Lubrication of a leslie speaker motor

[Daniel R. Levy]

Hello,

My apologies to Hammond organ users, but I could not find a generic organ
service group.

The church where I play music has an electronic Gulbransen organ of
approximately 1960 vintage, that has a leslie speaker in it (a motor driven
baffle mounted over the loudspeaker for the purpose of producing vibrato
effects). After the organ sat for a few days at chilly room temperatures
around 60 Fahrenheit and high humidity, the leslie motor stuck. The motor
could be heard humming at various intensities as the vibrato control was
moved, but would not turn at all. We eventually jarred it free by blasting
out a chord made up of the lowest two notes of the pedalboard at maximum
volume (producing a beat tone of a few Hz), while moving the vibrato
control. But we're concerned that it might jam again making the vibrato
unavailable during a worship service. (No, we really do not want to
simulate a divine splitting of the earth at that time.)

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how? I am
thinking of using a spritz of canned silicone spray lubricant at the point
where the shaft enters the bearing, after cleaning all dust and gunk from
the vicinity using cotton swabs dampened with naptha. This is what I have
done with electric fans that are balky, mostly with success. Would this be
OK to do on the leslie motor, or what else could be used on it to make sure
it doesn't freeze up again.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

[ian field]

Hello,

My apologies to Hammond organ users, but I could not find a generic organ
service group.

The church where I play music has an electronic Gulbransen organ of
approximately 1960 vintage, that has a leslie speaker in it (a motor
driven
baffle mounted over the loudspeaker for the purpose of producing vibrato
effects). After the organ sat for a few days at chilly room temperatures
around 60 Fahrenheit and high humidity, the leslie motor stuck. The motor
could be heard humming at various intensities as the vibrato control was
moved, but would not turn at all. We eventually jarred it free by
blasting
out a chord made up of the lowest two notes of the pedalboard at maximum
volume (producing a beat tone of a few Hz), while moving the vibrato
control. But we're concerned that it might jam again making the vibrato
unavailable during a worship service. (No, we really do not want to
simulate a divine splitting of the earth at that time.)

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how? I
am
thinking of using a spritz of canned silicone spray lubricant at the point
where the shaft enters the bearing, after cleaning all dust and gunk from
the vicinity using cotton swabs dampened with naptha. This is what I
have
done with electric fans that are balky, mostly with success. Would this
be
OK to do on the leslie motor, or what else could be used on it to make
sure
it doesn't freeze up again.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

Assuming you figure out how - the "with what" I would suggest neat slic-50
engine oil PTFE additive, silicon is not normally recommended as a
lubricant, except for rubber assemblies.

 

[DaveM]

Hello,

My apologies to Hammond organ users, but I could not find a generic organ
service group.

The church where I play music has an electronic Gulbransen organ of
approximately 1960 vintage, that has a leslie speaker in it (a motor driven
baffle mounted over the loudspeaker for the purpose of producing vibrato
effects). After the organ sat for a few days at chilly room temperatures
around 60 Fahrenheit and high humidity, the leslie motor stuck. The motor
could be heard humming at various intensities as the vibrato control was
moved, but would not turn at all. We eventually jarred it free by blasting
out a chord made up of the lowest two notes of the pedalboard at maximum
volume (producing a beat tone of a few Hz), while moving the vibrato
control. But we're concerned that it might jam again making the vibrato
unavailable during a worship service. (No, we really do not want to
simulate a divine splitting of the earth at that time.)

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how? I am
thinking of using a spritz of canned silicone spray lubricant at the point
where the shaft enters the bearing, after cleaning all dust and gunk from
the vicinity using cotton swabs dampened with naptha. This is what I have
done with electric fans that are balky, mostly with success. Would this be
OK to do on the leslie motor, or what else could be used on it to make sure
it doesn't freeze up again.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

I don't think silicone makes a good lube, at least, not for motor bearings.
Assuming that the motor in question is of somewhat standard construction
(sintered bronze, oilite or ball bearings). The simplest and usually the best
remedy for these types of motors is a couple drops of light machine oil
(3-in-one).
I've found that if the bearings are oilite or sintered bronze, the motor shaft
may have old oil residue that has dried and is gumming up the works. In that
case, the best (and usually permanent) fix is to disassemble the motor, soak the
bearings in solvent (naptha is good) for a couple days and dry them out in
direct hot sunlight or in a warm electric oven, clean all the gummy residue from
the shaft, re-oil the bearings, and reassemble the motor.

If you're looking for a fast, emergency type fix, a few drops of machine oil
will likely get you through a few services, but you might find that it binds up
again. In that case, go for the permanent fix as described.

Cheers!!!

--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how?

Check for rust on the motor shaft. I suspect it may have porous bronze
bearings. There is a special oil for these - check with a local company
which distributes lubricants and hydraulic fluids.


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| | / _` | '_ ` _ \ | __ |/ _ \| '_ ` _ \ / _ \ '__|
_| |_ | (_| | | | | | | | | | | (_) | | | | | | __/ |
|_____| \__,_|_| |_| |_| |_| |_|\___/|_| |_| |_|\___|_|
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/ _ \| _| | _ < / _ \| '__/ _` |
| (_) | | | |_) | (_) | | | (_| |_
\___/|_| |____/ \___/|_| \__, (_)
__/ |
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....

....

 

[James Sweet]

Hello,

My apologies to Hammond organ users, but I could not find a generic organ
service group.

The church where I play music has an electronic Gulbransen organ of
approximately 1960 vintage, that has a leslie speaker in it (a motor driven
baffle mounted over the loudspeaker for the purpose of producing vibrato
effects). After the organ sat for a few days at chilly room temperatures
around 60 Fahrenheit and high humidity, the leslie motor stuck. The motor
could be heard humming at various intensities as the vibrato control was
moved, but would not turn at all. We eventually jarred it free by blasting
out a chord made up of the lowest two notes of the pedalboard at maximum
volume (producing a beat tone of a few Hz), while moving the vibrato
control. But we're concerned that it might jam again making the vibrato
unavailable during a worship service. (No, we really do not want to
simulate a divine splitting of the earth at that time.)

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how? I am
thinking of using a spritz of canned silicone spray lubricant at the point
where the shaft enters the bearing, after cleaning all dust and gunk from
the vicinity using cotton swabs dampened with naptha. This is what I have
done with electric fans that are balky, mostly with success. Would this be
OK to do on the leslie motor, or what else could be used on it to make sure
it doesn't freeze up again.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

The motors usually have oil ports at the bearings, or they may be oil
soaked brass bushings. I'd just drop a little sewing machine oil or 3 in
1 on the bearings and run the motor for a few minutes.

 

[Hp]

May I suggest that you check with some of the well known Hammond dealers and
service techs. I recommend Goff Professional out of Connecticut. They
have a very impressive list of clients and I have also bought some parts off
them including Hammond Oil. They will tell you exactly what to do and may
even have a service manual that you can buy.
www.goffprof.com These guys are very highly respected in the Hammond
organ world. Howard Page,Seabrook,NH

 

[Bob Urz]

Hello,

My apologies to Hammond organ users, but I could not find a generic organ
service group.

The church where I play music has an electronic Gulbransen organ of
approximately 1960 vintage, that has a leslie speaker in it (a motor driven
baffle mounted over the loudspeaker for the purpose of producing vibrato
effects). After the organ sat for a few days at chilly room temperatures
around 60 Fahrenheit and high humidity, the leslie motor stuck. The motor
could be heard humming at various intensities as the vibrato control was
moved, but would not turn at all. We eventually jarred it free by blasting
out a chord made up of the lowest two notes of the pedalboard at maximum
volume (producing a beat tone of a few Hz), while moving the vibrato
control. But we're concerned that it might jam again making the vibrato
unavailable during a worship service. (No, we really do not want to
simulate a divine splitting of the earth at that time.)

Is it possible to lubricate these motors, and if so with what and how? I am
thinking of using a spritz of canned silicone spray lubricant at the point
where the shaft enters the bearing, after cleaning all dust and gunk from
the vicinity using cotton swabs dampened with naptha. This is what I have
done with electric fans that are balky, mostly with success. Would this be
OK to do on the leslie motor, or what else could be used on it to make sure
it doesn't freeze up again.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

I had a B3 once do the same thing. Tone wheel organ with a AC motor
on the tone wheels. Those motors don't have much starting torque and a
little friction will make them a no start. I had one come off a truck
once in the winter where it was literally "froze up". I had to put a
lamp shining on the motor assy to warm it up. Then a dose of light
machine oil in the oil port.

Bob

 

[jakdedert]

May I suggest that you check with some of the well known Hammond dealers and
service techs. I recommend Goff Professional out of Connecticut. They
have a very impressive list of clients and I have also bought some parts off
them including Hammond Oil. They will tell you exactly what to do and may
even have a service manual that you can buy.
www.goffprof.com These guys are very highly respected in the Hammond
organ world. Howard Page,Seabrook,NH

I second this, with the caveat that there is probably a wealth of
information on the web. By all means, check the available resources.
There's undoubtedly a right and wrong way to do this. Leslies have been
around for a long time....

jak

 

[Matti Adolfsen]

I second this, with the caveat that there is probably a wealth of
information on the web. By all means, check the available resources.
There's undoubtedly a right and wrong way to do this. Leslies have been
around for a long time....

check http://www.hamtech.org. most Hammond and Leslie service manuals
are available on-line there.

Leslie service manuals can be found at http://www.captain-foldback.com/

Leslie > download manuals

Wrong lubricant, too much in wrong place and you're in trouble. Leslies
have been used professionally from 1940's, many of the old ones are
still in use.

When servicin a leslie with stuck motors, fastest method is to
disassemble the whole motor stack, clean the old oil, saturate the felts
with new Hammond oil (no WD-40..) and replace the O-rings (if the
surface is too hard / flat). The bearings must be aligned after
assembly, and the slow motor position must be adjusted (see service manual).

parts are available from:
http://www.caesound.com
http://www.goffprof.com
http://www.tonewheel.com

Hope this helps