Fobco Star Restoration

[Co1]

Picked this up for £90 today, which I thought was a bit of a bargain. I’m working away from home at the moment, so the plan is to take a bit with me and fettle it in my digs to save me going to the pub every night!

Couple of problems straight off the bat:

It’s three phase and I really need to convert it as I don’t fancy running it off an inverter, I want to keep it simple.

Second issue is that I can’t get the head to slide down the pillar, or to move at all. It’s totally seized. Any thoughts or tips?

 

[Phill05]

Take off the pulley cover on top, run some WD40 around the shaft.
Release the locking leaver for the head and tap the bolt in to release spray some oil in, leave the leaver locked below to stop the head from slipping down, then block the base from turning and try moving the head left to right it should ease it spray some more oil around and you should get some up and down movement.

You can pick up a single phase motor easy and reuse the switch.

 

[Co1]

Thanks Phil, that worked a treat.

The base, table and pillar need a good degreasing and cleaning. What do people think about sticking them in the dishwasher?! The wife is away next weekend, so she’ll never know…