/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I would order the new feet for the tilt head mixers that they have been using since the early 2000s to keep it from walking.
I used to have a bunch but I have given mine away. (I used to manage quality at the place here in Wisconsin that molded them). Whirlpool has since shipped the molding to China so I can't get any more free.

>>1463539
Just a few thoughts to get the thread started.

Do not pay more than 60$ for a lifting head model and do not pay more than 70$ for a lifting bowl model.

Do not be foolish like I was with my first one and make sure to buy a mixer that has all of the attachments included.

Ebay is usually a bad place to source these.

There isn't as big a difference between the Hobart and the whirlpool models as people online would lead you to believe. In particular anyone who talks about plastic gears is misinformed. The gearbox has a nylon sacrificial gear designed to fail where the engine would strip. On the Hobarts this gear was grey, on the KA's it is yellow. It's nylon on both of course but people forget that Hobart designed that failsafe. Different mixers use other failsafe system (thermal overload protection) which have advantages and disadvantages. I think the sacrificial gear is a good idea since you can replace a 10$ gear instead of a much more expensive motor

>>1463544
I was thinking of two solutions to the issue of worn rubber feet. The first is the Bosch Idea of using suction cups on the bottom of the machine. I think the problem with this is that the weight of the machine means you usually drag it out. The second is carving my own from some hardwood I have laying around. You can see if that first pic I carved a Juniper cap rather than buy a new accessory cap.

Another trick I've discovered with the feet is that it's one of the better ways to tell if the machine was used a lot. Worn feet = lots of movement = probably a more used machine. The other way I try to guess usage is by looking at how much grease has leaked around the metal trim which is liable to happen when they're run for a longer period of time (eg breadmaking)

This is the lower gearbox of the one I'm working on now. You can see that the grease is totally solid. I'm going to remove and replace it keeping an eye out for any metal shavings that would indicate wear or damage to the gears

>>1463544
So was your factory a kitchenaid one or just one that made generic rubber fittings? What are the advantages of the new feet over the old ones?

No need to go crazy trying to get out every last bit of grease. We just want to clear out enough to check that the gears are in good shape. The gear in the upper left is that designated failure nylon worm gear. This is a whirpool KSM90 but it still uses a grey color on that gear which is interesting.

Repacking the grease in the upper gearbox. This is about halfway done but now I have to get may hands dirty so no photo

One of the more annoying parts of the build is getting the planetary gear back on the shaft. You want to tap it down with a hammer and a block. A vise is a good way to hold the KA upside down. Ignore the imgur album guy who complained about the pins lining up since you can just turn the mixer on to rotate them in place

Important addendum though. Make sure your gear teeth do line up. If you mess up your planetary gear it's a 25$ part and it's very annoying to replace. Picture to follow

Here you can see the planetary ready to be tapped into place. At this point you'd be covered in grease so use some of it to lube the shaft up.

My apologies for dual posts. Mobile posting is not working out great

After you get your planetary roughly in place you want to use a small nail to align the hole in the shaft where the pin will go.

Finally you want to tap I your pin with a punch or a sheared off nail. One of the advantages of reassembling before painting is if you mess up and scratch the metal it doesn't really matter. The pin is larger in the middle but still symmetrical so tap in either side. Going to call it quits for tonight but tomorrow I'll return to paint it and possibly to retime the speed control system

Got this for 20$ on Craigslist a few years back with the whisk, beater, dough hook and a bowl.. the metal plate in the middle broke where the planetary shaft goes through... spent more on the 1 quart container of grease than I did on the plate... generic white was literally half the price of the silver one.. have enough weird plant based grease left to last me an eternity....

>>1463625
wow that's a great price. I just paid 60 for a professional. They're really easy to paint if you're keen on matching them up.

>>1463539
not a kitchenaid, but old. These units last forever. But I do need to find a new timer knob.

>>1464004
Any idea how parts availability is for those mixers? I see you could buy them for around 30 online. I wonder if it'd be easier to just cannibalize a working one.

>>1463613
What are you painting them with?

>>1463539
what kind of grease do you use? I have a stand mixer that probably needs to have the grease repleaced since its made a lot of pizza dough about 4 years ago.

>>1464121
I work for Hobart. I can tell you the exact lube you need if you post the model number

>>1464084
The red and blue ones in the photos I've posted so far have been rustoleum universal gloss dark cherry and gloss deep turquoise. Primed the blue, didn't prime the red, and didn't see a difference. Both have a glossy topcoat. This one I tried out duplicolor automotive because its easier to get pearlescent and glossy colors in the shades I want. finished it up earlier today, will post the pics when I have free time. Worked out okay, a bit thinners, chipped much easier, one run, less paint in the can, much glossier.

>>1464121
pizza dough can burn out the motors pretty quick. What model do you have? Lots of different options for grease with no real consensus online. I used https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041S1OUM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 this for my first one but then I gave that away as a wedding gift before I really got to test it out. Superlube synthetic NLG2 is an option as well. https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-41160-Synthetic-Translucent/dp/B07FK5FR4Q/ref=sr_1_56?ie=UTF8&qid=1536962851&sr=8-56&keywords=food+safe+grease . Kitchenaid allegedly uses Shell Darina #2 which is cheap as well. For the one I'm doing now I really don't plan on ever using it (probably will gift it or sell on ebay) so I just put some automotive bearing grease in. It's not foodsafe but it's not toxic and the mixer's got a drip ring for a reason. Finally, I've read Tri-Flow TF22021 Grease is a good option. If you have an older or non professional kitchenaid (any non Hobart branded lifting bowl models) then go with a more heavy duty grease. The new lifting bowls have a thermal overload protection system so their grease doesn't have to pull double duty as a big heatsink

>>1464135
Have you ever worked on a Hobart N50 or other commercial mixer?

>>1464129
Woah thats awesome. Actually when I finish these mixers I have a Hobart 4812 out in the garage I want to restore. It works fine and we've used it every deer season since my dad got it in the 80's. But I figure I'll take the rust off and put in new grease.

One question I have is can you talk about the commercial cement mixers you guys make and how those mixers differ from your N50's and small industrial ones? Roughly how many of those cement ones do you sell a year and do you have any advice on sourcing a cheap one?

Finally, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the whirlpool mixers. How exactly do they differ from the old Hobarts? I've heard the gears are stamped not milled now? And maybe the engine is worse

>>1464138
No I have not and I should be totally upfront that I'm an amateur learning as I go along here. I've 'restored' three Kitchenaids which has involved regreasing, gear replacement, governor replacement, put a new rear bearing in on the engine in one, retimed another, and the painting. Outside of that just a lot of reading service manuals and watching tutorials. I'd love to do some work on an N50 but I'm intimidated by the shimming which I understand is hard to get right. That's one of the reasons I'm wary of opening up my 4812 grinder

>>1464129
Oh and one more question. What are your thoughts on the European style rotating bowl mixers. The Ankarsrum and the Bosch. Either for commercial use or for recreational bread bakers. Really excited a Hobart employee saw this thread

>>1464141
4812 is pretty simple, no adjustments or spacing. Bearings are doing the positioning. But when they go bad, your worm gear rides the back of the unit and you get metal shavings in your meat. Pull the square drive forward and back, test for heavy play. If it's really bad, you'll need to replace bearings and seals.
I just rebuilt the 4812s big brother, the 4732. I love the simplicity but years of commercial use by morons can kill anything.

>>1464144
Good to know. Haven't seen any metal shavings and no audible noise of metal on metal. My dad got this off the back of a truck for $300 to hear him tell it. No idea what it's previous life was. Years in a garage have completely rusted the front and side panels. I tried steel wool on them a while back but gave up after half an hour. I'll try electrolysis this time around.

>>1464143
The baker's mixers are cool but they do nothing better than a bigger static lifting bowl mixer besides save some money during manufacturing. Keep in mind I'm talking about large batch units, 100qt or so. Not sure if they sell smaller ones but baker's swear by them, so they must do something better

>>1464139
1 - I've not heard of any specifically designed mixers in recent years. The old big mixers could mix anything that you throw at it so I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was used for that.
2 - whirlpool took over the residential mixers right? I'm not too familiar with that stuff because we no longer service those OR the Hobart made ones. The smallest mixer we service is the N50 and I've never even worked on one. I've seen them get replaced, worked on it at Hobart training, but not in the field.

>>1464146
Yeah I'm totally ignorant on large commercial production loads. I know that some industrial 100qt+ machines are diving arm models. I understand back in the 20s those were really popular for recreational bakers as well. Some guy on the fresh loaf restored one (the one armed bandit it was called?) and it was a really cool machine. Some manufacturer in Italy still makes them.

RE planetary vs rotating base mixers my understanding based on reading around the fresh loaf is that most people like the rotating base ones because the engines aren't shit not because of any inherent mixing advantage. The Bosch and ankarsum are 500-800 range and they target more of a prosumer market in the spirit of the Hobart K5 line more than the kitchenaid professional line. So amateur bakers burn out their KA Artisan motor then decide a kitchenaid can't bake bread (which is a fair point) and they switch to the european ones and sing their praises. To my mind it makes more sense to get a beat up N50 in the 500-700 range but I like the planetary mixers

>>1464151
Yeah so they used to be use by cement labs to mix up new batches. https://www.humboldtmfg.com/astm-compliant-mixer-5-qt-473l.html . They're called ASTM compliant mixers. I would love to get my hands on one of these bad boys. It's really not that much more than an N50 and I'd be curious what the difference between the two is.

Yeah so in 86 Hobart sold the kitchenaid brand name to whirlpool. The smallest mixer Hobart makes now is the N50. Whirlpool is 99% residential but they do have a 'professional line' which is really prosumer at best. I think they have a 7 quart as their biggest model. Allegedly the quality went way down in the early 2000s but looking at the same model hobart and whirlpool mixers side by side I can't see any difference. I suspect that they maybe cheaped out on the engine but it could just be a case of the average consumer going 'oh made in china must be shit'

>>1464160
Those must be custom rebuilt, or sometimes we make unique products for certain customers like chick fil a or whatever. I'll check our database and post here if I find anything. Also we haven't manufactured an N50 in a while, I'm curious as to how long they've had those.

>>1464166
cool thanks so much man. I'd be curious to hear anything you find out. Sorry if I misspoke I don't own an N50. The other mixers I own and have posted (K45ss, K45ss, K5ss, Ksm90, Professional 550) are all brought used. The 4812 my dad got sometime in the 80s. Interesting to hear that you guys aren't making N50's anymore. I see I can still buy them from the site so at least they're still in stock.

>>1464060
So far the only thing I have bought for it was a new mixing blade. Did some basic maintenance by tearing it down and removing caked in four and stuff. Runs cooler now. All the gears looked in great shape, no serious wear or play. Even the brushes looked new.

>>1464184
Where are you out of? I get free mixers left and right that no one wants because they need restoring. I've scrapped like 20-30 of them this year.

>>1464291
Geez that's crazy. I wish I had sources like yours. I pretty much scour goodwill and yardsales and call 50$ a mixer a good deal. I'm in central NY moving down to D.C. next month. If you have any N50's or other industrial stuff I'd love to try my hand at them. If you're going to scrap them happy to pay postage and throw some beer money in

>>1463561
We were just a molding shop and the feet was one of whirlpool's projects. Real feet. If you go to target and look at the displays, they have the the feet.
The original tilt head feet were little black and about a half inch or so in diameter. Like a little black cap. When the mixer really got moving, the mixer would walk.
The new feet are roughly an inch and 3/4 diameter and thicker. They fit on the same posts as the original feet. But the have enough thickness and surface area to hold the mixer in place.


I worked for a larger molder in the area and we made the knobs and other parts for whirlpool products. (same plant made the shells for Dewalt tools and Philips Sonicare toothbrushes)

So apologies in advance for the mobile quality photos. You can see here the speed control plate of the mixer. If you were going to retime the mixer you'd adjust the two screws at the top to control how fast the mixer spins from speeds 1-6, and the lower screw to control how fast the mixer is from speeds 7-10. The service manual gives you a measurement in distance of how far the screws should be out from the posts for the proper speed. You then further check it by counting the rpms of the planetary at various speeds. You can see that I've removed the power cord here which is just to make my life easier while painting

To avoid getting paint inside the motor or speed control area you can mask off the dust outlets from the inside

Masking is pretty standard. One helpful tip is for small things like screws use a dab of hot glue instead of tape. You can use a plastic lid where the bowl rest is.

First coat came out brry light and patchy which is fine because I will be using the whole can. Not a fan of the duplicolor spray compared to the rustoleum universal. This color is dark blue pearl from the Toyota family.

This is around 4 coats later. I used the entire can. I had one small run which you can see as a splotch above the bowl rest. The discoloration on the bottom is not permanent, it felt like a blush and it came off when I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. I felt like there was less paint then when I used the rustoleum cans. I struggled to spray the lower body and planetary of the mixer because nthe can didn't respond well to tilting.

I waited 24 hours before applying a glossy duplicolor topcoat. I was very happy with the top coat and felt it did a good job covering up my painting errors and also making the color pop

>>1463633
Not to worried about it matching, literally just used it to knead pizza dough for 20 minutes, fucking love it...


I have been briefly tempted to get a flame powder coat or lightning bolts on it... but it’s purely vanity.

>>1464060
Kitchenaid is owned by whirlpool and they use the same distributors for mixer parts as for appliances.. the 1st source servall I go to actually stocks the mixer attatchments, but their prices are terrible compared to discounted ones from box stores...

and after around 48 hours I've put all the trim back on. To be perfectly frank this is the least favorite of the ones I've painted. I made several masking errors, notably around the drip ring and on the branding strip. Although I like the duplicolor I will be using rustoleum for future builds. Better price, more paint per can, easier to spray. I might stick with duplicolor topcoat however because that worked very well. Because this is a chinese made KSM model I'm not too fussed at the mediocre results. I'll probably give this away as a gift to friends or maybe put it on craigslist.

>>1465869
As a note, the drip ring is just tension fit and if you don't mask it off it scrapes off paint on the way back on. I have a fun idea to try to saltwater etch one of bands which would be a nice way to personalize your mixer. I can tap drip ring a little bit higher to hide that strip of white more but again it's not a model I'm too concerned about.

A second point since I didn't show it is that I checked the brushes and they were fine with little wear. That's another indicator of how well used a mixer is.

Finally, wow the white trim is made even more ugly by my blue color choice. I much prefer the silver chrome trim you see in models like the first K45SS I posted >>1463539

Girlfriend has one of these
If it were to break what in your opinion would be the first place(s) to check for issues?

>>1466061
Is it broken or are you worried it's going to break? If it won't run at all or will run but the head won't spin you've probably broken the worm gear. easy fix, the gear's designed to break. If it sounds louder than normal or is clunking figure out if the noise is the front or the back of the machine. Front is a gear issue rear is a motor bearing or governor issue. If she has lots of grease leaking out the sides (brown goop above and below the metal trim) repack it with grease and tell her to not run it for so long in a row. If you smell burnt plastic it's possible the motor is burnt out. All of these fixes are around 15$ except for the motor which is 60. Burnouts are pretty rare for non bread makers though. Feel free to post photos here if you have any questions.

>>1466148
Sorry I should have clarified, it's working fine but I was windering what the most common issues you find in the broken ones are
You pretty much answered me though regardless thank you

And look what showed up at my door today. I paid around 70$ for this which is high for a kitchenaid but in line with the prices for their professional and or lifting bowl models. This is my first lifting bowl and I'm not sure if I'm love with it. It's definitely more powerful than the tilting head 4.5 quart models I've been using. Last night I used it to break up mushrooms (put in whole no slicing), separate onions (put in sliced into slabs) and mix cream wine mustard chicken breast and some other seasoning together for a pie.

As for the machine itself you can see in the photo it has some grease leaking out of the side which indicates separation but not necessarily over use. Gears sound fine but I'll take a look when I repack them. I believe this model has thermal overload protection so not worried about a burnt out motor.


>>1466170
Yeah happy to help. I'd say your two most common issues are grease leaking and separation and worm gear failure. If you want to do a little preventative maintenance repacking the grease is a good idea. You should aim to do it at least once a decade but my 88 year old grandmother's 4c is still going strong so they can stand up to lots of abuse.

If you're looking for a fun kitchenaid gift idea you have people who paint designs or sell decals. I really liked hand carving the accessory cap from a tree I took down on the property of the couple I gave it too. Also hopefully in the next few days I'll update the thread with a howto on saltwater etching which I've never seen anyone do but seems like a really fun simple idea.

Family Photo!

I'll purchase paint today and get started on this machine when I have some freetime

>>1463539
Kek. Nice work anon

>>1466521
Hate grease. It's like anti-seize. If you look at it you are fucking covered...

Maybe try a good bead of silicone when you put them back together? Temps in houses stay pretty near the same year round. Should last a long time

and today I got one more addition to the stable. This is a Hobart made K5SS. It's in very rough shape with a terrible grinding noise in the gearbox above speed two. I expect to have to replace the worm gear and possibly the planetary to get this guy working. When I have some time I think I'll do a side by side teardown between the K5 and professional 550.

>>1463576
with hi temp disc brake bearing grease?

>>1468121
Yeah I discuss grease a bit more here. >>1464135 Basically it's what I had I had on hand so I used it. It has a similar base viscosity to the grease KA uses (shell darina 2), they're both nlg2, non toxic, non carcinogenic etc. I checked the mds sheet to make sure before I used it but honestly I care very little about this mixer. I'll flip it on craigslist or save it for the wedding of a hated daughter. Between the drip ring and the grease gasket it's pretty rare for a drop to end up in what you're mixing anyway. I just greased up that K55SS that came in this morning. I used Super Lube 41160 which was really nice to work with.

As a general updated I've got some pictures to resize from taking apart the two 5 quart lifting bowl mixers. The professional model was in perfect shape and didn't even need new grease. The Hobart grease was completely solid on the inside but the gear teeth were in good shape. I'm getting a terrible howling on certain speed transitions which I'm pretty certain is a faulty governor. I've got to run a few tests to check but once I do I'll order it and start to paint while it ships.

>>1463539
I was thinking of doing this, i just picked this one up for $4 and it runs well, all it really needs is either a cleaning or new coat of paint.

>>1468392
K45SS for 4$ is a steal. Great find. I'd suggest putting in new grease even if it runs okay. It's a bit of a messy process but you want to check the gear teeth anyway and you'll be better able to run the motor at high load. This was the gearbox on my K45SS that ran fine as well. It had a peanut butter consistency. Another test to do on it is check that the motor is timed correctly. Turn it to speed one and count the rpms. So you want 15 rotations in 15 seconds. Just keep your finger there and let the head tap it while you look at a clock. Then turn it to speed six and you want 15 touches in 5 seconds (or 45 in 15 seconds). As a neat aside kitchenaid has a little graph you can print off and put in the accessory drive and when the graph stands still it will be at the right speed

>>1468449
this is a guide from the service manual on how to adjust the timing.

>>1468449
I dont know nothin' about greasin' no gears

what do you use?

>>1468714
https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-Synthetic-Canister-Translucent/dp/B07FK5FR4Q is what I recomend. Use at least 2/3rds of the can.

Also used this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041S1OUM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 but it was messier to apply.

See here for further discussion >>1464135

>>1463539
This is a cool thread op.
Do the replacement parts come from kitchen aid, independent manufacturers, or donor machines?

>>1463539
By random coincidence my airbrush bro found a mixer. I will tell him to keep a look out. Some old folks may not like all of the colors ut he could lay any base color of car pai t to match any kitchen easy as shit. Thanks for the thread opee

Just want to give a brief update on my progress. I had some work stuff that threw me back for a while so I haven't done much with the 5 quarts. I'm having the following issue. My Hobart K5 is howling like a cat in heat. the gearbox is (amazingly) in great condition and after regreasing it I've isolated it to one of two possible causes. Either I've got a bad ball thrust bearing, or I've got a bad governor. I can do a few simple tests on the governor that should be able to tell me if that's the issue. The first is going to be turning it to max speed, holding the speed plate out all the way, then shutting it off and seeing if it retracts smoothly. After that I'll try putting a bit of lube on the governor stud. Finally I have one other thing I'm considering. I could swap out my professional 500 governor to the hobart and see how it sounds. I'm hoping to avoid that because I'll have to redo the wiring which is only a minute or so but it's just a hassle.

Also I did do my side by side mixer teardown and they are literally the exact same machine. I was mistaken in my expectation that the Kitchenaid would have a thermal control system. It turns out that starts at the 5.5 quart models. I have the smallest model that is still a lifting bowl. The kitchenaid one was in such great shape I didn't even put new grease in. Just took it apart, check it, and put it back together. I've got the sheen sanded off and I just need to mask and paint. The hobart on the other hand was beat to shit.

>>1469648
thanks glad you enjoyed it. I've been lucky in that I haven't needed many parts. I brought first party attachment heads from amazon for around 15 each. I think my carbon fiber brushes were third party. The grease is all third party and not what the manufacturer uses. I'm not lucky enough to have access to donor machines. To be honest at 60$ a Kitchenaid I'm probably overpaying. I still think it's a good deal though so I'm not too fussed about it.

>>1469987
that came out great!

I don't have a great photo that captures it but the Hobart was absolutely beat to shit. Covered in flour and rust. Another shot of it is here. >>1467302. These are all really bad signs when you're restoring a mixer. You want them to look like someone asked for it on their wedding day and then never used it again. So I was pretty worried when I had to open it up

>>1470213
Hope this comes out okay. Just doing quick resizes and edits in paint.net.

So this picture tells me a worrying story. We've got the back cap of the mixer clearly dented. This is a solid hunk of metal you don't just dent these by slamming them against the cabinet. Now I always take off the power cords because it just makes your life a little bit easier. So what do I see when I open the back up? Someone half assed the cord protection. Now it's possible that this was an early model k5 that didn't have a grounded cord (three prong plug) and the previous owner had put in one. But the metal screw for the grounding plug was in the case which to my knowledge means that it was late enough in manufacturing the cases had the modern plugs. Furthermore when I looked at the ground plug the wire had clearly (and poorly) been soldered. So can you piece together the mystery? The mixer had fallen off of the counter, ripping the plug protection out and also the grounding cable from the ring screw. The mixer lands on its back endcap leaving the big dent in the mixer. Again these are all really worrying signs. If someone was mechanically inclined enough to fix the cord but the mixer ended up in a thrift store it makes you wonder if there was some problem that was too big for them to tackle

>>1470220
so the planetary assembly, which is to say the part of the mixer that rotates and takes the beater attachments, is held in place by a pin. The kitchenaid service manual recommends using a 1mm punch. I don't have a 1mm punch. Perhaps this is foolish since I have 5 kitchenaids but whatever. So whenever I need to get this pin out I take a nail, shear the tip on a bench grinder, then hammer it out. It's always worked great for me. Well this Hobart was so siezed it took me almost an hour. Pic attached is some but not all of the nails that gave up before the pin did. I did two seperate 1hr long pb blaster soaks, wd 40, brake cleaner, and I even took a blowtorch to it for a while. Some may recall a thread I posted about restoring a wilton vise and getting those pins out. This was much worse. Anyone who thinks rust is bad or complains about getting leaf spring bushings out should be glad they don't have to deal with petrified flour

>>1470228
eventually I reattached the powercord so I could rotate the planetary so the pin was 180 degrees up, added more bubble wrap to my kitchenaid holder (A vise), and then I just pounded on it for 5 minutes. In this photo amazingly the pin is still resisting because it has a slightly larger diameter in the middle than at the edges. I actually had to tap this nail out (the head had started to mushroom) with the pin in the opposite direction I needed it to go. But eventually it came out. One of the imgur links in the op experienced a similar problem. He

here are the gears after a soak in some paint thinner. See here>>1468449 to see the state the grease was in. I put it all back together till it looked like this>>1468737 and then when I ran it it still sounded like shit which is how I reached the conclusion it's a governor / ball thrust issue. Not sure if I'll do any more work tonight but just wanted to keep you guys appraised of new developments

Not really on topic, but here's a d300 I repacked. Also the drive gear was shot, replaced it and had to clean the shards out of the case.

One last photo, KA professional on left, Hobart on right. These are carbon fiber brushes which if you don't know is how electricity is conducted to to somethings that is rotating. The more a machine is used the more the brushes on it will wear down. Brush size is one of the easiest ways to assess how used a mixer was.

>>1470234
That's pretty cool. When you're cleaning the shards out do you use a solvent to dissolve all the old grease as well? Feel free to post any interesting Hobart or baking gear restoration. Seems on topic to me.

Also assuming you're the hobart rep I was chatting with earlier. I figured out what the deal is with ASTM cement mixers. It's literally just an N50 that they added a heavy duty bowl lifting bracket on to minimize vibration. You guys even sell the bracket and you can make your own ASTM compliant mixer from the N50. Pretty impressive it's such a strong mixer you can literally use it for cement.
https://www.certifiedmtp.com/astm-compliant-bench-top-lab-mixer-5-qt/
https://www.humboldtmfg.com/bowl-positioning-adapter.html

>>1470210
>lucky in that I haven't needed many parts. I brought first party attachment heads from amazon
The donor machines would probably just have to be one you bought yourself that were cosmetically fucked but mechanically sound and then you just rob it if it's good parts, like a parts car.
I've heard of gears getting worn out but that's mostly the new shitty plastic ones on the 4.5qt models. I also imagine that gaskets need replaced.

>>1470248
Actually the idea the news ones have plastic gears is a common misconception. Every kitchenaid below 5.5 quarts has a nylon worm gear. It's a designated failsafe so if you get a fork in your mixer you have to replace one 12$ gear instead of your motor or your planetary or your entire box. This design started with Hobart and carried through to whirlpool. If you google old kitchenaid service manuals they talk about the failsafe nylon gear. You can see in this post>>1470232 the worm gear assembly is center top and that's nylon. I don't know how exactly this misconception came about but it's pretty widely circulated online. One suspicion I have is that the replacement nylon gears you can buy online are yellow and the ones in the machine are grey. Not sure what the reasoning on this is but trust me as someone who was taken apart 4 Hobart machines they all have a nylon worm gear. I'm not saying quality didn't get worse under whirlpool but I have not been able to see it in the mixers I've worked on. I suspect they swapped the engine (haven't pulled it out to check) and I've read on baking forums the gears are stamped not milled now. Also evidently in the early 2000s they did something that made them lighter and people didn't like it.

Yeah a donor would make sense if i were replacing a housing or motor since those are both over 50. All the other parts are usually under 15. I consider a good price on a mixer to be under 60 with shipping and at least on the site I use even the 'broken' ones go for 50. Everyone knows a broken one is usually a 12$ worm gear or a new tub of grease and it's fixed.

As for the gaskets you're right I should buy new ones but desu I'm kinda cheap so I've taken to adding a layer of electrical tape on top of the old ones and reusing it. Maybe this means I'll have some more grease to clean off the sides. I'm not too worried about it. You can see it in this photo >>1468737

attached is the nylon worm gear on the first k45ss I worked on

Will replacing the nylon gear with a metal one kill my mixer in the future?

>>1472281
that's an interesting question. First off I'm not sure where you could source a metal worm gear. I know the professional models use them but they also have a different gearbox design and I don't think it's compatible. Hypothetically though if you had a metal worm gear your mixer would function normally. However if you were mixing lots of a really thick dough or if you hit a chunk of something frozen at a high speed instead of the damage being contained to the worm gear it would be spread out across the gearbox. When the worm gear fails the entire gearbox stops rotating. If you have a metal worm gear and say, the planetary fails first then the machine would keep trying to spin causing more and more damage to the gears. The worst case scenario would be stripping the shaft that goes to the engine since you'd have to replace the whole unit (~75).

The advantages of a metal worm gear are that you can push the machine with really thick doughs that might break the nylon gear but probably won't break your machine. It would also be handy for the meat grinder and other attachments which tend to cause serious wear on your gears. You have to be careful pushing the machine with sub 5.5 quart models because they don't have any thermal protection and you'll burn out the motor if you mix for more than 10-20 minutes (depending on dough thickness). If you are a serious bread baker or someone who wants to work with lots of tough doughs (bagel, pizza, etc) then you're probably better off with a machine like the Ankarsrum mixer or the Bosch Universal.

>>1472281
Nylon gears are meant to go bad if the load is too heavy, main gears jam, etc. It's basically a final safety for the motor

>>1470306
Yea I can see that being a safety thing. There are some old lathes that are designed to shatter their drive retain instead of a student's hand. Problem is now there are no replacements left.

I've never heard of using the electric tape. Not sure how I'd feel about that one lol.

I'd consider a nylon worm gear to fall under the category of "plastic gears".

Lurked in this thread since it started, it's been really interesting. Thanks for posting it all, anon.

>>1469987
>random coincidence my airbrush bro found a mixer
should tell him to find a job and stop wasting yours and everyone elses time with these shit threads

>>1470306
Porter-Cable did something similar with their 'locomotive' belt sanders. The entire drivetrain was hardened steel except for one brass gear. It interfaced with the worm gear and would chew itself up on it if you stalled the machine. Or if some tard ran the thing without oil in the gearbox. They started making the sander in the 1940s and continued on making it until the early 2000s. Right up until then you could get a factory made replacement gear for about $25. Stanley Black & Decker bought them and stopped making all of their high-end equipment within a few years of buying the brand. Now a replacement gear costs $80 on eBay because the only supplies are NOS or a machinist making them from scratch.

>>1473071
Oh my. This belongs in a tool porn thread.

Hey OP, I used my Kitchenaid to mix pizza dough a few times, and now the bowl doesn't lock into its threads anymore. What's the best fix for this? Is it simplest to just buy a new bowl, assuming that the threads themselves are fine?

Alright I've hit a bit of a wall and maybe someone in the thread has some advice. I want to etch a basic design, probably just my initials onto the drip ring, which is a curved surface of about an inch in height. What I've been trying to do is freehand a design by carving it out of a waterproof barrier material (read: nail polish). I'm not happy with the results. Now what you typically do for acid etching is have a stencil made up. It seems wasteful for me to pay for a single custom stencil to be printed and I'm not even sure where I'd order it from. Anyone have any advice on buying stencils and or making / printing your own? I have a regular printer and I'm able to mock up an svg file to send to a company.

As to the mixers the Professional 550 is painted and I'm going to post the pictures in a few hours when I get the hardware back on.

The K5ss that had been giving me problems is still giving me problems. I've taken off the entire back and ordered a replacement rear bracket (includes bearing) and a replacement governor. I'll make a separate post about that.

>>1472601
sorry if I was unclear I didn't mean to pedantic about nylon vs plastic rather my point was that all kitchen aids have the plastic gear including the Hobarts. I agree the electrical tape is pretty ghetto but I'm curious to see how it works.

>>1473071
that's a beautiful machine. I've got a rockwell delta planer out in the garage. Great tools.

>>1473095
I suspect you probably just messed up the mounting plate which is a fairly common thing that happens. You want to buy this part. https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-W10191926-Screw-Cap-Kit/dp/B015RDTMQ2/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1538353393&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=kitchenaid+bowl+holder+plate . Did not price shop but if you have prime amazon is probably cheapest. It's pretty rare to mess up the bowl but if the threads on the bottom look bad post a photo here.

And thanks for all the stealth bumps and interest in the thread!

I'm going to share a series of photos about how I made the Juniper accessory cap. It's fairly basic stuff. For my wood I chose a Juniper which I had taken down recently on a job. I loved the texture and color of the wood. Juniper is also in the Cedar family so it has this great scent. Now the piece I choose was a little bit too big for my table saw so I clamped it in a vise and sawed it flat with a chainsaw.

I used the chainsaw to thin it out to the point where it would fit into my scroll saw. this piece is much thicker than the final product will be. Once it was in the scroll saw I knocked off the bark and pieces I wasn't interested in.

>>1473633
Here's the piece I chose and cut out with the scroll saw. I believe this is presenting and post staining. Because I wanted to the odor of the wood to carry through I would go on to stain this piece with linseed oil. I didn't want to leave it unstained because the accessory cap is exposed to a lot of moisture and foodstuffs that splatter up from the bowl below. Cleaning decades of grime off of old mixers has really driven this point home for me

I then glued the cap to a length of dowel which fit flush with the accessory tube. I just had this dowel laying around and it happened to fit. The mixer has a screw on the side which holds the dowel in place so if it's not an exact fit it's not a big deal.

Unfortunately I don't have a great photo of the finished cap because this mixer became a last minute wedding gift. Here's a mobile shot of it that captures the post stain colors. I was happy with how it came out and think it's a fun way to make your mixer unique. If I could do it again I would use a roundover bit on the edges so it had a smoother transition to the case

>>1463539

Pretty cool OP, but ti doesn't seem like that much money for the work you put in?

You make about $100 on the mixer if you can sell it?

>>1473659
Yeah it's something I do for fun not to sell. I think my original post was a bit disingenuous in that regard. I plan on using the ones I've brought for gifts. It's a bit of a gamble buying a used mixer but if you're just going to replace the grease then it's around an hour of work. If you want to resell it 100$ an hour is pretty good. Of course you have to source a mixer at a decent price, then deal with selling it as well so it's not a get rich quick scheme.

I usually use this d-i-y attachment for kneading bread, but you can really do a lot more with it. I'll upload more pics soon

>>1466527
good thread OP. Also be careful I think there are specific years where they used shitty plastic gears. Maybe early 2000s? avoid those.

Make sure your brushes are aligned, thought i broke mine somehow.

Thanks for this thread OP. I have a kitchen aid mixer I got for 30 dollars that doesn't work and I have been inspired to fix it up.

>>1473914
Check this >>1473766
I can see how someone could have misaligned their brushes and thought they broke it.

>>1473627
Plastic v nylon

I wasnt caught up over it. Let me know if ghetto gaskets work, asking for a friend.

And here's the 550 with the paint and hardware on! This was rustuoleum Universal aged brass and rustoleum Laquer top coat. I'm very happy with how this came out and you can see the improvement in my painting skills from earlier ones. A few things that I did differently this time really helped. First I masked each screw by removing it, taping it down to its threads, then screwing it in with the tape that way. I also waited 48 hours before hardware attachment. It looks more brass less brown in person. I think I'll give this one to my grandmother who still uses an old 4C model from the 50s

>>1473766
Yeah I made this same mistake. You can check where the chamfered edge go if you look in the hole with a flashlight. I've also made the mistake of putting in the brushes with it plugged in so that was a big of a shock.

>>1473914
that's awesome man please post some pictures of it. Happy to give you advice and guidance if you run into any issues on the way

>>1474241
Another shot that tries to capture the color a bit better. See here for before photos>>1470210
>>1466521

And word of my kitchenaid fixing prowess has gotten around the neighborhood. A deer hunting buddy of mine brought this machine over for me to try to fix. The engine and grinder he evidently found in a dump. The front mixer attachment he rigged on there from another machine. The rear square that goes into the bevel hub and drives the worm gear (a no 10 for a kitchenaid) didn't fit so he ground it into place. This has caused an issue where he's got a lot of play because he's worn out the attachment area on the bevel gear. But the bigger issue is he just has too much space between his worm gear and his grinding pipe. So my job is to figure out what the hell this mixer is and try to order an official part. The thing weighs at least 80 pounds. I can't make out a model number but I can see that it's a 1/3rd hp engine, 110 Volts, and has the a logo like name Enterprise next to the switch. If I flip it over the base has the numbers K646 on it. Anyone have any idea what this machine is? Enterprise K646 Grinder hasn't been turning up in the search results. The Enterprise company started making grinders in the 1850s if my earlier googling on my phone was correct.

>>1474243
I'll go down there and try to get a photo with mf on my lens but here's a quick phone shot of the info on the front

>>1474244
and a shot of the front. If anyone's seen anything like this please let me know.

Other good news is that my rear bearing bracket and replacement governor for my K55ss have arrived so I'll hopefully be able to put that back together and start painting by tomorrow

So this is a tad worrying. Here you can see my new rear bracket compared to the old one that was on the K5SS. I guess on the original the bearing was totally encapsulated in there. Even in the old service manuals they mention the felt bearing that you can see on the new one so I'm really not sure what's going on. If this new bearing bracket and or governor fixes the problem I'll tear apart the old one and see what the deal is with it. Very curious what's on the inside.

I suppose it's possible that I just ordered the wrong rear bracket for the machine. I checked compatibility on ereplacementparts but that was the extent of it. If the machine still sounds bad I have one other option I can do. The professional 550 is the same machine but made by Hobart so if I take the back off, take the speed control plate, take the governor off, then I can take out it's rear bearing bracket (which I know works) and try it in the K5SS.

Also to the anon's who've said they plan to restore kitchenaids. Use ereplacement parts for the diagrams and easy finding of part numbers but Seneca trading usually has the better prices.

Also I need to put some oil on the felt bracket. Going with a liquid silicone 3 in one all temp oil that I have laying around. As always I'll keep you guys updated on results

Quick update mainly to bump up the thread. The K5SS rear bearing bracket fit and when the mixer turned on the howling was gone. Unfortunately it only ran on high speeds and some quick testing made me realized I'd shorted the phase control system. So that parts on the way. In the mean time I've painted on a base of primer. I did this with the intention of filling in some deep gouges left by previous owner. I'll sand most of it away to get an even surface, which I think is called fairing. Also hammered out the dent in the rear cap. This one will be the mixer I keep so I don't mind all the effort it's taken.

Also had an interesting thought re plastic gears discussion. On the 5.5 quart + housing whirlpool added thermal controls and they changed the gearbox to fit inside this plastic casing inside the machine. I think that transmission housing has been known to crack. Maybe that's how the rumor got started?

Anyone know what size roll pin punch i need for the pin?

The little shit is caked in with 40 years worth of grime and flour.

>>1474246
Are you really making jenkum on your workbench

>>1475784
Yeah it's a real bitch. I think it's a 1mm punch. I just used sheared nails when I take them off. PB blaster, WD40, propane torch all help. Make sure you have the mixer rotated so you can hammer down on the pin. If your punch slides and starts to bend the metal around it or your pin mushrooms it can ber really hard to keep it lined up. In that case either switch sides or drill out the end just a little bit so your nail doesn't slide off each hit. >1470228
that one took me an hour to get off.

>>1475788
Nah that was a Mr. Beer kit I tried out. I ran out of corks so I capped some bottles with balloons. It was alright not great.

>>1474243
also update on this. After lots of searching I've found the following post online which seems to indicate this machine was made in the 1930s. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5911043232833520/?lp=true>>1474243 . I'm trying to find old enterprise catalogs online to confirm a date. I suspect spare parts are out of the question but I guess we'll see

>>1475784
This fucker just is not coming out.

I think someone has tried to get into here before, because this was not my doing.

>>1476064
try hammering from the other side if you haven't already. Might need to plug mixer back in to rotate it. Then if it won't come out just drill it out and order a new one and or make your own.

>>1476074
Theres nothing really wrong with it, i just wanted to check and see if there was anything that needed maintaining and throw in some fresh goop.

Since i got it for less than a $5 bill even if theres a critical malfunction in the future it'll still be cheaper to fix than to buy a new one.

>>1476078
yeah makes sense. If you are able to get the pin out it is worth it, especially if it's a hobart. The grease cakes solid after a few decades and the machine runs a lot worse. Put it vertical in a vise, let pb or wd soak in it overnight then give it a few whacks in the morning and it'll probably slide out.

http://www.bernardi-impastatrici.it/products/products-missbaker/?lang=en Here's a neat mixer concept that I'd love to try out one day. It's a double diving arm mixer designed for home use. These machines are great for heavy doughs and serious bread bakers. Priced around a Hobart N50 and I doubt they ship to the US but what a cool concept. It's interesting that planetary mixers have come to dominate the home market when the prosumer market has such a variety of designs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQLLo8h7STQ

http://bernardimixers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Catalogo-Miss-Baker-ING-2018-web.pdf

Here are two of my old mixers.

>>1477531

>>1477532

>>1477513
A planetary mixer like a kitchenaid is a multitool, that mixer would excel in a pizzeria but would be useless at making a cake or whipping egg whites.

>>1477535

>>1477531
If i had that i'd sand it smooth and repaint it with this and turn it into my dedicated pizza dough machine.

>>1477531
those are really cool! My grandmother has a K4B that she got for a wedding present 50 years ago and still use at least twice a month. She has a sunbeam mixmaster which she uses for lighter loads and then she'll do everything else in the kitchenaid. It's interesting that those models don't have the wattage on them. If you don't mind I'd be really curious to see how worn your brushes are. Just unscrew the black screws on the side to check.

>>1477539
RE the pizza machine idea I'd say go for it but it might be worth it to put in new grease first. Pizza dough is tough on mixers and if you have old caked grease and you run the machine too long you could burn out the motor. If you don't want to be bothered my advice would be to do 10 minutes on 2 minutes cooldown.

As for the paint I've found rustoleum universal / painters touch with a glossy topcoat give me a durable finish. If you like the appliance epoxy paint color selection you can use it but don't limit yourself to only that. Also they're tough to search online but if you want pearlescent metallic colors duplicor paint is the way to go. Any local autozone or napa autoparts or even hardware store should have it.

>>1477536
Yeah of course. The machine would only be for bread. But there are still other mixer designs that aren't planetary but are just as versatile. Europe's prosumer market is almost entirely rotating bowl mixers. The two big ones are the Electrolux / Ankarsrum and the Bosch Universal Kitchen machine. These guys can do everything a planetary can but they're also much much better at making bread or working with any thick or heavy or tough to mix dough. I lived in Europe for a year and my friend had an Electrolux. Really cool machine and he'd use for things like sponge cake or whipped cream. It's a bit unintuitive at first but I was impressed

>>1477705
I haven't had the opportunity to use the Bosch but I did see it in a home in Germany. One thing I like about this machine is that it has suction cups instead of feet so it doesn't slide around. If you read reviews on bread baking forums everyone loves these machines. The Bosch is evidently annoying to clean but people rave about how powerful the engines are. Even the professional 7 quart model all steel transmission KA's can't handle bagel doughs. The Hobart N50 and the various Hobart commercial planetary mixers have a different style transmission then the KA's that make them better for bread kneading. They provide the same amount of power no matter what speed the mixer is set to. This is important when you need to mix a heavy dough slowly (ie most of breadbaking). On a KA you only get full engine power at speed 10.

And of course the other design would be something like mixmasters. Obviously these machines are less powerful than a planetary but they can slide the bowl to the side to add ingredients and they weigh less and it's easier to scrape the sides of the bowl down with them.

Owning 5 kichenaids I've staked my flag in the planetary mixers camp. But I do think that all of the various designs have merit and that it's interesting that 99% of the US market seems to be planetaries. Maybe I made this argument earlier in the thread but I think buying a kitchenaid is sort of a cultural ritual that we go through. Everyone has a grandma or a mom who used ones and has domestic fantasies as they get married and also they get a wishlist where their friends buy them things to fulfill those fantasies. So it combines that lots of people end up owning kitchenaids. Reading forums online it seems most people only switch to rotating bowl mixers after they've burned out one or two kitchenaids first.

>>1477700
regular spray paint might look nice but it probably wouldn't last more than a couple years without chipping.

I haven't tried it yet but if my mixer ever needs repairing i might take the opportunity to try duplicolors engine enamel, they come in a lot of colors and i'd imagine a paint meant for a cars engine would be pretty durable.

i'll have to test how smooth it goes on some day.

>>1477700
>It's interesting that those models don't have the wattage on them.
165 watts.

> If you don't mind I'd be really curious to see how worn your brushes are.
I bought the machine at an estate sale some years back. No idea if they were replaced or not. It came with a ton of attachments and was filthy. I cleaned it up as best I could and discovered that the grease in the planetary gear was slowly leaking into the bowl. According to the family, the previous owner hadn't used it as a mixer in quite some time. They had attached a can opening attachment and had used it exclusively for that for many years. I didn't want to tear the thing apart so I haven't used it. The cord also needs replacing, which might be a replacement itself as the plug is not original, but it does still run. I don't do bread so I use the other KitchenAid mostly.

Once I got the bug though I started buying lots of old kitchen stuff when I saw it cheap. I have a bunch of old Sunbeam and HB mixers, a few Dormeyer's, a very strange three beater GE mixer, and many blenders of various makers. Going by the numbers of how many are left, Osters seem to hold up the best, with HB next. Waring 'blendors' are hit and miss. They kept changing the design of their pitcher seal as it appears to leak on the older models. I've only seen two GE blenders ever. For mixers its Sunbeam by a mile, then HB, and Dormeyer. Only ever seen the one GE mixer. KitchenAids are rare but that is probably a price thing.

>>1477747
It'd be worth it to restore it, those old kitchenaid mixers are nice and if you repainted it with a nice vintage color it'd be sexy as fuck.

I'd recommend turquoise or powder blue, or whatever shade of orange this is.

>>1477535
>>1477531
Modern kitchenaids are still nice and all, but the older ones just look that much nicer.

>>1464291
I have a Kitchen Aide that has gear stripped and shaft down through the upper gear box is bent where a clip would go this is where it is bent

>>1464291
>I get free mixers left and right that no one wants because they need restoring. I've scrapped like 20-30 of them this year.
Where?
Tell me your secrets

Does anyone have a guide on how to disassemble a kitchenaid so it can be stripped and repainted?

Bumping this to say the K5SS continues to be an absolute bitch. In addition to the grease, rear bearing bracket, powercord, phase control board, governor, and speed control plate the screw holding the brushes in cracked so I had to order a new one of those. The paint job had an issue that I'll post some photos of when I have time. Think I'll have to sand it to bare metal and restart.

>>1480635
I think if you read through the thread you'll get the gist. You can check the two imgurs I linked in the OP as well. If you just want to paint it and do no new grease I'd suggest just masking it off instead of disassembling. I'd just knock off the drip ring and unscrew the metal trim place with the names on it. I linked a repair guide in the thread as well which is helpful. Ereplacement parts has a good video on youtube as well about replacing grease in one of the mixers. Just watch it for the disassembly guide.

>>1479932
I think if I'm picturing the part you're describing it's like 15$. Can you post a photo?

>>1480097
I assumed from context and speed of replies at the time that I was talking to the Hobart repairguy who has posted at various times throughout the thread.

>>1477747
Thanks sorry I never got back to you. Those are the pre asymmetrical brushes with the brass holders right? I know wattage isn't a useful measurement when assessing motor power but was just curious. People have hacked some cool shit with the can opener attachment you mention. I've seen it made into both a coffee grinder and a drive for a hand crank pasta machine.

Would love to see some photos of your old mixers if you're feeling indulgent. I've also been tempted by the chrome sunbeam ones. You ever get one of the old milkshake mixers? I see those online occasionally and they have a real cool look to them

>>1481252
It sounds like damn near everything but the body is scrap, did someone throwing off a goddamn roof or something?

If you're going to start fresh and repaint it maybe you could be the guinea pig and try what this anon was saying.
>>1477739

>>1481264
Yeah the K5SS Saga starts here >>1470213
. Someone clearly used it hard. DIdn't go off a roof but it definitely went off a counter. Amazingly the gearbox wasn't trashed which is the thing most prone to wear out. I had a real shit time when I tried Duplicolor which I talked about a bit here >>1465869 . I haven't tried the engine paint though. If it came in a good color I'd consider trying it. Obviously I haven't seen how the rustoleum with topcoat finish ages and chips over time but so far the oldest mixer (~2 months old) still looks to be in good shape.

>>1481766
Why not just take off the drip ring and branding strip?

>>1481780
Not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean why not do that when I paint them? I do and then I mask with tape. The duplicolor one looks shitty because I was lazy at masking. You do need to mask them off otherwise the strip and ring don't fit back on.

>>1481792
Put in a little more time and effort and sand it down, it'll look better in the end.

>>1480097
Try searching around facebook marketplace. I just saw a 20qt Hobart posted for 350. and a broken hobart 10 qt for 180. For Hobart machines those are really good prices. Kitchenaids are more hit or miss you but can reliably source k45's and K5s for 80-100. Not great but not a terrible price compared to things like ebay.

Found a bowl at Goodwill for 3$! What a steal. These are $40 new

>>1463576
Maybe it does'nt matter, but why don't you clean out all the old grease?
Sorta kinda triggers my ocd

>>1484381
Yeah so the answer is mainly because I didn't really care about that mixer. I talked about it a bit earlier but it's a chinese one and I wanted to try out a new paint brand and I planned on selling it not keeping it. That's alsy why I used a shitty cheap grease in it.

However you are right you should clean out old grease in the ones you care about. The best way to do it is to soak them in gas or paint thinner or wire brush them. It's a big hassle. It's much more important to do it if you've had gear wear and tear. The flecks of metal in the grease act like sandpaper and exacerbate the the wear on the machine

>>1469987
can you ask this guy how much he'd charge to paint a mixer? I got a kitchenaid today and I have a certain idea in my head. People want hundreds of dollars for custom paint jobs online. Seems insane.

>>1470213
>>1470220
So my mother has a hobart/kitchenaid K5-A that on occasion will shock you if you touch the metal case while its running.
It has an ungrounded plug on it.

Ive been afraid of messing with it for fear of making it more dangerous, or outright breaking it.
From what I gather installing a grounded cable is literally just putting the ground on the case?

Would you have any idea of why the case would be getting shorted? Ill take it apart soon and see. I think im going to regrease it too thanks to this thread.

>>1487536
>From what I gather installing a grounded cable is literally just putting the ground on the case?
Yup.

>Would you have any idea of why the case would be getting shorted?
Insulation on a wire could be worn through and touching the case. If so, heat shrink tubing is great for that.