irenepots Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 My Clay Boss slows down when I'm pressing down to center clay. The motor is 1/2 hp and the wheel is about 18 months old. I checked the belt and it wasn't at the center of the wheel belt pulley, so I adjusted it following the instructions in the manual, and next time I threw it worked better for a few minutes then started slowing again. When I checked it, the belt was off center again. I sent a picture to Speedball and they decided I need a new wheel head/shaft and bearing, which they sent me. Does this repair make sense? Today is Saturday and Speedball is closed, but I'm not sure I want to switch out the wheel heads until I understand why it will make a difference. Is the wheel supposed to maintain speed when you're centering or is the motor too small in this model? Thanks for any help or suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 Is the wheel slowing because the belt is slipping or because the motor is slowing down under the load? Those are two separate issues. if the belt is slipping because it's not full seated on the bearing, then the new bearing should fix the problem. It could also be a belt tension issue. Is there a way to tighten the belt? Most wheels have a spring mechanism where the motor attaches, that can be adjusted to put more or less tension on the belt. But if the motor is bogging down, then it's under-powered. Is it happening only with larger amounts of clay? The horsepower rating doesn't mean much. The 1/4hp Soldner can center as much as a Skutt 1/3hp, which can center as much as a Brent 1hp. The controller and pedal have a lot to do with how the power is put to use, as well as the type of motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irenepots Posted October 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 I don't work with more than 3 lbs of clay, and usually between 1-2. How can you tell if it's the motor is slowing down or the belt slipping? I don't see a spring mechanism but you can adjust the motor back by moving the plate that holds it to the frame. If the belt is uncentered, does that mean it's slipping? What would you suggest trying first? Moving the motor would be easiest, but would it be better to change out the wheel head assembly in case the bearing is off? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irenepots Posted October 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 Hmm, the manual says you can increase the belts tension by rotating the lock nut. And now I remember that I did that when I first adjusted the belt and it didn't hold. Maybe I didn't do it right. I'm going to find the video instructions again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 14, 2017 Report Share Posted October 14, 2017 Often when the belt is slipping you can grab the wheel head and stop it from spinning. Be careful doing, that, though. You don't want to hurt your hands. Do it at somewhat slow speed. Also when it slips during centering it won't necessarily be an even slippage- it'll be a little jerky. If the belt isn't fully seated on the bearing, then there may not be enough friction for the belt to hold, and it'll slip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briana Posted May 24, 2018 Report Share Posted May 24, 2018 On 10/14/2017 at 1:21 PM, irenepots said: My Clay Boss slows down when I'm pressing down to center clay. The motor is 1/2 hp and the wheel is about 18 months old. I checked the belt and it wasn't at the center of the wheel belt pulley, so I adjusted it following the instructions in the manual, and next time I threw it worked better for a few minutes then started slowing again. When I checked it, the belt was off center again. I sent a picture to Speedball and they decided I need a new wheel head/shaft and bearing, which they sent me. Does this repair make sense? Today is Saturday and Speedball is closed, but I'm not sure I want to switch out the wheel heads until I understand why it will make a difference. Is the wheel supposed to maintain speed when you're centering or is the motor too small in this model? Thanks for any help or suggestions. Hello! I’m having this exact issue with my Pacifica GT400. I bought it secondhand and basically just started using it with no issues. Now 7 months in the wheel is slowing down when centering. What was the solution for your issue? My thought is the belts, but I havent done any research yet. Started here with this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted May 24, 2018 Report Share Posted May 24, 2018 see your second post, briana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaVela Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Hi, did you manage to fix the issue? My clay boss does exactly the same and it is not very old was not heavily used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 On 10/14/2017 at 1:08 PM, irenepots said: Hmm, the manual says you can increase the belts tension by rotating the lock nut. And now I remember that I did that when I first adjusted the belt and it didn't hold. Maybe I didn't do it right. I'm going to find the video instructions again @AnnaVela If my memory is correct, the motor is mounted on a pivot plate that is locked in place by a nut above and below the plate. The nut underneath the plate becomes a stop nut and the nut on top is tightened until the plate hits the stop. To tighten the belt more requires loosening the bottom nut and tightening the top nut to the stop pivoting the whole plate a bit more away from the wheel head and adding more tension to your belt. A belt that becomes uncentered is often the result of misalignment and the cure is most often to adjust the wheel head pulley centerline to align with the center of the motor pulley. Speedball may be correct in that as the wheel head bearing wears it will move under heavy load (axially) and become misaligned. With no load it may be hard to see this. If they sent you new parts, I would definitely install and carefully adjust all per factory spec. The motor shaft likely will move slightly and should track the minor movement in the wheel head so it may take a try or two to get these aligned so loaded and unloaded they remain relatively centered in respect to one another. on large machines we often use lasers to try and align drive and driven pulleys as accurate as possible else they wear and slip. Your wheel ought to be able to be done by a critical eye and hand rotation of the wheel head while watching where the leading and trailing edges of the belt enter and exit the pulley grooves. Dont forget, unplug from electric and sorry I could not make this sound simpler, presently my best idea. It gets easy after ya do a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 On 11/26/2019 at 1:29 AM, Bill Kielb said: If my memory is correct, the motor is mounted on a pivot plate that is locked in place by a nut above and below the plate. The nut underneath the plate becomes a stop nut and the nut on top is tightened until the plate hits the stop. To tighten the belt more requires loosening the bottom nut and tightening the top nut to the stop pivoting the whole plate a bit more away from the wheel head and adding more tension to your belt. A belt that becomes uncentered is often the result of misalignment and the cure is most often to adjust the wheel head pulley centerline to align with the center of the motor pulley. Speedball may be correct in that as the wheel head bearing wears it will move under heavy load (axially) and become misaligned. With no load it may be hard to see this. If they sent you new parts, I would definitely install and carefully adjust all per factory spec. The motor shaft likely will move slightly and should track the minor movement in the wheel head so it may take a try or two to get these aligned so loaded and unloaded they remain relatively centered in respect to one another. on large machines we often use lasers to try and align drive and driven pulleys as accurate as possible else they wear and slip. Your wheel ought to be able to be done by a critical eye and hand rotation of the wheel head while watching where the leading and trailing edges of the belt enter and exit the pulley grooves. Dont forget, unplug from electric and sorry I could not make this sound simpler, presently my best idea. It gets easy after ya do a few. bill this is a 2 year old post so she got her parts back in 2017. Anna posted on Monday and I think she is just thinking her problem is the same. Your first paragraph though might do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, Stephen said: bill this is a 2 year old post so she got her parts back in 2017. Anna posted on Monday and I think she is just thinking her problem is the same. Your first paragraph though might do the trick. Oops, thanks Always forget to look. Hopefully Irene fixed hers and @AnnaVela will have success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 3 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said: Oops, thanks Always forget to look. Hopefully Irene fixed hers and @AnnaVela will have success. yeah would suck if my wheel slowed on centering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted November 27, 2019 Report Share Posted November 27, 2019 8 minutes ago, Stephen said: yeah would suck if my wheel slowed on centering. Might be a feature for some folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPots Posted November 30, 2019 Report Share Posted November 30, 2019 Be sure you have the correct pulleys. Laguna shipped a bunch of them in the 1990s with V belt pulleys on the driven side. You'll never get the 4 belts to run correctly on that setup. 2 belts only will give you the exact condition you're describing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irenepots Posted December 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 On 11/25/2019 at 11:13 PM, AnnaVela said: Hi, did you manage to fix the issue? My clay boss does exactly the same and it is not very old was not heavily used. Hi, and no, I didn't. I bought an old Skutt (1974ish) and I've been using that lately because it spins faster and doesn't slow down when I center. Good luck with yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted December 8, 2019 Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 Curious if the Clay Boss controller has an adjustment for maintaining speed (the Skutt controllers do) ...hmm, trim pots appear similar, see pg 13 https://www.speedballart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Boss-Manual-Final-Update-November-2017.pdf Vendor documentation for my wheel's board describes "IR Comp" thus, "The IR COMP setting determines the degree to which motor speed is held constant as the motor load changes." The fifty-six page pdf includes warnings aplenty, be aware/beware! Once slippage is for sure eliminated, perhaps look to the control board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaVela Posted February 16, 2020 Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 On 11/25/2019 at 11:29 PM, Bill Kielb said: @AnnaVela If my memory is correct, the motor is mounted on a pivot plate that is locked in place by a nut above and below the plate. The nut underneath the plate becomes a stop nut and the nut on top is tightened until the plate hits the stop. To tighten the belt more requires loosening the bottom nut and tightening the top nut to the stop pivoting the whole plate a bit more away from the wheel head and adding more tension to your belt. A belt that becomes uncentered is often the result of misalignment and the cure is most often to adjust the wheel head pulley centerline to align with the center of the motor pulley. Speedball may be correct in that as the wheel head bearing wears it will move under heavy load (axially) and become misaligned. With no load it may be hard to see this. If they sent you new parts, I would definitely install and carefully adjust all per factory spec. The motor shaft likely will move slightly and should track the minor movement in the wheel head so it may take a try or two to get these aligned so loaded and unloaded they remain relatively centered in respect to one another. on large machines we often use lasers to try and align drive and driven pulleys as accurate as possible else they wear and slip. Your wheel ought to be able to be done by a critical eye and hand rotation of the wheel head while watching where the leading and trailing edges of the belt enter and exit the pulley grooves. Dont forget, unplug from electric and sorry I could not make this sound simpler, presently my best idea. It gets easy after ya do a few. Bill, I actually appreciate all the details in your reply! Thank you so much for all the information. I ended up getting a new motor, it was the reason of slowing down, the bearings were shot. I also had to get a new pulley, because of the wobble. The speed is great now, I still have to troubleshoot the slight wobble and I think the information you provided could help a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted February 16, 2020 Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 4 hours ago, AnnaVela said: Bill, I actually appreciate all the details in your reply! Thank you so much for all the information. I ended up getting a new motor, it was the reason of slowing down, the bearings were shot. I also had to get a new pulley, because of the wobble. The speed is great now, I still have to troubleshoot the slight wobble and I think the information you provided could help a lot. Thanks! Glad you got it working better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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