Shay cultivator points gap ?

[wristpin]

I’ve just acquired an early 50s Shay cultivator with their own engine. Have cleaned the points and guessed the gap at 20thou but as yet no spark so will need to re-visit and test the coil and condenser so it would be useful to know what the correct gap setting should be.

[andyfrost]

Angus , I believe the gap should be 18thou , having said that my experience with the Shay ignition , is , shall we say not good. They seem to me to be ultra unreliable , and would say your coil is probably duff.
Get back when you’ve had it on the tester.

Andy.

[wristpin]

Thanks, if the weather is anything like today it will be a workshop day tomorrow and I’ll investigate further. At least the flywheel comes off easily and doesn’t need re-timing! Would rather a dud condenser than coil – easier to get around the problem!

[wristpin]

Well, progress of a sort, the condenser is dud. It looks as though a Briggs one will fit and even the terminal is in the right place. Just need to devise a securing bracket but as I’m otherwise occupied for a few days A trial run will have ro wait.

[andyfrost]

Angus , that sounds a really good result , if you’re not that fussy , mount the condenser anywhere on the outside , and train the wire through.

Andy.

[wristpin]

Found time to do a bit more this afternoon and have had it running. Need to make a proper bracket for the Briggs condenser which will also Earth the casing to the stator plate. Any idea wherher it’s safe to solder to the condenser casing or whether the heat will kill it?

[wristpin]

Progress with the Shay. Have now done a permanent installation of a Briggs and Stratton condenser to replace the dud original and the engine runs well.
The outstanding job concerns the tine engagement mechanism which is a swinging jockey pulley controlled by a solid rod from the red knob in the centre of the handle bars that passes down inside the handlebars and fuel tank and emerges just short of the engine and then forward to connect to the swinging arm. Unfortunately the person from whom I obtained the machine had unbolted the handlebars without first disconnecting the rod which, as a result, was badly bent out of shape.So far my attempts to reshape it have not resulted in a free moving jockey arm. As it’s probably not my intention to keep the machine I may leave it for someone else to sort out as I’m more interested in mowers and have just retrieved a Ransomes Antelope from Southampton!

The images show the BS condenser in place and the dud Shay one that it replaces.

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[wristpin]

Bit of a set back but sorted now. The tine rotor shaft had lots of lateral play and a fair bit of up and down movement so off came the side plate to reveal a bit of devastation. At some point the solid pin securing the bronze worm gear to the shaft had worked loose and while sticking out of the gear had clouted the housing and broken out a chunk of the gear boss. The chances of finding a new gear are pretty slim but talking it over with forum member Hillsider he suggested a couple of possible work arounds, one of which was to drill a new pair of pin holes in the gear. This done, we have a serviceable machine for exhibition purposes and perhaps a bit of light tilling.
I’ve secured the gear with a roll pin and a tight fitting solid pin inside it. To make sure that neither pin can drop out I’ve modified a Jubilee clip to go round the Gear boss. There was some wear on the bearing areas of the rotor shaft so as I had a bit of inch diameter bright steel bar it was a fairly simple job to make a new one and two new oilite bushes and seals completed the job.
Don’t suppose anyone has a bronze gear for a Rotogardener ?

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[phil-shayman]

Hi I will have a look in my spares to see if i have one and let you know

[Author]

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