I am having an issue with my Flex Coat variable speed gear motor. I sent an email to Flex Coat but have not received a response yet, so hoping maybe someone here may be able to help. Here is the issue: when I put the butt in the self centering chuck and simple lay the rod on the supports…no downward pressure to hold the blank in place, the clutch seems to be kicking in and the rod will slow down to a crawl or completely stop turning. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s on low or high speed. If I put any sort of pressure on the blank it will completely stop turning. The motor keeps running normally, but the clutch stops. Any idea if there is an adjustment somewhere that I need to fiddle with?
Thanks,
Dave

David, is it possible that your self centering chuck is their slip clutch version? If so, the clutch may be set too loosely. Below is a video on Flex Coat's website that talks about their self centering slip clutch. At the 4;30 point of the video Mr Cates goes over how to adjust the tension on the slip clutch. The whole video has some cool little tips.

[flexcoat.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2021 07:47AM by David Baylor.

Thank you David! I am pretty sure that will fix my issue.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2021 08:08AM by David Luttig.

David,
Mr. Baylor is probably correct in that you may have a “slip clutch”. They are much more versatile than simply being able to stop the rotation of the blank while applying finish to guide wraps; they can also be used while thread wrapping to afford rotational tension to avoid the blank from reversing = a huge plus! However, one thing is very important while adjusting the slip clutch = DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE SET SCREW CLOSEST TO THE “BELL”!!! All that set screw does is maintain the tension after adjusted and the threads can be easily stripped.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Got everything working as it should. Thanks for the advise!
Dave

The typical slip clutch for the simple chucks that use a membrane stretched around a circular cap is very simple and very effective.

Essentially - starting at the motor, there is a coupling made of brass or similar material.
The coupling has one end drilled to fit the size of the driving motor output shaft.
The other end of the coupling is drilled and tapped to a convenient diameter say - 1/4 by 20 tpi.

In the side of the coupling are two threaded holes. One hole aligns with the center of the motor shaft and is used to secure the coupling onto the motor.
The 2nd hole lines up with the coupling screw that secures the chuck to the coupling. The flat face of the coupling and the flat back face of the chuck are both smooth and even and supply a nice clutch face. The chuck mounting screw is made tight or less tight as needed to adjust the slip tension on the chuck with respect to the flat face of the coupling. When adjusted, the 2nd side threaded hole which has set screw in the hole is then made tight to insure that the clutch tension does not change.