Speedball Artista intermittent start up and chugging noise

[LlamaSanglug]

Hi everyone,

Trying my luck here… I just bought a Speedball Artista off of a friend, it’s brand new in the box and was gifted to her about 7 years ago. 
 

I got everything set up and when I turned it on it began what I can only describe as chugging. I turned it off thinking extra packaging may have been stuck under the wheel head. I tried turning it back on and it didn’t move. I put my ear to the wheel and can’t hear anything. I turned it off again and back on and gave the wheel a little nudge, once nudging it, it began to chug again (videos linked below)
 

I tried numerous outlets around my home and tried angling the wheel and turning it on/off. I also opened up the case and looked at the belt and wiring, I saw no signs of corrosion, fraying, or rust, everything looked fine. There was still quite a bit of lubricant from the manufacturer. I wasn’t able to figure out how to take the wheel head off and didn’t want to mess around with it too much without having an idea of what could be causing it. 
 

I plan on reaching out to their customer service but wanted to see if I could find out anything beforehand. Has anyone ever had a similar problem or know what might be causing this? 

video when I first turned it on: https://imgur.com/a/xZb8k4x

video of it not starting up and being nudged: https://imgur.com/a/jcO0W7H

[neilestrick]

 I've never seen that before. My gut says it's probably a bad potentiometer (speed control).

[Hulk]

Hi Llama,

Welcome to the Forum!

I'm curious if the Artista has a brushed motor, and if so, are the commutator and brushes clean and in good condition?

...I like Neil's idea better tho'.

[Bill Kielb]

I’m am with @Hulk there is a strong possibility (especially new in the box) the commutator has oxidized over time and with no use this layer is thick. With power off you can spin it by hand both directions say ten or twenty revolutions. This will actually spin  the motor many more revolutions which could help clean off some of the oxidation. Then, power on, 1/2 speed, get the wheel started and see if it will run up to high speed just for a handful of seconds. If it runs smoothly on its own at high speed and does not struggle then letting it spin for a few minutes may get the commutator cleaned off sufficiently and regular use will prevent this from occurring. If the commutator has to be hand cleaned, then something a motor tech is probably better suited for as the Artista parts list does not appear to have removable brushes listed.