Help with shaving machine

[FellowCollector]

I have a crank shaving machine here and I’ll be dipped if I can figure out why it bogs down when I try to shave a brown wax blank cylinder.

I installed new supple leather belting for all of the pulleys, made sure pulleys are aligned perfectly, made sure that each belt is reasonably snug, made sure each pulley shaft has correct clearance and lubrication and rotates freely.

The shaving blade is original, looks great and appears to be oriented in the correct position.

I lock the blade in place on the cylinder surface as normal and unless there is only a tiny bit of swarf removed the mandrel slows to a crawl and stops. What the heck? I should be able to see more than swarf powder being removed.

I thought maybe the belts might be slipping but they’re fairly snug. Shall I try some pine tar on the leather?


Ideas appreciated. Thanks.


Doug

[recordmaker]

Hope this is not an odd question but which way are you turning it.
Most ( not all ) of the shavers run the blade arm from right to left that also tends to push the blank on to the mandrel rather than off. also the shavings drop down from the back of the blade
The hand worked machine can be turned in the wrong way in which case it wont cut/ shave just clog up.
This is the reverse of playing a record or shaving a blank on a phonograph.

if this is not the case then it is possible that the blade is upside down causing the same problem.

[FellowCollector]

Thanks for your comments, recordmaker. My early crank shaving machine shaves from left to right which I believe is correct.

I realize that the later electric shaving machines that I've seen (one of which I own) and the very late hand cranked Ediphone shaving machines shave right to left but I believe my early hand Edison cranked shaving machine is shaving in the direction designed from the factory (left to right). I can reverse the feed screw rotation by making a figure 8 on the belt that connects the mandrel pulley and ithe feed screw pulley but unless I'm mistaken the early crank model Edison shaving machines should be shaving in the same direction that I have it.

Here are a couple of videos from other people with similar shaving machines and theirs also shave left to right:

https://youtu.be/MZmUbVZEvvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY5ngNJEOVY

I'll try your thoughtful suggestion of rotating the shaving blade 180 degrees and see if that helps.

Thanks again!
Doug

[JerryVan]

I like your thought of using some belt dressing. I'm also left wonder about the condition of your shaving blade. Is it truly sharp? Can you examine it with a jeweler's loupe? Are the mandrel end bearings adjusted so as not to give any drag?

[FellowCollector]

Thanks for your comments, Jerry. The mandrel end bearings are good and the mandrel rotates very freely. This morning I tried removing the main (crank pulley) leather drive belt, cut it and shortened it by about a half inch. Then I re-spliced it and re-installed it. My thought was that the drive belt was slipping and maybe a little loose. Still bogs down… I believe the blade is good but I’ll have a look under magnification as you suggested. I never dreamed these shavers could be so finicky. I’m guessing if the blade is dull or otherwise not usable then I’m up a creek without a paddle.

Thanks again,
Doug

[JerryVan]

I’m guessing if the blade is dull or otherwise not usable then I’m up a creek without a paddle.

Thanks again,
Doug

What is the blade made of? Diamond? Sapphire? Steel?

I would imagine that any of the above could be sharpened, if need be, with an appropriate abrasive and by the right expert.

Just had another thought... I have to ask, since I have never used or owned one these, does the blade sit completely horizontal and parallel to the mandrel axis, or is it turned at a slight angle to the mandrel centerline? If it's the former, it may be trying to cut too wide a swath in the cylinder and therefore dragging things down. If it's the latter, it would narrow the cutting path and also introduce a "slicing" component to the cut, both of which should reduce the cutting load. Not sure if such adjustments are possible with this shaver, as this is all theory on my part.

[FellowCollector]

The shaving blade is translucent so I’m presuming it’s some sort of mineral like sapphire which apparently can be found colorless.

I’ve tried several positions for the blade and your suggestion makes a good deal of sense. I’m guessing that the shaving blade itself is the culprit. When I get a chance I’ll look at it with a jewelers loupe. My much later electric Edison shaving machine shaves cylinders nicely with a whole lot less energy than this hand cranked one so I will likely just stick with using that one. I just thought it would be fun (for a while) to try shaving with this earlier one.

Thanks.
Doug

[FellowCollector]

The shaving blade is translucent so I’m presuming it’s a mineral of some sort like sapphire which can be found colorless.

I’ve tried several positions for the blade and your suggestion makes a good deal of sense. I’ve not had a chance to examine the blade under magnification but I’m guessing it is the culprit. My much later electric Edison shaving machine shaves nicely and with a lot less effort. I’ll probably stick with using that. I just thought it would be fun (for a little while) to try this hand cranked one.

Thanks.
Doug