Shopsmith motor question

[clawofthebear]

Okay folks, this is a gloat and a sob story rolled into one. My brother and I have been remodeling my mom's house for the past six months. Complete tearout...only studs left when we started refinishing. My mom felt bad, because we have spent probably 5 hours a day for six months after our other jobs doing this without pay. So, she decided to get us something. My gift/payment was a Shopsmith Mark V that my brother found for an awesome deal :gar-Bi. I was very excited for about two days. That being said gloat is over....

The first day, I spent cleaning this thing. It had been in storage without use for about 5 years. The second day after getting home from working on drywall, after the regular 8 hours, I thought I had about a couple of hours of energy left in me. So I went to the shop, and decided to crank the thing up. Things went well for about 30 minutes, then the whole thing stopped working.

:BangHead::BangHead::BangHead::crossedlips::crossedlips::BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:

So my problem is...I have a new tool that I can't figure out on my own. I am not mechanically inclined, but since I can't afford to have it fixed, I am trying this myself. I have the headstock dismantled, and I wrote down where everything goes back, so I can possibly put it all back together. The motor hums, and then trips the breaker. No signs of burnt coil in motor windings. The problem is the motor shaft is not turning. Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated. I would really like to get this thing going again, before my mom comes to visit for dinner and wants to see what she bought. I don't have the heart to tell her it is not working, since it was an as is purchase.

 

[jmauldin]

I would either contact ShopSmith ( you can find their address on-line) or a local electric motor repair shop. I don't have any idea about what may be wrong, but surely one of these would be able to help. This problem is one of the reasons I don't like the all-in-one machines - if the motor goes, there goes the whole shop, and down-time can be costly. Hope you get it up and running before long.
Jim in Mayberry

 

[CarvedTones]

It is often the capacitor, which is cheap. When it hums, try spinning it (carefully) by hand and see if it continues spinning.

 

[clawofthebear]

Thanks for the responses!

It will spin by hand when power is on and motor hums, but will not continue to spin.

 

[Joe Scharle]

If the speed changer has been cranked while the motor is not running, the belt could be jammed. See if you can turn the motor by hand. If not, crank the speed changer until you can turn the motor by hand. Next, it could be the centrifugal switch.
I have 2 of these, so feel free to get in touch.
Joe

 

[sushinutnc]

If the speed changer has been cranked while the motor is not running, the belt could be jammed.
Joe

(removed a lot of original post... didn't see that he had twisted it and it moved, but didn't continue spinning)

I'm still thinking the start capacitor. There were several different motors used over the years. I'd have to check on the differences.

Tony-- here is a thread on shopsmith's forum for some additional ideas.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthread.htm?t=1184
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/servicetips/markvtroubleshooting.htm

Also... did it fail while working? You said it was working for 30 minutes then quit. Was it actively running when it died?

Any idea how old it is? Date codes are on models since 1987. Older models' S/Ns can be checked against table here:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/faq/markv.htm

If you decide to junk it, let me know... I may be interested in it for parts. :eusa_danc

BTW... there's a good motor shop I took mine to in Raleigh (possibly still there). He replaced the starting cap and a bearing on mine.

 

[jhreed]

Joe is right. that thing has a Reeves drive, and you must not change speeds unless the machine is running. if you change to a higher speed while it is off, when it starts up it can bend the shaft. try lowering the speed while turning by hand with the machine unplugged from the power source. do not try under power again until everything is turning freely by hand.
James

 

[sushinutnc]

Joe is right. that thing has a Reeves drive, and you must not change speeds unless the machine is running. if you change to a higher speed while it is off, when it starts up it can bend the shaft. try lowering the speed while turning by hand with the machine unplugged from the power source. do not try under power again until everything is turning freely by hand.
James

He's already indicated the headstock is dissassembled AND he's able to rotate the motor shaft by hand, but it doesn't keep spinning under power... therefore not the sheaves pinching the belt.

 

[froglips]

Should you wish to send it out, I can't recommend Jacob Anderson highly enough.

http://www.jacobs-repairshop.com/

He also has a full DVD on the shopsmith motor repair, which might be helpful.

Jim

 

[clawofthebear]

Okay fellas, thanks for all the advice. The websites and your advice have led me to believe it is the capacitor. I have finally gotten the capacitor pulled out of the motor(internal capacitor). And for all of you wondering ....Yes, I am in way over my head, but I'm stubborn enough to figure it out. I am going tomorrow to the appliance store in Raleigh to see if I can pick up a replacement. Update to follow, hopefully when there is sawdust flying again.

 

[CarvedTones]

Do you mean the electric motor place off Atlantic (on Hodges, I think) near the beltline?
What is the HP and RPM in that motor?

 

[sushinutnc]

Do you mean the electric motor place off Atlantic (on Hodges, I think) near the beltline?
What is the HP and RPM in that motor?

Not sure if you were asking about the motor place I mentioned..but this was the place I used

I believe ShopSmith has used at least two different proprietary Emerson motors over their 50+ years in the Mark Vs. Early models, like mine, have a 3/4 HP motor. Since 1962, they've used a 1-1/8HP motor. There was also a 10ER model with a much different motor. I believe all MarkVs have a 3450 RPM motor.


BTW, I failed to mention that it could, of course, also be the windings. If that's the case, you're seriously out of luck. You can buy a brrrannnnd new motor from SS for $360 though. :5sigh:

 

[sushinutnc]

BTW... here is a good reference on troubleshooting:
http://us.fluke.com/fluke/usen/comm...ategories/motorsdrives/single-phasemotors.htm

 

[CarvedTones]

Mike,

Tony (the OP) said he was coming to Raleigh today. I was wondering about the specs on the off chance it matched up with something else. The only spare one I have kicking around is only 1/2 though.

 

[shopsmithtom]

If the motor is really toast, you can find used ones on ebay all the time, much less than new or than having an electric shop rebuild it. I've redone a bunch of these machines, and, for the most part, they're bullet proof if you keep them lubed.
I would'nt hesitate getting a working older motor if the price is right. My oldest MK5 is a 1957 & all I've done is put in new bearings one time. (easy job) If you're not a purist, you can save by getting the older 3/4 hp motor. They actually spec out at about 1hp & I've ripped
inch & 3'4" oak & not had it bog down with that old "underpowered" motor in it. If you get stalled out, PM me & I'll be glad to help.