Rockwell 28-365 Drive pulley clutch question.

I have a 20" Rockwell 28-365 variable speed bandsaw with a ball bearing driven drive pulley with a Reeves vari speed. I am sure many here have the same saw. It is undergoing a restoration and I will post some pics in the near future when it is complete. The question I have is when setting up the drive pulley ball bearing drive what is the clearance between the ball holder and the pulley? How much tension should be on the springs to slip when starting (if any) or if the blade is jammed to a sudden stop? Take a look at the pics and you will see what I am asking about.

I had a Rockwell 28-500, 20" bandsaw for a while and if it had this clutch in it, I never knew it. (I worked on the vari-speed, but not the wheel bearing) I had a similar emergency clutch in my Clausing lathe. In that case, they would only come into play when there would be a crash of the cross feed. I am doubtful that these would be made to slip at startup.


A short video of my variable speed after I repaired it.

Jack

Jack, The drive pulley in your video has a different hub than mine. I am thinking this was a basterdized setup on mine and the ball bearings are only acting as a thrust bearing??? It has to be set very loose otherwise the gearbox will not turn. I replaced the brass dogs inside the gearbox because they were worn on one side. It runs like a champ now.

tommy1010 said:

Jack, The drive pulley in your video has a different hub than mine. I am thinking this was a basterdized setup on mine and the ball bearings are only acting as a thrust bearing??? It has to be set very loose otherwise the gearbox will not turn. I replaced the brass dogs inside the gearbox because they were worn on one side. It runs like a champ now.

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tommy1010,
I just recently bought a 28-365 unit and of course the gentleman I bought it from said it all works like it suppose to. Once I got it cleaned up and replaced the guide pulleys my new 142 blade arrived. I installed the blade and it seemed like it was running okay until I tried to shift from high speed to low and the blade came to a stop. I shifted back into high using the foot clutch and the blade was moving again. So I'm having shifter issues, eventually I did get the transmission into low but then it wouldn't go back into high gear. I think I read that you took apart your gearbox on the one you sold last year, is it a complicated job? would you know where I could get a repair manual for it?
My machine will be used 90% on metal and some on wood for large beams at different times. So I would like both gears to be available, the vari-speed works like it should.

Toomantoys

Hello,
I never took the gearbox apart on mine, just the variable speed portion. The only part I worked on as far as the gearbox goes, was to repair the detent ball on the transmission lever on the outside of the case.
Jack

The gearbox is not complicated at all. Quite simple. You will see the brass shifter fork that wears. A simple job on a lathe.to make. The only problem is getting it in and out of the machine. It is heavy. With the shifter rods it is a pain to get back in. After you remove the large bottom pulley the bolts that hold the gear box in are easily accessible. They are also the adjustments for the bottom pulley tracking. Try not to move the adjusters. 99% of the time the little brass shifter part is the problem for hard shifting. Since it wears the cog won't be pushed far enough to engage the other side.

tommy1010 said:

The gearbox is not complicated at all. Quite simple. You will see the brass shifter fork that wears. A simple job on a lathe.to make. The only problem is getting it in and out of the machine. It is heavy. With the shifter rods it is a pain to get back in. After you remove the large bottom pulley the bolts that hold the gear box in are easily accessible. They are also the adjustments for the bottom pulley tracking. Try not to move the adjusters. 99% of the time the little brass shifter part is the problem for hard shifting. Since it wears the cog won't be pushed far enough to engage the other side.

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Thanks for the information, yes it does look very heavy and the shifter shaft will make it alot harder to get in and out. Once I remove the set screw on the bottom pulley can it be removed with a gear puller? Same for both sides bottom pulleys ?

Toomanytoys

Aren't there 3 holes for bolts for a puller in the pulley? I believe mine had them.

tommy1010 said:

Aren't there 3 holes for bolts for a puller in the pulley? I believe mine had them.

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On the blade side pulley there are 3 bolts that hold a small cover on the that pulley that would be used for a puller I believe. On the belt drive side the pulley has no bolts or bolt holes, suggesting a jawed gear puller would need to be used. One would think if you supplied bolt holes for a puller on one side you would supply the same on the other pulley. Both sides have an indent in the shaft for the puller sit in.

Toomanytoys