Do you mean the detachable friction wheel or the motor axle?

opalstar,

Your drive wheel is not big enough in diameter. A bit of tape won't last. And if whoever wrapped it didn't know which way it spun, it is likely to throw the tape off sooner.'

With the bigger wheel, it will remain in constant contact with the wheel and you won't have to hold the motor snug agaist it. Your motor is on springs to hold the tension. On any friction drive machine the drive wheel can develop flat spots from the motor being in the same position relative to the hand wheel if it stays that way for a long time.
One advantage of your spring mounted motor is that when you are not using the machine, you may wedge a spacer. ( clothes pin leg??) between the motor and the pillar to keep it from squishing into a flat spot on the drive wheel.

Leon what it sounds to me like she's been saying all along is that the motor itself won't stay up where it's supposed to be, like the springs that hold it in place are worn out.

Cari

I love machines, but haven't worked on many with success. Given that, it looks to me like that motor is on there crooked. It seems to me that the drive wheel should be level to the machine.

Like I said, I'm not that experienced and I've never seen one of those machines in person. I find that most mechanical objects are logical. That drive wheel at that angle doesn't seem logical to me. It just doesn't look "right". What would be the purpose of it being that way? It would not give you the most efficient drive mechanism. That "seam" on the back of the motor doesn't seem like it should be slanted to the side that way either.

bkay

Thank you Cari and bkay. I too have not had a top mounted motor in my hand. Or on my bench. It does appear to be a bit twisted and I would have flagged that on a belt machine, because it would wear faster. I don't know that the driving ability is greatly lessened by the angle.


Opalstar, Was the photo taken before or after you took the motor off?
There could be a couple more of the plastic washers ( spacers?) missing. I am getting quite puzzled.
Have you purchaed a new drive wheel?

Anbody else have a top pivot motor like this??

My farmer background is wondering about using a 5" C clamp to hold it tighter. Rubber padding , of ourse, so it wouldn't scrath paint. Bad Leon.

The above image of a BR-1 appears to support bkay's theory.. Thanks bkay!

...hmm...., a working machine for comparison would help. The second option is to find a repair guy who knows these models, not every shop knows or bothers about vintage machines.

Now I think you're getting what I and Bkay are saying. The OP says she has to hold the motor up so the drive wheel connects with the hand wheel. These motors are spring loaded to keep them in place, hence my suggestion that her springs are worn out. Or maybe the motor isn't mounted on the machine correctly.

Cari

opalstar, there's a coil spring inside the arm of the machine that pushes the motor against the handwheel, yours is probably just out of place. Here's how you can check, its fairly simple:

First, you have to go underneath and push some wire up into the arm so you have some slack to pull the motor off: [ATTACH=CONFIG]596486[/ATTACH]

Second, loosen the stop motion screw so you can remove the knob and the handwheel:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]596487[/ATTACH]

Now you can rotate the motor about a quarter turn clockwise, where it can be pulled off. Take care you don't drop the motor, as it could yank the wires out.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]596488[/ATTACH]

This what it looks like pulled off, the spring that I'm holding with my pinky is the one that's either missing or out of place on yours. Note where it goes on the motor, there's a rod inside the arm that it slides over. Hope this helps, lmk if you need me to clarify something.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]596489[/ATTACH]