Need help...what is it?

[dchasins]

Last week I bought an Atlas 9360 bandsaw at an estate auction. The guy whose stuff was being sold seemed like he was pretty creative. He sure had a lot of tools and stuff to be sold off. Anyway, he had rigged this device between the motor and the drive pulley on the bandsaw. He had an actuator from a casement window attached to the lever on the end of the device. It was a funky setup, and the window crank was pretty well bound up. But I tried it, and it appears to be some kind of a brake, to further slow down the speed. When the lever is pulled toward the drum, it pushes a shaft in the end of the drum and slows down the speed by creating a load on the drive. The two pulleys on the other end of the drum are not connected one-to-one, but are somehow geared or slipped... It also looks like it has a fill plug. I haven't opened it up yet to see what kind of fluid--if any--is inside.

I haven't come across one of these before. For all I know, they're commonly used somewhere. Here are some photos:

[URL=http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/DMSKAuto/media/Thorsen%20wrench/Speed%20reducer/IMGP0187.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/DMSKAuto/media/Thorsen%20wrench/Speed%20reducer/IMGP0188.jpg.html] [/URL]


[URL=http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/DMSKAuto/media/Thorsen%20wrench/Speed%20reducer/IMGP0189.jpg.html] [/URL]

For now, I've mounted the motor conventionally to the saw.

So, ok all you experts out there...what is this thing? What was it originally used for and how does it actually work? Good thing to use in this application, if I can set it up with a better device to actuate the lever? Or a bad idea to put the extra load on the motor (1/4 hp Westinghouse, 1725 rpm)?

I'm guessing he put this on as a speed control for the saw. Wouldn't there be a better way, like a stepped pulley, or...?

Appreciate any info and thoughts!

 

[rsanter]

Well.....what does it do?
Do the pullies turn together? At the same ratio?
What happens when you pull or push on that lever?
Do the pullies lock up? Do the disengage?

Bob

 

[wbrian63]

I'll bet its a hydraulic brake. You get more braking if you use the smaller pulley and less braking if you use the larger pulley. My guess is based on the pipe plug that is shown in the middle picture. If you orient that plug facing "up" and remove it, I'll bet you find oil inside.
Using the lever presses on the piston on the rear of the unit which is more likely a valve - when extended, the oil circulates freely. When compressed, it likely adjusts the pitch of a series of vanes inside the case that "swim" in the oil to create drag.

Easy test - spin the pulley by hand. If it rotates freely, see what happens when you use the lever to press the piston.

If the piston is bound up, then the device is likely useless or will need to be rebuilt.

 

[dogdog]

looks like those brakes/clutches from those industrial sewing machines you can vary the speed between the two pulleys

 

[G_P]

was there a belt on the larger pulley? Looks like only the small pully was used since its shiny and clean and the larger pulley is all rusty where the belt would be riding on it.

 

[C96]

looks like those brakes/clutches from those industrial sewing machines you can vary the speed between the two pulleys

^^^^This^^^^
If that inner pulley spreads apart when the lever is moved it would be for an industrial sewing machine. That is acting as a clutch and speed control.

 

[Provincial]

It is a two-speed transmission from an old washing machine. It makes a speed reducer when in low speed, and direct drive (I think) when the lever is engaged. Low speed for agitation and high speed for spin cycle. I'm pretty sure it was from a top-loading washer. 1940's to 1960ish.

 

[dchasins]

It is a two-speed transmission from an old washing machine. It makes a speed reducer when in low speed, and direct drive (I think) when the lever is engaged. Low speed for agitation and high speed for spin cycle. I'm pretty sure it was from a top-loading washer. 1940's to 1960ish.

Thanks, guys for the responses from each of you.

Provincial, I think you're the winner on identifying this thing. Now that it's off the bandsaw, I looked a little closer at it, and tried it a couple of different ways. It is definitely a gearbox--seems to be a 2 speed. From the way it's built, I could believe that it's from the era you mentioned: simple and kind of brawny. And it fits the sort of thing the former owner was working with--a lot of stuff from the 40's and 50's.

In normal position, the two pulleys operate at different speeds, with the smaller one (as pictured) turning about 8 or 10 times for each rotation of the big pulley.

A very firm push from the lever on the shaft inside the rubber boot, pushes out the pulleys and engages a 1:1 ratio (as you said, Provincial), with both pulleys turning together. The way the saw was set up, he had the motor with about a 1 1/2" pulley driving the small pulley on the gearbox, and the large pulley driving the saw, so it was a substantial gear-down in speed in the normal position. I'm guessing he did it because he mostly used the saw for metal, not wood. For wood use, he would have kicked it into high gear for a much faster speed at the saw.

I might have left it the way he had it set up, but the window crank that moved the lever was pretty well shot, and the mounts for both motor and gearbox were funky. I am going to go with a hinged, sliding motor mount and a 3 step pulley for different speeds on this nice little Atlas bandsaw. Now, I need to find some bits and pieces to set it up the way I want it.

Thanks again for looking at this post! Any ideas for some other cool use of this gearbox out there?