Checking motor rpm's

Purchased a 1969 SS12 this summer. Have been working at cleaning it up, and replacing needed parts. Have running really good now. Would like to check the max rpm setting, as the locking nut was not on the screw, and I am thinking it is not running as fast as it could. Also do not want to get it running over max rpm of 3600. Have a "non contact" laser?? tachometer being shipped, from purchase using ebay.

Is the belt pulley on the motor an accurate place to check?

Any other comments?

It has been interesting. Very surprising how many items from the parts list are still easily available, based on that 1969 part number.
Thanks

yes that would be the place to get a rpm reading from. > tim

does the tach work off a reflector on whatever is spinning ? please tell if it worked good for you . another option you might consider a tiny tach or other small digital tach they read from a wire rapped around the sparkplug wire and usually are also an hour meter . just a thought > tim

If I remember correctly, the inexpensive non-contact tachometers require that you put a piece of reflective material on whatever you want to measure.

So, yes, the pulley would be the place to measure. Please report back on how the tach works for you. They are pretty cheap on ebay and Amazon. The information will be helpful for other members.

I was fortunate enough to find a commercial duty contact tachometer at a yard sale several years ago. There are a lot of older guys selling their machine tools in this area because they used them in the glass machine business that went belly up. Once and a while I come across stuff just being cleaning out of storage or no longer needed. That was the case with the tach I bought.

The usps came thru, and delivered the $21.94 Neiko Tools "Laser Photo Tachometer" model 20713A, 1 day sooner than expected.  It comes with several strips of 3/8" peel off the back sticky reflective tape.  You cut yourself a little square piece and attach it to what you want to test.

It worked GREAT, for what I needed it to do.  I have had a SS12 for 30+ years that I only use for snow throwing.  Thus I had a good working motor to try the new meter on.  It had a slowest rpm=1760, and the fastest rpm=3529.  I have no idea how perfectly accurate the device is, but I felt it was close enough for what I needed.

As I had suspected the new SS12 was not running as fast as it could/should.  I now have it set up at 3359.  Which I know is not all the way to 3600, but why take a chance of blowing it up.

Was cheaper than having to take it to a small engine shop.

Hope this helps somebody else.
dave