# Craftsman 536.906100 'Transitional' Drift Breaker



## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

I picked up this Drift Breaker from AriensProMike on 7 April. I'm calling it a transitional model because it has features from both the earlier AMF machines & the later Nomas. I'm planning to overhaul it or possibly restore it. I'm not sure if I'll have the patience to clean it up & apply a fresh coat of paint. Not having a garage or shop can really slow down that process.

I'll try my best to document my adventures here, but I'm starting off late. I already had the machine in half before I started to take pictures! I managed to free up the wheels and dress the axle the day after I picked it up. Tire tubes are on the way.




















The 'tractor' section. Auger pulley, drive pulley and friction wheel assembly were removed before the photos were taken. The motor pulley actually came off without a fight.




















The bucket is actually in great shape. Some surface rust but nothing major.




















I don't know what this part is called, but it's going to need new needle bearings. Note the missing needles. Also noticed a sloppy weld on the backside but it might be original.








One of the handles has been repaired in the past.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

I forgot to mention that this machine is supposed to have two safety switches. The clutch switch had been removed and the impeller switch had the wire cut. Both handle bars have holes for mounting levers, but the levers & cables aren't there. If somebody has a similar model and wouldn't mind snapping some pictures of these for me, I would appreciate it.


























My biggest concern so far; the traction pulley. Somehow another keyway was created alongside the original. This may have been someone's idea of a repair but it doesn't work well. Also note how the outer face of the pulley has been worn down and one of the set screw is visible. If anyone knows where I can find a replacement pulley, please let me know.














Two auger & one impeller bearing. The latter is still available, but I'm going to have to get creative with the former. The extended inner race really limits my options.








Missing heater box.








Operator controls.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

On that messed up keyway it appears that part was pretty common to those machines so a cheap parts machine might be in order. You might also find a machine shop to cut a new keyway in the old part and you'd be good to go.


Try boston lawn mower for those auger and impeller bearings. They were the only place I could find the wheel bearings/bushings for my DriftBreaker. https://www.bostonlawnmower.com/

.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Unfortunately I can't open any of the pictures but that looks a lot like a 2 stage I rebuilt the other year from what I can see. I think I have some photo's of it along with a close pdf of the manual. In fact I eventually scrapped it due to the lack of safety switches and no one I trusted wanted it.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> On that messed up keyway it appears that part was pretty common to those machines so a cheap parts machine might be in order. You might also find a machine shop to cut a new keyway in the old part and you'd be good to go.
> 
> Try boston lawn mower for those auger and impeller bearings. They were the only place I could find the wheel bearings/bushings for my DriftBreaker.


I thought about going the machine shop route, but I don't like how the face has been worn down to the set screw. Plus it'll probably be comparable in cost to a parts machine. 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep them in mind. In the meantime, I've been doing some research and I might give these a try:




















Nice N6910TN. The extended inner race is not quite as long on these. I'm thinking I could add some length by turning down some 3/4" rod and securing them with the set screws.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

HCBPH said:


> Unfortunately I can't open any of the pictures but that looks a lot like a 2 stage I rebuilt the other year from what I can see. I think I have some photo's of it along with a close pdf of the manual. In fact I eventually scrapped it due to the lack of safety switches and no one I trusted wanted it.


Sorry about that. I think I fixed them...

This one did have safety switches originally but they were removed or bypassed. I wouldn't mind having that PDF if you can find it.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

Don't laugh, this has actually worked for me multiple times in the past!









It just takes a lot of soaking, heating and beating, but mostly time.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

turmlos said:


> Sorry about that. I think I fixed them...
> 
> This one did have safety switches originally but they were removed or bypassed. I wouldn't mind having that PDF if you can find it.


PM me an email address and I'll send along what I have on that one: 536.90515
This one was old enough it had a Larson motor on it (predated Tecumseh).
There were no safety switches on that one. Turn a lever and it engaged the augers, put it in gear and it took off.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

HCBPH said:


> PM me an email address and I'll send along what I have on that one: 536.90515
> This one was old enough it had a Larson motor on it (predated Tecumseh).
> There were no safety switches on that one. Turn a lever and it engaged the augers, put it in gear and it took off.


That looks like a Tecumseh to me, are you sure it's not a Lauson-Tecumseh?








Tecumseh bought out Lauson in 1956 but continued to use the name until 1964 or so. Lauson might be the prominent name on display, but Tecumseh can usually be found in smaller print elsewhere. True Lausons look dated when compared to Tecumsehs.

Thank you for the pictures. The driveline on that one looks very similar to mine. I will be sure to keep my eye out for one of these now.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

It definitely was a Larson with no reference to Tecumseh found on it, stamped into the housing. Looked virtually identical to the later Tecumseh's, in fact I used a Tecumseh carb kit on a 7HP Larson and fit perfect.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

HCBPH,

Thank you for the documentation. That manual is much easier to read than the tiny image of my blower on Sears Parts Direct. It certainly makes sourcing parts easier. Your writeup is also very helpful. I thought my blower may have originally had a clutch, but seeing yours makes me think it was probably some sort of safety switch. Most of it had been removed.

I tried putting tubes in the tires but they are too far gone. I'll be ordering a pair later today. The weather hasn't been cooperating lately so I haven't done much else apart from research. I'm contemplating upgrading the axle & intermediate shafts to ball bearings. I think PF204 three-hole bearing housings will bolt right on, but I haven't measured yet. If they do, the axle shaft won't pose a problem but the intermediate shaft would have to be remade longer. I'll likely do some experimenting with an AMF Polar Bear parts machine soon.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

Unfortunately the PF204 bearing housings will not bolt up without new holes being made. It looks like I will be sticking with spherical bronze bearings, but that will make adding ratcheting wheel hubs easy.


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

turmlos said:


> Tecumseh bought out Lauson in 1956 but continued to use the name until 1964 or so. Lauson might be the prominent name on display, but Tecumseh can usually be found in smaller print elsewhere. True Lausons look dated when compared to Tecumsehs.


I always wanted to believe Tecumseh used the "Snow King" label as an homage to the Lauson Frost King engine.

For what it's worth, my machine definitely shares lots of DNA with yours.


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

Some bad news I'm afraid...

Turns out the auger gearbox has some issues, namely a bad bearing on the impeller end which allowed the shaft to contact the housing and thereby scoring it. There's no way it will hold oil. I was also never able to locate a friction plate. Therefore I've decided to part this machine out. I'm sure tomorrow a free machine will pop up just down the street...

It wasn't all in vain. I have an older Dynamark machine that I've been messing around with. These machines share the same lineage. I swapped out the tired Tecumseh H70 for a NOS Wisconsin AENLD. I tried running it last year but only managed to break an auger bearing. One of the bucket/collector side plates is bent & constantly flexes while running, likely fatiguing the extended inner race until it failed. I've now swapped the bucket from the Craftsman onto the Dynamark. It bolts right up, and with the Dynamark 'tractor' section I have the ratcheting wheel hubs that I like so much. The change from a 12" to a 14" impeller should also be a nice upgrade. I'm sure the Wisconsin can handle it. I just need to fabricate some sort of belt guard & heater box. It'll be one ugly beast, at least until it proves itself and earns a repaint job.

On a related note, I picked up a Craftsman 536.82567 yesterday. It came with the original manual along with some extra parts. This is an earlier Drift Breaker similar to the aforementioned Dynamark, only it's chain driven. It's still friction drive, but it uses a clutch & sprocket setup in place of a belt. An interesting machine and quite rare from what I understand.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Sorry about the one and congrats on the other. It's always fun with this old stuff and finding parts that will both fit and work. That friction drive one I had, I redrilled a Toro friction disc to replace the old worn out one that was on it. I spent a lot of time fixing it up then ended up scrapping it out any way.


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