OK, this is a "Pinnacle Universal Mill" that I recently acquired, I'm guessing it is about 20 years old, BTW if anyone knows where I can get a set of manuals much appreciated.
Spindle is powered from a Jinshin 4 pole 1 hp 240 vac single phase motor, with 5 speed belt drive using a A29 vee belt.
At the lowest speed, 200 rpm, it is silent, but as you ramp up the cogs / spindle speed it develops a pronounced speed related rattle.
1/ I tried the motor spindle by hand, no slack and no bearing "cogging" detectable, and spins up as smooth as silk with the belt detached, possible by eye a little eccentricity in the pulleys, haven't put a gauge on them, belt tension / speed changing is a neat system where the motor is on an eccentric cam, a la ducati swingarm.2/ belt itself, an A29, is definitely worn, I'm wondering if it may have roller chain like stretched sections symptoms.
3/ Spindle head bearing is fairly accessible, and upon removal of carrier cap (which you need to pull to change the belt) it is again smooth with no play or cogging.4/ spindle lower bearings are more or less inaccessible for the casual service, but can again feel no evidence of slop or cogging.
5/ rattle is related to spindle, and therefore belt speed, and belt tension, but not related to spindle torque to any noticeable extent, as guessed from cutter feeds and speeds / rate of material removal.I know some instances of single phase motors can themselves give rise to "cogging" as the poles cut through the fields, but to the best of my knowledge this is usually eliminated as soon as you put some torque on the cutter and start making chips, not the case here.
I reckon the belt needs replacing anyway, but wondering if anyone had any relevant experiences or input about the observed phenomenon.
Toying with the idea (as the eventual aim is to CNC the machine) of fitting an inverter / speed control / 3 phase motor, but that is some way off.
TIA