Lord Bob

Okay. Dropped a lot of beans on a grinder (for me). Plugged it in. It's a three phase motor with a variable speed box on. It'll crank for about 5 seconds, then slow to a stop. Three phase motor, 220v. I can post pictures and video, but is there any immediate problem someone can think of?

I like the idea of the brake and the safety screen. I'd like to pull mine apart for a rebuilt or just a deep cleaning, but I haven't the time. The inside of the clutch where the blocks engage have a spotty residue, like grease or wood fibers friction burned onto the metal. I may have to pull the spider and clean that, as I think that may be what's causing the stickiness when they heat up. I like the pictures of the brake. I need to build one, if you have more pictures. I'll see if I can post some pictures when I have time to mess with it some more. Thank you for all the advice.

I checked the shims. Old hacksaw blade. I tightened the block bolts, and that actually helped more than anything. With the shims in (even the old, thin ones), it would stay engaged constantly. Never had to press the treadle. I would up removing all the shims that fell out. It may be the oil, it's greasy, oily as all get out, like caked on and I want to strip it apart and clean it SO BAD. The clutch springs....I've played with them a little. I wonder if they may be too tight, but need to get a longer threaded i-hook to check it. I loosened them and got better results. The treadle rod has already been replaced.

I have the book (Dad left it with the hammer), and I'm thumbing through it looking for the answer. I'm in Northeast Louisiana, Frosty, and when you say "back off" the clutch tightness, where do I do that?

I have tried researching this, but it's surprisingly bare on the internet. I inherited this hammer from my dad when I bought his house. I had to adjust the clutch blocks. The wheel is a rear mount, and I've got it to where I push down on the treadle, it runs like it should, but when I let off, the hammer won't disengage. It'll slow down, but not disengage. When I kill power and cycle it by hand, the treadle works as it should (push down, engage...let off, disengage). I'm on the verge of just putting new clutch blocks in (current ones are plywood...not my idea), unless there's something easier or more obvious I'm missing.