did, replace it with a Fenner (or Fenner clone) link belt. Also, make sure you use a belt with the correct size AND shape.

My experiences with Reeves drives come from 20 years owning a Shopsmith and a few years owning a Delta 46-700 lathe (I upped the hp quite a bit when I installed the 3 phase motor so I eventually removed the the Reeves drive from the lathe)

Any hints?
Thanks!
Salem
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
Thanks Alan, from yur description the pulley without the spring should move easily which makes sense looking at it. The cam does nit have a keeper so it sounds like I need to figure out why the pulley is sticking and clean it up/lubricate it. What kind of lubrication should I use on the shaft?
Thank again!
Salem
 

Hardcharger14

New User
Steve
My Delta Reeve's Drive drill press has operator instruction ( Run through speeds daily.) on its head. Daily, I don't. 3/4 times a week Yes. I notice vibration, especially winter, If I am negligent. Mine is not a Link type belt. Steve Mc
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
Thanks guys. I put some 3-n-1 on the pulley hubs and some parafin on the belt. I also cleaned up the gunk on the driven hub that I believe was making it stick. It now works pretty smoothly with one exception: somewhere around the top speed of the drill press it starts to significantly lose torque. To the point where I think it is going to slow down and stall. I didn't let it get that far from fear of burning up the motor.

It doesn't appear to be under any real stress. If I turn it by hand it doesn't seem to get that much more difficult to spin. That lead me to look closer at my wiring. I had to change the motor from 440v to 220v when I got it. Turns out I read the label wrong!!! It is a 9 wire motor and the diagram makes it look like the last 3 wires are floating. I remember puzzling over this when I wired it. I couldn't figure out how letting any of the wires float could work. My guess doing so only runs the 1/2 of the coils. Doh! Upon closer inspection you can almost make out the connections between three wires that looked floating.

The good news is after rewiring it correctly it spins up faster and has no problem with the upper RPM range.

Now all that is left is to find a good location for the VFD and wire an external switch. Right now I have it held to the side of the DP with some rare earth magnets. Not the most permanent solution :).

Salem
 

BrianInChatham

New User
Brian
It would be worth a call to PM tech support on Monday. I've only had to deal with them once, but the tech I spoke with was incredibly knowledgeable and went out of his way to be extremely helpful. Some of the best customer service I've had in a long time.
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Thanks guys. I put some 3-n-1 on the pulley hubs and some parafin on the belt. I also cleaned up the gunk on the driven hub that I believe was making it stick. It now works pretty smoothly with one exception: somewhere around the top speed of the drill press it starts to significantly lose torque. To the point where I think it is going to slow down and stall. I didn't let it get that far from fear of burning up the motor.

It doesn't appear to be under any real stress. If I turn it by hand it doesn't seem to get that much more difficult to spin. That lead me to look closer at my wiring. I had to change the motor from 440v to 220v when I got it. Turns out I read the label wrong!!! It is a 9 wire motor and the diagram makes it look like the last 3 wires are floating. I remember puzzling over this when I wired it. I couldn't figure out how letting any of the wires float could work. My guess doing so only runs the 1/2 of the coils. Doh! Upon closer inspection you can almost make out the connections between three wires that looked floating.

The good news is after rewiring it correctly it spins up faster and has no problem with the upper RPM range.

Now all that is left is to find a good location for the VFD and wire an external switch. Right now I have it held to the side of the DP with some rare earth magnets. Not the most permanent solution :).

Salem

Congrats!!!

Remember, under no circumstances, put a switch between the VFD and the motor!!! You'll smoke the VFD1
 

eyekode

New User
Salem
Thanks Alan. I didn't. I wired the original switch up ( it wasn't magnetic) to the low-level inputs on the VFD. It works great!

My install is pretty sloppy with wires everywhere and the vfd stuck to the drill press with magnets :). But now I feel like I know what I have. I will take pictures tomorrow so you guys can make fun of me!
Salem
 
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