Shopsmith Forums

Dusty and others
I have not tried to take it apart yet. Mine developed a clicking noise internally and I was going to find out why and when I looked at the exploded diagram I decided not to try. Mine still works OK except for the click. From the Op's description I am suspecting a problem with one of the internal shafts may have a problem
Bill V

1. Speed Reducer 2&3. Shopsmith 4. Speed Reducer Speed Reducer was mounted

I got a speed reducer and an increaser used, and do what I normally do - opened them up to look for signs of wear, damage etc.
The reducer is a very simple machine, with two belts and a pulley set which accomplish the speed reduction. They are adjustable from the outside for tension.
I have no idea what would cause a speed reducer to 'freeze' short of broken shafts, broken bearings or perhaps a broken belt might jam the mechanism.
If it is frozen, you have no choice but to open it up; I don't know of anybody who is in the business of fixing them...
If you want to look at the manual, there is a pdf version available on the Facebook Shopsmith Owner's Group, in the files section.

nicehice wrote:I was using the speed reducer to turn an out of round log into a bowl blank, but it wasn't working right in that I couldn't get the log into round. It seemed as if the log was not securely attached to the face plate. I stopped six times to check it and all seemed good. The last time I tried to restart it the speed reducer refused to turn. I removed it from the shopsmith and tried it, it worked fine. The reducer gears did not get wet. I tried turning it with a face plate attached,no luck

OK I think what has happened is that the plastic coupler inside the snout that attaches to the headstock may have become disengaged or broken. If the speed reducer is not fully connected and the plastic coupler is not tightened down onto the headstock, then the Shopsmith will turn but the speed reducer will not.
Check the plastic coupler. It is a short plastic piece about 2 inches long and it is inside the long "snout" of the reducer. It has a setscrew on one end which locks the coupler to the hub on the speed reducer side. You lock a hub on the headstock shaft and then slide the speed reducer with coupler onto that hub. Either the hub setscrew on the headstock side is loose, letting the shaft spin inside the hub, or the hub setscrew on the speed reducer side is loose, letting the coupler rotate around the speed reducer shaft without turning it, or the coupler is broken, or it is simply not fully engaged onto the headstock.
Figure out which of the above is happenning, and you will solve the problem.
I had this happen once and realize I had just forgotten to put the coupler in!

Thanks, but the coupler is not the problem.The shaft that the coupler is attached to will not turn no matter if the coupler is on or off.

Your statement that you can't round out a rough turning suggests to me that the output shaft of the reducer MIGHT BE broken. The piece may be wobbling when it is under load.
Bill V

nicehice wrote:I removed it from the shopsmith and tried it, it worked fine.

Are you saying that when you remove the speed reducer from the shopsmith, you can turn the speed reducer without a problem? If so, I still suspect it's a coupler issue.

If the speed reducer CANNOT turn either on or off the Shopsmith, then there is a broken shaft or a jammed, broken belt. Open it up and let us know.

It will not turn either on or off the Shopsmith. The belts are fine. It might be the bearings

nicehice wrote:It will not turn either on or off the Shopsmith. The belts are fine. It might be the bearings

How have you determined that?

]I don't believe WE have even the foggiest idea of what this problem really is. Without knowing for sure, all of these suggestions are pure conjecture. Inside the Reducer seems to be quite simple and should be simple to fault isolate. There are two shafts, two bearings and two pulleys. All of this can be viewed by referring to the first download that was provided by br549.

Referring to the diagram provided in the first download, I would suggest that the most likely candidate is the Sleeve Assembly, 515792 (#7). The second most likely candidate (for me) would be the Output Ball Bearing 515971 (#23).

In my opinion, there is NOTHING ELSE that could cause the shaft to freeze solid so as to not move (rotate) at all.

Having said that, I have one question. If you attempt to rotate one end of the shaft, can you feel any movement at all at the other end?

OBSERVATION: I can not turn the output shaft at all without mechanical aid. With the reducer laying on the work table, I used a crescent wrench to turn the output shaft while feeling inside the coupler at the other end. Movement was easy to detect but was somewhat jerky. I suspect that the belts have taken a set since it has been a long time since the reducer was put under power.