Fixed.
I JB Welded the broken "fingers" and fiddled with it an awful lot, but now it works. It took a lot of alignment attempts, but moving to a more sturdy flat surface seemed to get me a lot closer, then just trying over and over made it go. In the end I didn't need any shims or anything I got it going and tightened everything up and it works.
It does seem very temperamental though. At every stage of reassembly I would restart it and several times it went back to doing the buzzing/humming. So I would take that part off again and monkey with it (lifting it and dropping it back down on the table mostly) and it would start going again. The big sheet metal piece that goes over the top was giving the most trouble. It is a bit beat up and out of square so I could see how putting it in place and cranking down the screws could shift the position of the two halves. I had to just snug up the screws, hopefully they don't work loose.
I agree, align the Block on a flat level surface with the through bolts loose and the center band un-mounted (remove the power switch for accessibility). Snug the bolts and check for proper operation, then install the center band with power switch. You might even apply thread locker to the through bolts.
It does seem to get warm to hot around the housing.
The Blocks I have worked on will get warm to the touch. If it too hot to keep your hand on, that is a sign of too much interference. It could even be the bearing is moving in relation to the arbor/shaft and/or the housing. Loctite has a bearing mount that may help.
I was wondering if the heat was making it go back to the buzzing/humming and not the alighment but am not sure.
My guess is the heat is related to the alignment, as was the buzzing/humming.
I checked the current draw I started at a over 5.2 amps and by the time I was done it was just over 5 amps with an LED bulb installed. This seems to be about right for a 1/2 hp model based on previous posts. So it doesn't seem to be drawing too much power and overheating. It is possible it is not turning as fast as it should and the rest of the energy is turning to heat.
I am hopeful it works, and think if I bolted it to a sturdy bench it would probably be ok, but my space isn't big enough to have it permanently mounted. I think it is going to go out of whack from moving it around, but time will tell. It did seem to work better the more I ran it.
Once it is aligned and happy, use the rubber feet to secure it to a piece of plywood, with the intent to keep the Block pieces all aligned to one another.
When I took it off the mount it was on I found some rubber feet, maybe they are original, who knows.
Thanks for all the advice,
Ray
You betcha'!
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