I just purchased a new Pac Bay Aluminum chuck assembly after basically wearing out the old black plastic/metal one. After receiving the new chuck yesterday, I noticed that it is set up for a base that has the motor/frame assembly to the left. Unfortunately, the way my bench is set up, I needed the motor/frame on the right end of the base. (It has to do with the type of bench that I have and the leg room available underneath it.)

I proceeded to remove the chuck assembly by removing the screw in the center, with the hopes of removing and reversing the pulley/shaft 180 deg so that it now aligns the way I want it. The issue is that I did not figure out how the shaft/pulley slides out of the frame/bearing carrier. I didn't want to reef on it too hard in fear of deforming the shaft or frame. Does anyone know how the pulley/shaft comes apart? (You would have to do this if you ever needed to replace the bearings.) It looks like everything is a press fit. Do you think that Pac Bay would do this for me?

Thanks for any help,
Brian

Brian,

I take that the chuck came off of the shaft all right?

If so, and as long as you do not see any other fasteners in place, it is quite likely that the shaft and bearings are simply pressed in place.

If so, you can heat the assembly, which will cause the aluminum to expand more than the steel bearings and let the parts pop apart.

If in doubt, just take the assembly to a machine shop and they can press out the shaft and put the shaft back in from the opposite direction to allow you to put the chuck on the other side of the chuck support.

I take it that your motor is running in the correct direction so that the wrapper will work correctly along with the thread carriage to allow you to use the chuck from the right side of the power wrapper.

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Generally speaking, if a person is right handed, the person normally likes to have the power head of the wrapper on the left side of the person wrapping and on the left end of the wrapper base.

Conversely, if the person is left handed, the person normally likes to have the power head of the wrapper on the right side of the power wrapper base.

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I use a DC motor powered power head on my power wrapper and I have a motor reversing switch which allow me to reverse the motor direction with the flip of the switch.

In my case, I have my thread behind the rod and I have the thread coming over the top of the blank and the wrapped thread and blank rotate in a counter clockwise direction when viewed from the drive end of the rod blank.

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Since I have the thread located behind the rod blank when wrapping and I wish to have the incoming thread coming over the top of the blank and having the new thread coming toward me from the top down.
So, If I have the power head on the left side of myself sitting in the middle of the rod, I want the rod blank to rotate clockwise when looking at the end of the blank butt end from the motors point of view.

However, if I were to move the motor to the right side of my wrapping position, I still have the thread behind the rod and want the new wrapped thread coming over the top of the blank and rolling down the face o f the rod toward me as the wrapper. Butn, now in this case with the motor and chuck on my right, I then want the motor and chuck to be rotating in a counter clockwise direction.

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Good luck

p.s.

If you do find that your shaft and bearings are pressed in place, you can simplify the assembly process by using your oven and your freezer.
i.e. take the outside or housing parts of your power head and put them in the oven and heat them to 200 degrees F.
But, put the bearings and shaft in the freezer. The oven will heat the outer parts and cause them to expand. The freezer will cool the inner parts and contract the parts. Thus, have everythig ready to go. then, take the outer part ouf of the oven and then quickly remove the inner parts out of the freezer and quickly put them together. Even on tight fitting parts, the normal expansion of hot parts and the contraction of cold parts normally make assembly quick and easy to do with no tools or presses.

Thanks for the very helpful tips. Yes, the chuck came right off the shaft with no problem.

I've had the bench setup for over 15 years and I always wrapped with the motor on the right. It runs counter clockwise if you are looking at it from the rod's perspective. (Ditto on the thread feeding over the top of the rod.) I've gotten used to this and I wanted to keep the same configuration with the new chuck. I wish I knew for sure that the spacer/retainer on the chuck side of the frame was pressed in and that the shaft IS NOT two piece and threaded. Before I commence to heating /cooling the parts, I think I'll wait until Monday and call Batson/Pac Bay. (Unless of course I get lucky and someone who's done it posts a reply.)

I don't really need the chuck for a week or so since I'm working on a Tenkara rod right now (no guides). So it's a good time to be patient and do it right.

Thanks again and I'll post the results.

b

Just wanted to let anyone reading this that I was able to reverse the pulley and chuck. I had a machinist do the work and it turned out great. He fabricated a jig and used a puller to remove the pulley. Am happy as clam with the new wrapping chuck.