archy

[archy]

Hello Every One Out There. This Is New To Me So Hopefully I'm Doing It Right. I Am Getting Ready To Install My 3rd Shaft Within About 125 Hours On My Machine. I Am Using The Recommended Lube With Moly. The 2nd One Really Got Fried. Can Anyone Give Me Some Insight As To What I May Be Doing Wrong. I Soak The Internal Shaft For As Much As 3 Days Before Using It. The Only Thing I Did Not Do Was To Completely Dry The Shaft Before Inserting In Sheath. Would That Have Made That Much Of A Difference? But I Have Always Noticed That The Shaft Runs Pretty Hot. 155 Degrees Plus. Even The Original Shaft Ran Hot And The Metal Support Loop Melted Through The Outer Plastic Sheath. Please Help.

[AskBud]

Hello Every One Out There. This Is New To Me So Hopefully I'm Doing It Right. I Am Getting Ready To Install My 3rd Shaft Within About 125 Hours On My Machine. I Am Using The Recommended Lube With Moly. The 2nd One Really Got Fried. Can Anyone Give Me Some Insight As To What I May Be Doing Wrong. I Soak The Internal Shaft For As Much As 3 Days Before Using It. The Only Thing I Did Not Do Was To Completely Dry The Shaft Before Inserting In Sheath. Would That Have Made That Much Of A Difference? But I Have Always Noticed That The Shaft Runs Pretty Hot. 155 Degrees Plus. Even The Original Shaft Ran Hot And The Metal Support Loop Melted Through The Outer Plastic Sheath. Please Help.
I would contact LHR ASAP.
Unless you are doing very deep and very long carves the Flex Shaft should not heat up that much. The only time I had a real "Heat problem" was the time I had a bad Truck. It was tighter than normal and caused too much resistance for the Flex Shaft. My unit came via Sear's and the replaced both the Truck and the Flex Shaft at no charge even though CW states the the Flex Shaft is not covered.
AskBud

[cnsranch]

Could the inner spring in the shaft be broken or kinked?

I never had luck with the chain lube - went to CraneCams, and have had no problems since.

[DocWheeler]

I agree with Jerry's comments. Is the inner spring missing?
Since switching to Moly Graph (Harbor Freight) the shaft stays cool.
I also bend the tip of the supporting wire down a little to make it cradle the flex shaft rather than putting all of the pressure in one small area.

[archy]

Thanks For The Quick Reply Guys. I Do Have The Spring Inside But I Also Noticed That The Spring Seems To Wear A Flat Spot On The Inside Surface Of The Spring. Where It Comes Into Contact With The Shaft. As Far As The Lube, I Have Soaked The Shaft For As Long As 2 To 4 Days Before Installing It Back In Casing. Maybe I Will Try The Cranecam Lube Or The Moly Graph On The 3rd Shaft Which I Have Not Yet Installed. My Machine Has Been Sitting Idle For Some Time. I Was Discouraged To Use It Thinking I Would Just Burn Another Shaft. Bummer!! I Would Like To Make A Little Extra $$ On The Side. Has Any One Had Much Luck With That Idea? But First I Have To Be Able To Depend On The Machine. Thanks Guys For All Your Help!! FORGOT TO ADD THE SPRING DID BREAK IN THE CENTER ON THE SECOND SHAFT.

[mtylerfl]

Hello Archy,

I've lubed the flexshafts on my machines with Chain Lube with Moly, once in over two years. They never even get noticeably warm.

No need for long soaking either. I get a little tickled at all the creative ways folks come up with for "a soaking" - vacuum bagging was my favorite - totally unnecessary, of course.

Just lay out some newspaper, spray the lube on the flexshaft core 'til it puddles, rotate it in the puddle two or three times over the course of about 20 or 30 minutes. Wipe it off and let it drip dry for an hour (I use a spring clamp to hang the core from a hook on the ceiling. The MAIN thing is that you do not want ANY excess left that will drip into the spindle - like was mentioned before - it will ruin the spindle bearings and you'll probably have to replace the Z-truck.