[mactec54]

Just a short post this morning.

Description of photos are:

1) Before disassembling the machine, the drive assembly sounded overall quiet and generally smooth. The bearings were a little rough and the belts had taken shape as all belts do in time without running. Overall, it was something to work with. As I tore the machine apart I found the spline drive shafts worn, as shown in the photos. The top shaft, attached to the belt hub shows slight wear with rounding on the edges. The bottom driven shaft shows more wear, with much more rounding on the edges. I reassembled the head anyway, knowing the head would come back apart soon with a redesign on the horizon.

2) A blank piece of 6061 was thrown into the vice for a 'First Cut' test of the machine with varying result. I used a feed and speed calculator to determine the initial cut. Unfortunately, the SFM numbers vary quite a lot for 6061, so for a first test of the machine, this material is probably not the best. Regardless, the overall surface finish needs improvement.

3) New spline drive shafts. Notice the sharper corners of the teeth. Sit firmly in the chair as you price these parts out!

4) This is a handy book to have if you plan to disassemble the machine. There are detailed disassembly and reassembly procedures here with great photographs. My copy has an H&W sticker on the front. I'm not hawking their products, but their pricing is competitive and they ship quickly.

That is good to show others that they may have the same worn/damaged parts, and by replacing them you ended with a better cut result, these parts were damaged by bad gear changing, when they changed from high to low speed, you have to feel them as you engage them, by moving the spindle back and forward by hand, and it will drop into place, a lot of new user's would just move the lever, and press the start button, well they make a very loud grinding noise when that happens