Kimble motor, 10x15 OS c&p

I just adopted a new press and it came with a kimble motor (which I was really excited about as it is variable speed.) But it seems very slow when it runs the press. My other press is run by a non variable speed motor and it goes fast, and I have gotten used to it. I was excited to be able to go slow for tricky stuff and faster for regular feeding but the kimble motor doesnt seem to move the press evenly — and doesnt seem to have power to start the press either. It has a thin flat belt, which is incredibly hard to keep on the flywheel and motor. I have not counted the impression yet at the fast and slow settings, but I can say that the slow setting is very slow, probably slower than a treadle!

Is this motor adequate to operate this press? I was thinking it maybe needs new brushes? But will that help it?
I put up a photo of the tag on it, 1/3 hp seems small?

I have it running on 110. And I have the foot petal with the metal rod to control it. The motor has not been used in at least 20 years.

Press moves smoothly by hand, I have been oiling it up well since it has been out of commission for over 20 years as well. Only thing on the press that seems to not want to move is the impression lever. Its hard to move..

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And I have the motor running on the flywheel (this press does not have another wheel on the right side.) And the motor has a shaft on both sides.

image: motor tag

motor tag

image: DSC_4221sm.jpg

DSC_4221sm.jpg

image is hard to read in my browser heres what it says:
CLASS: T.K
1/3 HP CON DUTY 1 phase VAR Speed 500-2000
110/220 volts 7 3.5 AMP CO CY

it probably needs new brushes. there should be a way to oil both end bearings. get rid of the flat pulley and leather belt. go to a bearing and chain supply, get a double v pulley and two v-belts, you will never have belt trouble again.

two v belts?
why two??

I got the belt to stay on at 15 impressions a minute, faster than that and the belt wont stay on.

When running the press at that speed there is also a lot of noise coming from the gear on the right side (bull gear?) Thoughts on silencing that noise? Or are old styles a lot louder than new styles (my new style 8x12 is not this loud.)

The problem with the belt slipping off may be a matter of alignment — the motor shaft and flywheel shaft have to be absolutely parallel — if not the belt tends to ride up to the high side and jump off. Suicidal!

The noise is likely a sign of tooth wear. Probably some grease on the gears will help.

Bob

what kind of grease and where does one buy it? do you just put it on the teeth of the gear?
Angela

I would just use a general purpose grease you can get at any auto parts store in a small can or a tube. Put it on the gear teeth — no need to be careful to put it down between the teeth or get it evenly distributed, just put some (not a huge amount) on all the way around and run the press for a short while, which will distribute the grease evenly on the gears. If it seems not enough add a little more.

Proper lubrication is the key to avoiding wear.

Bob

Take good care of that Kimble motor. A trip to the motor doctor for inspection and brush renewal or adjustment will be a good investment. At 1/3 HP it is at about the bottom limit for a 10 x 15. Make sure you always give it some help with a spin of the flywheel to get started.
Bob at AdLib is very correct in instructing that the motor and press shafts must be exactly parallel. Also the motor pulley and the flywheel must be in the same plane. If you remove the motor to take it to the doctor, you will need to insure the alignment when you reinstall the motor.
Flat belts run better of a crowned wheel. The center needs to be higher than the sides. How do you get this if they are flat? From the photo, I think one turn of electrician’s tape on the motor pulley. On the flywheel, one turn on eitherside of the centerline, and one additional turn on top of the first two and right on the centerline. The belt wants to run on the high part, the crown.
If it will run at 15 ipm you may not need more speed unless you are quite good at feeding and will be doing long runs

What do you mean by same plane?

I greased the large and small gear teeth and I dont think its any quieter. It’s near silent when run by hand slowly but as soon I get it up to 15 ppm its loud. I have a squeak and a the loud noise from the gears. I noticed on the back side (towards the press) of the big gear that there is some old grease but it all pushed out of the way of the part that travels in there).

The other sort of annoying thing is my studio now smells awful.. A really old nasty smell. Not sure how to define it, ive never smelled anything like it. Not sure if its the motor or all the old oil embedded in the skids the press is on ( I wish I had removed and replaced them…) Or if its the old oil on the press??? Thoughts, my studio is small and it really overwhelms it! Of course smell is really secondary to the sounds which are more important.

Same plane.

Hold your hands up, palms together. Move right hand to the right. The fingers are not in the same plane. Move right hand ahead of the left, fingers still erect, so all 10 erect fingers are in a line. The two hands are in the same plane.
Same thing with the motor pulley and the flywheel. They must be in exact alignment one behind the other.

Noise. Gear noise is best described as clatter or chatter.
There is a cam on the inside of the bull gear and a round cam follower rides in the curved oval internal cam. There needs to be oil in there where metal runs against metal. Get a flashlight and look down in there while you slowly rotate the flywheel by hand. There is a shaft bearing and oil hole down there on the right side near the bull gear that is a bit hard to see and may be overlooked. It needs oil regularly. The other end of that shaft goes to the flywheel. Locate the shaft (and oil hole) on the flywheel side and see where it goes across to the right side. Find oil hole and oil.

Smell. Can’t help much by email. You need someone on site if you cannot identify it. Take the belt off the motor. Darken room and turn on the motor. Do you see lots of sparks in the motor? That is not good and indicates bad brushes.
Hot electric has an acrid smell. Turn off the motor and turn on the lights. Get down and smell the motor. Is that your bad smell?

Trouble shooting goes one small step at a time.

Make sure you oil the motor with a light-weight, high-heat oil. Regular motor oil will heat up (creating a bad smell) and expand, causing your motor to slow down, and eventually overheat, or blow fuses.

Paul

Where does one oil the kimble motor and where do you get high heat, light weight oil?

What I use on my press is a lightweight machine oil I assume not the same thing?

Angela