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How to oil the Clutch shaft on a Beaudry Utility Hammer


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I have a 50# Beaudry Utility Hammer. I just replaced the clutch lining and noticed that the clutch sleeve was really dry and the hammer has not been running as smoothly as it has in the past.  I have grease fittings to lube the main drive shaft and the crank pin., The Main Drive Pulley rides on a sleeve that is attached to the clutch. The clutch slides towards and away from the pulley in order to engage. it is not clear to me how to keep that sleeve oiled. There are cut oil grooves in the sleeve to transport oil but there are no oiling ports and when I squirt oil on either end , it tends to just fly off before it has a chance to seep onto the contact surfaces. Any suggestions? 

 

This is a picture of a 25# hammer but it is the same setup.

post-348-062655800%201285512240.jpg

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Is there no oil port in the clutch sleeve that rides the spline/keyed shaft? What are you using for oil?

Without knowing more I'd maybe try a little shot of compressed air to drive oil into the grooves.

I use Chainsaw bar oil with about 1/4c Duralube to a gallon. The gallon of bar oil is from when I used a chainsaw before the accident. Anyway, bar oil is sticky and doesn't sling like 30w as shown in the manuals. Duralube has a very high film strength to lubricate even when apparently dry. It's great as a stand lone for things you want lubed but don't want dirt and grit sticking in the oil, say a leg vise screw.

Another possibility is a little lithium/graphite grease on a cotton swab pushed as far into the oil grooves as you can. The grease will migrate in use.

Did you oil the clutch lining? Just a drop or two of 30w or the equivalent, too much oil will make it grabby.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Thanks Frosty,

There is no oil hole on the clutch sleeve. I was considering drilling one. What is most confusing is that this is an old machine and wonder what they designed to occur. There are effective oil/grease ports everywhere else on the machine. I pulled the clutch off and see no holes ( I was expecting to find one clogged and hidden but nothing)

The clutch is grabby so I hope it will smooth out as I use it.

I did smear some lithium grease on the clutch sleeve before I put it back together .....

 

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NO GREASE on the clutch lining:o!! JUST a couple drops of oil! More is NOT better!

Ever take an automotive clutch apart? The pressure plate and clutch lining ride on a splined shaft moved by the throwout bearing and fork. The shaft was never lubricated on any I've had apart. Not one, not even the 1923 T Dad was restoring way back when I was in high school.

Don't lube it, any grabbiness or slip is in all probability the dry lining. Just a couple DROPS of oil, 30w range.

Hopefully someone on the forum with more experience with your power hammer will speak up.

Oh as a side note, mechanical power hammers tend to sling oil all over the place. That doesn't mean they're SUPPOSED to be slobbering oil. I only put a couple few drops in the ports when I start a session if I haven't run it for a few days or so.

Frosty The Lucky.

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On 5/8/2023 at 5:37 PM, Frosty said:

Ever take an automotive clutch apart? The pressure plate and clutch lining ride on a splined shaft moved by the throwout bearing and fork. The shaft was never lubricated on any I've had apart. Not one, not even the 1923 T Dad was restoring way back when I was in high school.

Frosty The Lucky.

Am I correct that the drive shaft mostly spins with engine ( when the clutch is engaged ) and it is only when the clutch is disengaged that the shaft is spinning, so most of the time it is not spinning dry

On the Beaudry the drive pulley is riding on the clutch shaft all the time and only when the clutch is engaged are they spinning together......

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20 minutes ago, Frosty said:

You might want to re-read your clarification question, it's too hard to make sense of.

The second sentence is Yes, that is how a clutch works. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Sorry, I will try it again.

On the power hammer the pulley spins around the clutch shaft and there is metal on metal spinning abrasion happening most of the time, except when the hammer clutch is engaged and the pulley and the clutch shaft spin together and the hammer strikes

in a car transmission the spline and drive shaft spin together , while the car is in motion, except when the clutch is disengaged , while the gears are being shifted, so most of the time they are spinning together and it is only when the clutch is disengaged that there is metal on metal spinning abrasion

I hope this is a more coherent analysis.

If it is clear then my question is that it makes sense that a car spline is run dry because it is running dry for a fraction of the time the car is being used. The power hammer is running , without the clutch engaged, for much more time and that is why I would think that it is necessary to keep those surfaces oiled to fight the greater likelihood for rotational wear and tear.

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The purpose of a automotive clutch is to disengage the engine from the wheels.

it is just the reverse on a power hammer you ONLY want the hammer cycling when you need it so the clutch engages the motor.

If you're wondering about the specifics of YOUR hammer I'd need drawings or at least pics with arrows maybe. Shafts, clutch assemblies, cranks, etc. vary between hammers. The way mine works may be entirely different than yours though even a minor variation can make a major difference.

Frosty The Lucky.

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The clutches I've fooled with (granted only a couple, and not recently) had a pilot bearing in the flywheel where the (smooth) tip of the splined input shaft rode i.  I recall a lightly lubricated needle bearing, but that might vary even if my memory's accurate.  And the bearing only supports the weight of the clutch disk, which isn't particularly heavy.

I don't recall the splined part of the shaft that the clutch disk floats on being lubricated, but of course there's no spinning contact there.  

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