# Help Me Find Craftsman Parts



## Mort (Jan 4, 2014)

I have a Craftsman model 351.21717 lathe (I've heard all the "reeves drive sucks" and "Craftsman blows" posts, its what I've got), and the brushes went s***house. I finally got around to ordering them, and surprise! Obsolete. 

Anybody have any leads? SearsPartsDirect is no help, nor is eReplacementParts. I'd hate to give up on it, it works fine other than the fact it doesn't run. 

Please and thank you.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*brushes aren't "rocket science"*

There are common sizes of brushes for universal electric motors. There is an old post here regarding that lathe:
Not related to brushes, however. FYI.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/craftsman-lathe-351-21717-a-10895/

ebay has therm:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...es.TRS0&_nkw=elecrtric+motor+brushes&_sacat=0


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

If you can't find an exact replacement get some that are close to the size and the same style. You can make them fit rubbing them on emery paper, don't use sandpaper, you don't want bits of loose grit embedded in the carbon.


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## Mort (Jan 4, 2014)

Thanks fellers.

I figured there wasn't much to them, just chunks of carbon, but I wasn't sure if the wires connecting them to the top parts (technical term) had different resistances, or whatever. I'll measure them and probably get one of those assortments from FleaBay.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

As long as the replacement brushes fit then you should be OK. Sometimes Sears has some oddball brush assemblies, but if you can get the carbon and spring part matched then things ought to work. It would be good to have a look at the commutator. If the brushes were worn down to nothing it could have damaged the commutator (can you say SOL).


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## Mort (Jan 4, 2014)

The carbon pieces still have some life left, but one of the wires is damaged. Commutator looks good.

I wouldn't mind an excuse to get a better lathe but this one is still 90% good.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

My local Ace Hardware has boxes of various tool brushes. I've replaced a number of brushes with generic brushes from there. Take the old one in and see if you can match it. If necessary the carbon part could be sanded to the size you need.


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## Jerry Maske (Dec 29, 2013)

Had a similar problem with the starting capacitor. Sears was no help but I did find one of comparable value albeit a different size. The new one is physically bigger and did take some new words spoken in curse and the like to get it to fit, but I did. In the process I found an entire new power head and bought that. Now I've got an extra power head serving as a door stop. The one that's running will probably last forever. Look around especially on eBay and you might get lucky.


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## Mort (Jan 4, 2014)

I never thought of a local hardware store. Ours around here are pretty worthless, so the thought hadn't occurred to me. We have an Ace though, and I'll be driving right by it today.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

revjerry said:


> Had a similar problem with the starting capacitor. Sears was no help but I did find one of comparable value albeit a different size. The new one is physically bigger and did take some new words spoken in curse and the like to get it to fit, but I did. In the process I found an entire new power head and bought that. Now I've got an extra power head serving as a door stop. The one that's running will probably last forever. Look around especially on eBay and you might get lucky.


Can you explain what a power head is? Variable speed electronics?


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## dartman (Oct 12, 2012)

Most towns have a electric motor rebuilder that may be of assistance.


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## Jerry Maske (Dec 29, 2013)

On the Craftsman, the Power Head, their phrase, is the box that contains the motor and speed controls. It has the drive unit extending out one side to which you attach whatever you will attach. I got lucky in that I've got an excellent machinist in our family who was able to take the entire unit apart, rebuild what needed rebuilding and get it functioning again. Anyway, the Power Head sits on the lathe rails in line with the tail stock. Sorry if the term caused confusion.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

revjerry said:


> On the Craftsman, the Power Head, their phrase, is the box that contains the motor and speed controls. It has the drive unit extending out one side to which you attach whatever you will attach. I got lucky in that I've got an excellent machinist in our family who was able to take the entire unit apart, rebuild what needed rebuilding and get it functioning again. Anyway, the Power Head sits on the lathe rails in line with the tail stock. Sorry if the term caused confusion.


OK, it's Sears fault. They always have to be different. All the other manufacturers use the the traditional term, headstock. It sounds like that must be one of the Sears lathes that has tubular rails. They had some models that had only one tubular rail. That didn't work as well as the ones with two tubular rails.


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## Jerry Maske (Dec 29, 2013)

*Craftsman Lathe*

Bill,
Actually, it's a pretty good lathe. Two flat rails and a totally variable speed control. Worked great as a beginner lathe, and I got it as an end of model year "out of box" special. Lasted about six years when the capacitor fried and filled the shop with smoke. However, it wasn't that big an issue to fix and it's been running just fine since.

Since Sears makes NOTHING, it's hard to say if their products are good or bad. Whomever made that lathe did a decent job with it. It's an entry level lathe. With that in mind, I'm very satisfied with it. I also own a higher level Jet that's REALLY a nice unit. Except for it's indexing system, that Jet is just wonderful. The index is trash. I spoke with lots of folks at the conference about it, including some Jet Employees that were terribly apologetic and embarrassed. Okay, enough trashing Jet. It's still a great lathe that I hope will be with me for a lot of years.

Thanks for your interest, by the way. I tend to look to people like you for guidance, and you guys rarely let me down. I don't have to agree with you, but I will ALWAYS listen to you. OKAY?

Jerry


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