Hi there. This weeks blog is part one of a two part series that follows me stripping down and servicing my ‘cooking’ Leslie 145 as part of its regular maintenance schedule. I oil the ‘normal’ areas yearly and by the book and then as the belts start to get looser and there is less and less belt adjustment left in the motors it starts to become time to replace then. At which point it is really worth a good close-up look at all the other mechanical parts on the Leslie and see where we are with those.

By the time the belts wear we really should be thinking about cleaning and oiling those hard to get to places and whilst we have the motors in our hand why not spend a couple of quid and replace the O rings too (that cause the friction between motor and belt to allow the rotors to turn). Seeing as the belts are off and the idlers and bearings are exposed (ish) and we can feel and hear for any roughness in travel.

In this video blog then we look at all of these things, I go quiet in places as I concentrate so if there are any elements that you need or want clarification on do let me know – I was tempted to re-dub this and I may still do let me know what you think? So, over the next couple of weeks we will take the idler assembly off and replace with a pattern part, replace the O rings and both Belts, Oil the motors and replace the bearings.

Hopefully this will go some part into convincing you that even if you are only moderately handy with a screwdriver this service is still something that it in your grasp, can be done in a day and that its all mechanics in that way that is so Hammond/Leslie and should something fall off or not work properly a logical brain will be able to restore order. I recommend performing this service yourself as should the worst case happen and your beautiful Leslie stop working i a sound check or gig you will be able to know what has happened and armed with a few spares and a screwdriver you be able to make the required repairs during the interval and get back up and running as swiftly as possible.

So, here is part one of the service

I would love to hear what you think of this and if there is anything you would like me to go in to in more detail.