One good (and tiny) turn...

[Edisone]

... can make a huge difference. I noticed that my new Triumph's governor had zero 'play', so thinking that it should, I moved one bearing maybe 1/32" ... It took so much friction away that I had to turn the speed control more than a full revolution to bring it back down to 160! Good thing, yes? Well... flutter became totally unbearable. I tightened the bearing until the 'play' was barely perceptible. Motor slowed down again, but the flutter is gone.

Not sure why a freely-spinning governor would generate flutter, but it was awful. The turn of one little screw made it disappear.

[barnettrp21122]

I had a similar experience when replacing the governor springs and weights on a Fireside. With the speed control set as much as possible, the speed was barely down to 160, and the flutter was much worse than before. Loosening the set screw on the fixed governor collar,I positioned the weight/spring assembly slightly on the governor shaft to improve the speed adjustment range of the friction pads on the governor disc. Suddenly, no more flutter, and this was with the usual small amount of side play in the bearings.
I've tried what you've done on another machine awhile ago, figuring the bearings themselves could provide some "hold-back" and reduce flutter, and things worked okay for a very short time. I believe that the problem with this approach is that the tightness of the bearings will wear them out quickly. From what I can see any real wear should be confined to the friction pads while the governor's spinning, and that isn't much!
Good luck with your project!
Bob

[Edisone]

The flutter returned, in short order. Looking at it up close, I saw that the bearings had been moved to the point of allowing one of the governor ends to press against the motor frame. I centered the governor & held each bearing in place while tightening the set screws - otherwise, the screws actually moved the bearings in the wrong direction. Once centered & not touching anything, the governor sped up again - but this time without flutter!

When I turned the speed down, a new mystery arose: running around 160 or slower, there was a LOT of motor noise! Ack. Watching the motor run, turning speed up & down, jiggling the governor, etc etc - there didn't seem to be any logic to it. I was about to give up for the night, but as I slowly turned the Stop lever, I noticed that the motor slowed but did not get noisy. Hmm. I turned the speed knob up & down, this time just happening to look nearly from below... and there was the problem. The dopey little pointer on the speed knob was pressed against the motorboard at the lower speeds, and transferring noise from below! It just needed to be moved up, away from contact with the base. Tonight's dumb mystery solved. .. Now I can play "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" by the Venetian Instrumental Quartet until the cows come home - or until I drive everybody crazy. hehe