Motor rebuild questions

[Aaron David]

I am currently (ha!) nearing the end of my shaper refurbishment, and was planning to use an older GE 1/3hp motor I saved that had been used to power a jointer. Ran good, was reversable to get the proper rotation direction for my needs, but it was pretty full of oily sawdust. Pulled it apart to get as much out as possible, but when I put it back together it has a feeling of drag when I rotate the shaft by hand. I am guessing, and am pretty open to being wrong about this, that the bells are slightly out of alignment. I know I have it reassembled correctly, as both oil cups are pointing in the same direction. I have backed off on the four through bolts to eliminate that as a cause, but I was wondering if there was some trick to getting these back together? I have rebuilt motors in the past, but never had an issue with the alignment before.

Here is a pic of the motor, to show what I am working with:
2022-11-22_06-33-22 by Aaron Warfield, on Flickr

Thanks in advance!

 

[RJSakowski]

Shims are used reduce end play of the shaft. Is it possible that you didn't replace them correctly or that one was askew when you reassemble the motor? Usually, a cocked bearing will seat it self properly when the case is tightened but not always. Some dirt in the housing could be biasing the bearings.

 

[Aaron David]

It has no bearings, as it's a bushing type motor with gits oilers. But that section of the motor is sealed. Could it be grit in the area where the bells mate to the housing? That is my next step to check, get in there with a pick and make sure there is nothing preventing the proper seating.

Thanks, you have got me thinking about other issues that it might need to have resolved.'

Aaron

 

[markba633csi]

Bushings are often held in a type of articulating mount and can get swiveled out of alignment during a rebuild. There probably isn't anything wrong.
Try lightly tapping the motor shaft a few times with a block of wood and see if it begins to turn more easily. Make sure there is oil in the oilers.
Just powering the motor for a few seconds might help loosen things up
-Mark

 

[pontiac428]

Whenever I have a free-turning shaft supported by separate members in any mechanical assembly, I like to fit everything loose and verify/optimize alignments prior to torqueing the mounts.

 

[jbobb1]

These sleeve bearings have wicking for oil lubrication. The bearing has an opening that allows this wick to touch the shaft. Check to make sure some of that wick didn't get caught between the shaft and bearing when you reassembled. Also, sometimes a few taps on each endbell can jar things in place.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

A rubber hammer and a lot of patience is the usual solution. Torque everything as tight as practical for the size of the through bolts, but not overtight. Sleeve bearings are very unforgiving of misalignment.

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