How can I view a 5-year-old discussion?

OK - THIRD try: I've done a screen capture of what I can see. There is no author / username, no date, and no cues for a means to respond. There appears to be one reply, again, minus any way to see who, when, or how to reply. The only reason I know that this is from 2008 is that it showed on the Google search I made for Savage Mfg. - that's how I got here in the first place.

THANK YOU for explaining the "ABPW" acronym - I suppose I'd have found it sooner or later using a search engine, but this saved me the hassle. I'm on OWWM, so that one I recognized. Thanks again!

That's <strong>ALL</strong> that you see? That is very strange. I include a screenshot of what I'm looking at - if that's not the same thing you look at, we are having some kind of a technical issue - I better involve the support guys in this.

I've highlighted the parts of the page you are inquiring about and there's more - could not figure out how to make a screen shot of that - when you are logged in as a user, there's a menu that comes up as you hover your mouse over the poster's name that contains more options - like email (if he provided that in the first place), search for his other posts etc.

So, please let me know if you're missing those other elements of the page and if you don't mind, let me know what browser you are using. Will help in troubleshooting.

Thanks!

Right - that's all I see, not counting the omnipresent boilerplate-type stuff that surrounds all content. CORRECTION / UPDATE - I just returned to it for maybe the tenth or twelfth time, and several elements have now popped up, including the thread rating, related subjects, etc. I also observed functioning mouse-over activity after the change: wasn't there before (I TRIED clicking on several elements, earlier, but the only ones that did anything were ones taking me to advertiser's sites. Bleep!) Additionally, when I opened your reply just now, there was NO sign of the screenshot - but closing and re-opening got it to show on-screen. The highlights seem to match what I have available now (though I still don't see any separation - except for the paragraph break - between the OP's post and that of the reply. If I had wanted to reply to that second person, I could not have done so. I'm using Firefox. Just recently changed to a new computer (old one died in what sounded like a hail of gunfire, and I found 11 (yes, eleven) bulged electrolytics on the motherboard. Decided that it was time for a major replacement.) Still trying to get used to new version of Windows, especially the updated Word, on this one. One additional detail: there is no access to cable where I live, so I am linked via wireless MODEM to a tower a couple of miles away, using a small fixed-aim directional antenna on a roof-top mount beneath my TV rotor (nearest station is over 40 miles direct). Phone lines are AT LEAST 30 years old, and the company has said flatly that they'll never upgrade: too few customers per mile. High-speed Internet is a dream around here. So, my access may be sabotaging the results I see. It happens on other sites, at times.

Thank you for the update! Well, we are looking into this - there may be a chance that the little thingie on the right hand site for social sharing might have been acting up - not sure yet but we keep digging. I'm also using FF, so I know the control elements on the page work - it would be a real bummer if they didn't - so we're looking into what may be inhibiting them.

Thanks again for your report, I hope now that you can post a new message, you can get the answer to your original question. By the way, the variable speed device you mention - is it a gear box or an electronic speed controller? I wanted to look it up myself out of curiosity but there's precious little (i.e. nothing) about it on the Net - rather unusual. Anyway, I'm not too sure about a mechanical device but there are various types of electronic speed controllers for electrical motors that can be used - VFD for 3-phase, PFC for single phase, PWM for brushed DC etc. - did you look into those?

I have the link, but all I see is a truncated partial post with multiple [useless-to-me] ads, and no means to navigate. I registered, hoping that one of the advantages would be improved navigation of the site, but no joy. Specifically, I'm hoping to view

/woodworking/are-atlas-savage-speed-reducer-437686-.htm, including the pictures mentioned there.

I have a Savage Mfg. Co. variable speed device which I believe was intended for drill-press use, and would like to see how it was mounted (beyond clamping to the top of the column). Also, the original poster was looking for advice on lubrication; that's an issue which I will also need to deal with, and I'd like to know what was done, and how that worked out.

This purely mechanical. Savage made an interesting double variable sheave, where the outer flanges were in fixed spacing relative to one another, but the intermediate two-sided flange could move toward one and away from the other. Here's an ad from 1949, in Popular Science (June '49, p 252) showing one such unit:

My assembly has TWO of these, though smaller, and would use three belts. The first would come from the motor and drive the first double-sheave. The second would connect the first DS to the second, and the third belt would go from the second double sheave to the spindle pulley. Moving the casting carrying both shafts either toward the motor, or toward the spindle, would speed up or slow down the output vs. input. The widening of on opening would be matched by narrowing of the adjacent one, and the overall belt lengths wouldn't change. I can take a photo, then see if I can get it uploaded for you.

Further update: I have taken photos showing how the flanges move, and how the assembly changes position for control. Background (fabric cutting board) has 1" squares. Meanwhile, I discovered an online copy of the instructions for my unit, with decent sketches showing how it works. It even has the belt lengths for me! See

Input is at top left groove; intermediate lower left to upper right, and output from lower right groove. The device is called a Savage "Vari-Slo". Looks like it was also sold as Craftsman or King-Seeley. And, the bearings use GREASE, answering the original post!