Anyone have a Rapidor?

We have a Rapidor with electrical cut-off etc. It's three-phase in case that makes any difference.

Pic's available of whatever you need, but we are out for the day today.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Web:

Would the reverse not be "VERY" handy for undoing a cut !!!

Joules

I have a warco power saw with a electrical cut off which is basically stop start buttons, you start it and a bolt attached to the saw touches the stop button when finished. I to can photograph it if needed.

Mart> I have just invested in an old Rapidor power hacksaw (one that takes

Joules,

So thats what reverse is for on the lathe, unturning a little when I have taken off too much ? Could also be used to undrill a hole when its in the wrong place. Dead handy.

Steve

Thanks Peter,

I will be interested to know mechanically how the electrics are switched off, your three phase switch may be a different type. My main concern is the drive side, I'll try and grind off some of the welded-on garbage. I can see the remains of a large spring which I presume holds the pulley away from large boss on the end of the crankshaft. The levers are inboard of the pulley and act to force the pulley into engagement against the spring pressure - though it looks to me like the gap is way too large. A second lever latches the first and the latch is knocked out when the saw cut finishes.

The lot will have to come off and for the moment I am not sure if I can get the boss off the end of the crankshaft. It looks like it could be threaded with a splash of weld ! Or maybe its on a key and should have been held on by a nut. If you have ever had yours apart and know what goes on there it would help.

BTW I think the Brooks Gryphon motor is probably original, and wonder what date that would put on it. Probably middle to late 50s I suppose. I would be interested to know it age.

Steve

Thanks Peter,

I will be interested to know mechanically how the electrics are switched off, your three phase switch may be a different type. My main concern is the drive side, I'll try and grind off some of the welded-on garbage. I can see the remains of a large spring which I presume holds the pulley away from large boss on the end of the crankshaft. The levers are inboard of the pulley and act to force the pulley into engagement against the spring pressure - though it looks to me like the gap is way too large. A second lever latches the first and the latch is knocked out when the saw cut finishes.

The lot will have to come off and for the moment I am not sure if I can get the boss off the end of the crankshaft. It looks like it could be threaded with a splash of weld ! Or maybe its on a key and should have been held on by a nut. If you have ever had yours apart and know what goes on there it would help.

BTW I think the Brooks Gryphon motor is probably original, and wonder what date that would put on it. Probably middle to late 50s I suppose. I would be interested to know it age.

Steve

Thanks Peter,

I will be interested to know mechanically how the electrics are switched off, your three phase switch may be a different type. My main concern is the drive side, I'll try and grind off some of the welded-on garbage. I can see the remains of a large spring which I presume holds the pulley away from large boss on the end of the crankshaft. The levers are inboard of the pulley and act to force the pulley into engagement against the spring pressure - though it looks to me like the gap is way too large. A second lever latches the first and the latch is knocked out when the saw cut finishes.

The lot will have to come off and for the moment I am not sure if I can get the boss off the end of the crankshaft. It looks like it could be threaded with a splash of weld ! Or maybe its on a key and should have been held on by a nut. If you have ever had yours apart and know what goes on there it would help.

BTW I think the Brooks Gryphon motor is probably original, and wonder what date that would put on it. Probably middle to late 50s I suppose. I would be interested to know it age.

Steve

Hell ! One twitch on the mouse key and you post the same thing three times in the blink of an eye. Woops.

Peter,

If I have managed to overcome all the IT challenges, the problem area is show at

This is after sawing off the main bodge, but it suggests the end boss is threaded but also tacked on to the end of the crankshaft with weld (cringe!). Or is it not threaded, but keyed, and should be held on with a long-lost nut ? It would be nice to know before I attempt to undo the mess.

Thanks, Steve

OK, I'll have a look at mine tonight, but it looks different.

The file size on that picture is 9mb uncompressed, you'd do better to reduce it a tad....

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Web:

Oops, it was a first attempt - will try harder next time. I think Paintshop can do that.

There is a Rapidor for sale on eBay, its hard to make out from the photo, but it looks similar in that area, and has the same lever arrangement, though a different pulley.Mine has a layshaft on the bottom level to increase the mechanical advantage for the single phase motor and has V-belts. Others I have seen have the motor mounted at the back - a more sensible location if you want to use suds.

Steve

That looks a very early machine, mine has the motor at the back, and has belt drive to the gearing etc with a sheet steel cover over everything.

The ebay item looks usable, you would need to sort out some guarding over the drive.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

If you're talking about #7597485830, it's a Rapidor Machester Light

Tom

Thank Guys,

The fact mine has a cast iron pulley probably makes it older than the one on eBay. The matching base paint colour indicates the Brooks Gryphon motor is almost certainly original, and looking in old ME magazines it seems that was introduced in 1952.

I am glad to say the drive system has yielded to my ministrations. The drive boss is threaded on, and the drive direction sets it firmly against a shoulder on the shaft. I managed to grind off sufficient weld (where the boss had been tacked onto the shaft) to get it off, and then get enough weld spatter off the shaft to remove the pulley. I still have the remains of the spring welded to both boss and pulley - its quite a mess! Just about everything was welded to something else, but it will all clean up. Finding a replacement spring may be a challenge, but I am fairly confident I can get it back the way Rapidor intended, and in all other respects it seems mechanically sound.

The electrical side is still a bit of a mystery. Even if original, it seems pointless to have a Dewhurst reversing switch on a motor that will never be reversed (as it would undo the drive boss). I suppose all I need is a decent IP66 limit switch and a stop/go.

Steve

The Dewhurst switch is probably used as an on/off rather than reversing, and the cut-off is basically a micro-switch operated by the frame in the lowest blade position, so as soon as the material is cut through the motor is cut off. This seems to work through the no-volt coil on the on-off switch.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

Peter,

There are some old bits of linkage on the Dewhurst switch where the lever and knob would normally be if fitted on a lathe, these are no longer connected to anything. This suggests it was used as the cut off switch. The mounting is fairly tidy, so maybe it was the original one. The current wiring only has a bolt pressing a domestic light switch as the cutoff, there is no on/off switch and no "no-volt" either - which now you point it out would be desirable (more expense). All the current wiring is going in the bin.

Steve