Lathe speed broke

[Harry Robinette]

The reeves drive in my General came apart while I was turning last thursday.Messed with it all day yesterday and was going to get my LARGE HAMMER when I decided I better quit. Went back at it this morning and got it fix I hope.
The sheaves came apart, so had to remove the system and redo everything Don't do this unless you absolutlly have to. The reaves drive has to be set by the sizing of the belt if one belt is to long the speed dial is off so after all the messing for two days" MY DIAL IS OFF "
But it runs and I never really used the speed dial anyway.
Now a question for the turning brain trust. The link belt I'm using is sliping on the pulleys,the regular belt holds very good no sliping at all. So now what.
The one that's sliping the most is the one at the motor.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Might try some sray on belt dressing. Sold at automotive parts store. It will give belts a little more tack

[Harry Robinette]

Thanks Bob I completely forgot about that stuff. Brain is getting slow by the day.

[Duane Meadows]

The exact position of the reeves pulley will effect the speed also. Does on my shop fox anyway. Doesn't have to move far either... +- 1/8 inch makes a large difference.

[David C. Roseman]

Thanks Bob I completely forgot about that stuff. Brain is getting slow by the day.

Harry, if events haven't overtaken this, I'd first check the belt for glazing. If glazed, try breaking the glaze with emery cloth. JMO, but spray-on belt dressing is the last thing I'd try, because it can lump up and cause imbalance problems, even on a car fan belt. Ordinarily to apply it evenly it should be sprayed on lightly with the belt running. Not sure I'd try that on a reeves drive, since a small amount down in the variable-speed pulleys or on the shafts could cause big problems. One of my lathes is reeves drive, and just white lithium grease under the sheeves was enough to affect the smoothness of the mechanism. Had to replace it with thin machine oil.

David

[Harry Robinette]

Duane
The General has two sheaves that run against each other. I could be wrong but the Foxes I seen have a single sheave against a spring. Same thing but different.
The sheaves move in an arc and as one gets small the other gets big.The belt length controls the speed changing because if one belt is to small the sheaves can't move past that length or speed range.If one is to big it wont tighten enough to work the sheave so no speed.Hope this is at lest as clear as mud.
I have got it fixed sort kinda it works, the speed range is good but have some stalling but not much. 10" piece of DRY maple taking 1/4" to 3/8" cuts and stalling intermittently so I'm going to run it like this and see how things go.Thanks for the input.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Harry, if events haven't overtaken this, I'd first check the belt for glazing. If glazed, try breaking the glaze with emery cloth. JMO, but spray-on belt dressing is the last thing I'd try, because it can lump up and cause imbalance problems, even on a car fan belt. Ordinarily to apply it evenly it should be sprayed on lightly with the belt running. Not sure I'd try that on a reeves drive, since a small amount down in the variable-speed pulleys or on orthe shafts could cause big problems. One of my lathes is reeves drive, and just white lithium grease under the sheeves was enough to affect the smoothness of the mechanism. Had to replace it with thin machine oil.

David

I had a old Delta 450 that had a 1hp motor and cored bowls on it. The upper belt was a link and the bottom a standard rubber one. Didn't take much belt fdressing to get a better grip. I had no problems with lumping. I agree glazing should be reduced first and yes don't overdo the spray. I also added a jack shaft to that lathe, but finally went to a 3520.

[Duane Meadows]

Harry, I agree, belt length will change the speed range at least on one or the other end of the range! The mechanism the control arm is attached to still should have some adjustment also. On the shop fox moving the fixed part of the split sheave accomplishes that. Not sure how it's done on the General. It may be done differently. Anyway, was just a thought.

Belt dressing has never worked for me more than temporarily. If in doubt I'd change the belt. In fact I did that on my shopfox when it was new. The original was junk. I put a Gates belt on it for a cost of about $3.50! It works much better now.

As for lubrication, I use dry lube. Even oil will keep dust in places you don't want it.