Thread: Gilbro Super Smoother - What speed ?

If you read through this thread there are a couple of members who own these and you could contact them through a PM if needed.
If you get to the last reply in the thread it says that the cutter head rotates at 5000RPM.
Some photos in this and this thread that might also be of assistance. It appears that Chesand hasn't been able to sell his so that may be a good help to you.
Post #3 in this thread may be of use down the track.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

It appears that Chesand hasn't been able to sell his so that may be a good help to you.
Post #3 in this thread may be of use down the track.

Sorry, I sold mine a while ago so I am no help now.

MalB had one but I am not sure if he still does - he might be able to help

Treecycle - Thanks for the helpful reply.
It seems these machines are run at quite a range of speeds.
The one advertised some time back by Chesand operates at a modest 2800-2900 rpm (from the photos posted).

Originally Posted by Treecycle

If you read through this thread there are a couple of members who own these and you could contact them through a PM if needed.
If you get to the last reply in the thread it says that the cutter head rotates at 5000RPM.
Some photos in this and this thread that might also be of assistance. It appears that Chesand hasn't been able to sell his so that may be a good help to you.
Post #3 in this thread may be of use down the track.

Based on the pics in this thread, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable taper in the belt from drive to driven pulley, indicating approximately 1:1 cutter RPM to motor RPM, and motor RPM is 2880

"Antique" Gilbro Super Smoother

Still have it, and moved from one storage situation to another last year so I can get to it now to measure and read data plates. My memory wasn't too bad since I hadn't seen it for 4 years when I suggested the speed previously.

Motor RPM 2850 (3/4HP GMF Cadet double ended, one end drives jointer, the other the saw)
Motor pulley 3.5 inches A section
Super smoother pulley diameter 2 inches A section

So 2850 x 3.5/2 = 4987.5 RPM nominal, will vary with load as the motor speed will also. Measurements and observations from a factory stock Gilbro combo saw and buzzer unit purchased second hand in 2010 from someone I had known for 25 yrs who purchased it new.

I haven't needed to dismantle the jointer to establish spindle size as original bearings are still OK but was aware that the spindle and head were separate units because of the grub screws in the head to lock it onto the spindle. So I have no knowledge of how much or little metal there is between the blade slots and the bore for the spindle. Incidentally there was a super smoother on a factory stand with original motor etc and a big brother 6inch Gilbro jointer (bare bones, no stand or motor) listed on Facebook Marketplace (Melbourne) Friday and Saturday.

Hope this helps

Thanks for replies and very useful information.
My unit had poor bearings so I had to completely strip it to replace them.
To date I've run it at ~3200 rpm and all was smooth.
Next steps are to build a stand and set up the drive.
Cheers.