Craftsman Model 351.217150 Lathe's Variable speed control broke

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I was rough turning a piece of wood, it was a log cut into fourths, and I accidentally started the lathe at 1600 RPM, it started rocking back and fourth and then I turned it off. I turned it on again and tried to quickly turn the speed down (I know I should of removed the wood, I didn't think of it at the time), and the speed wouldn't go down. I took off the back of it to look into how it works and see if I could figure out what is wrong. It has 2 pulleys, each made of two parts. The bottom pulley, which is connected to the motor has is allowed to expand by turning the speed control knob which moves the yolk away from it. It forces it to contract by the yolk pushing the pulleys together. The top pulley is also cut into two parts and uses a spring to allow it to come apart or push together to tension the belt. I think one of the pulleys are jammed, or the spring is now tensioned super hard, preventing it from allowing movement.
 
You have what is called a Reeve's drive. Very effective speed controls in the entry level lathes, and even some more sophisticated.
First take your wood off, unplug the motor, then put the speed lever (if it wll move) all the way to highest speed setting. Then you should be able to get yer fingers in there and wrassle the belt out. When the belt is free hand turn the pulleys to make sure things are OK. Repower and adjust the speed lever a couple times. This should properly seat the belt and put you back in business. If that doesn't work :eek: you will need to dissassemble the unit and reassemble. Reassembly requires some very strong thumb work to compress the spring and get the retainer washer back on. You might need third or fourth hands to help with this. Start with a cold beer and be patient, it can be done.
 
Ok, It starts getting realy hard to turn after around 1600 rpm and it says very specifly in the manual not to change the speed while the lathe isn't on because it can break the yolk and the motor. Also, no beer for me, just turned 15.
 
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First of all Dimitri, Welcome to the Family! :wave:
I think that is the same lathe a few guys either have, or had some similar lathes, so I hope they can help you.

Frank has given you a good head start for sure, be careful!

Cheers!
 
Dimitri, I used to have the same lathe. It sounds like one or more of the pulleys in the Reeves drive is not moving like it's supposed to. It should be pretty easy to fix with a bit of cleaning and lubrication. Darrell Feltmate has a few good articles on maintaining that lathe. Here is the index of those articles. Darrell also has quite a bit of other useful info on his site, so I encourage you to look around at the other stuff he has there, too.

http://aroundthewoods.com/lathemaintenance.html
 
I think the top pulley wasn't moving correctly, I pulled on the spring, thinking it was the problem, and it has now started changing speed correctly. However, after using it for around a half an hour it started ticking like something was hitting the side, so I turned it off, and started looking around inside for the problem, I couldn't find it so I turned it on and listened for it. I accedentaly pressed the indexing button on the lathe while it was on :(, the belt started slipping, I tried to undo it, then turned it off. The inside of the index head is a little scratched up from the pin, but otherwise seems ok. Did I kill the motor? It still works and spins fine, but there is an annoying ticking and I'm worried it may hint at a bigger problem.

I know about how unsafe it was, I wasn't thinking and as my parents pointed out, I was very lucky I didn't get injured.
 
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Dimitri, your motor should still be fine. I accidentally started mine with the indexing button (spindle lock) engaged several times and it survived OK. The slipping belt makes a horrible screeching sound, but my motor never showed any signs of problems. As you learned, though, at the first sign of trouble, hit the power switch first. Trying to disengage the spindle lock with the motor turned on could be dangerous.

The ticking you're hearing could be several things. One thing to check is that the set screws that hold the stationary halves of the pulleys onto the shafts are still tight. You should also inspect the main belt carefully to see it there are any torn or frayed parts. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but there's another, smaller belt deep inside the headstock that connects the motor to the Reeves drive. It may take some work to get to them, but you can also check the set screws on those pulleys to see if anything is loose.

Another thing to try (very carefully, I should add) is running it with the headstock cover removed. If it is something hitting the inside of the case, the noise should go away with the cover off. And if the ticking sound is still there, you know it's somewhere deeper inside the headstock, but with things visible it might be easier to track down where the noise is coming from. Also, while you have it open, try adjusting the speed up and down a few times. Being able to see it in action will help you better understand how the Reeves drive works. Just be sure to keep fingers, clothing, and hair clear of any moving parts.

You mentioned the spring on the top pulley, and that reminded me of another safety thing to keep in mind when you're working on your lathe: That spring is VERY strong, but still, sometimes the upper pulley gets stuck in the "wide open" position. If this happens, you can often unstick it by tapping the pulley lightly with a plastic or wooden mallet. But when you do, be sure your fingers are not in between the two pulley halves, because when it gets unstuck, it will snap shut like a bear trap, and will definitely damage any body parts that happen to be in the middle. I came very close to getting a finger caught in mine the first time it got stuck. After that experience, I was very careful when dealing with anything around that spring. At some point, you'll likely need to remove the spring and disassemble the upper pulley. (To change belts, for example.) The website I linked to above has good instructions for disassembling it. The main thing is to make sure the spring is restrained when you remove the clip that holds it in place. Darrell shows the device he made to release the spring tension safely. I made one similar to it, and I would want to try taking the pulley apart without it. ;)

Good luck in your search for the problem, and keep us posted on what you find.
 
...Reassembly requires some very strong thumb work to compress the spring and get the retainer washer back on. You might need third or fourth hands to help with this...

Frank, having been inside this particular model of Reeves drive, I don't think I have strong enough thumbs to compress the spring. Don't know anyone offhand with that strong of thumbs. :) On mine, I made a little doohickey out of scrap steel and all-thread that worked sort of like a wheel puller in reverse. It puts tension on the spring to remove the clip and washer, then slowly releases it to remove the parts completely. Then it does the reverse when reassembling the drive. Darrell Feltmate shows pics of a similar device on his site (linked in an earlier post.) Well worth the few minutes to build it. :thumb:
 
Vaughn, good. Giving instructions with text only can be confusing. And he can't use beer to relieve the pain. ;) (Good for you Dimitri, don't start for a long time.)
Be patient, these things happen with machines and always seem worse than the reality. This is a learning experience for you.
The 'ticking' sound can come from many things. One might just be a loose thread on the belt, they do get noisy as they start to go bad.
 
Vaughn McMillan, I'll try all of those things tomorow, thank you for the information. Also, when it first started not changing speeds I thought it was the spring so I put my fingers near the end of it and pulled it to realy close to full compression and then let it expand again, which seems to have fixed the problem. While I had the cover off I watched it how the speed changes.
 
Dimitri, another trick I'd suggest is putting some graphite powder on the shaft that the pulley halves slide on. That will help lubricate it and keep things sliding the way they're supposed to. Good luck, and holler if you have any questions.
 
I tried some plain oil that was in the garage and it made it so it changes speeds normal and it it got rid of the noise
 
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The problem with the oil for lubrication, it isn't encased like it is in an engine block. All of the dust and shavings and such that get all over everything while doing what a lathe does best, make shavings, greatly and quickly reduces the lubrication factor of the oil. This is why graphite is best. Welcome to the family, I have a Craftsman lathe also but have not had to go internal yet like Vaughn and others he suggests have had to. Good luck and be careful. Oh, another thing, I have gotten into the habit of turning the speed down before hitting the power switch (unless it was an emergency!!).
 
So glad I found this thread, I just was given one of these lathes that of course needs new belts. Thanks for the info y'all
 
So glad I found this thread, I just was given one of these lathes that of course needs new belts. Thanks for the info y'all
Welcome aboard, Owen. Good to see another member from Albuquerque here. :thumb: As Jon said, this model of Craftsman lathe can be a bit frustrating, but they are capable of turning out some nice work. I eventually replaced mine with a bigger and better lathe, but the Craftsman paid for itself while I was using it.
 
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