Belts... and why nobody changes them. :/

[Sweeper]

I've replaced all the belts on my power tools with Flex belts because they don't vibrate and make noise. I'm not sure how they would possibly make more noise than a std belt.

O...M....G....
I can see why the belt(s) on my ~1988 lathe still has what appears to be original belts in it, even though they're ratted out.

I've been ripping this thing down for what seem like hours on end. And I STILL don't even have the one belt out!
Got the back gears out without too much trouble.
Still battling with the rear V-pulleys and shaft assy.
Got part of the main shaft apart, but had to try a different area since the frustration level was getting too high.

Time to take a closer look at the parts breakdown. Would have been nice if the "service manual" actually said how to do this!

Yeah, I could go with one of those link belts, but I've heard too many people complain about them being noisy (and I hate noisy!), not to mention I need to change out the oil seals on the main shaft anyhow since I don't seem to be able to keep lube oil in it for any time. And it's super filthy in there, and needs a good cleaning out.

/rant.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Jeez....for being a hobby type lathe, that thing looks closer to a Cincinnati Hydrashift inside! If it makes you feel any better, I went through the same thing on a Sheldon 10"x56".

I was first considering doing the link-belts.....then decided to go with straight v-belts since I was already messing with adjusting the bearings.
SO, I ordered the belts (it was a double pulley), and wrestled with the spindle and ridiculously heavy underdrive.
Getting it out was a major undertaking....THEN I had to disassemble part of the e-drive to thread the belt.
I broke the double pulley along the way (didn't know about the "quick disconnect" style hub/sheaves) and had to replace it.
I reassembled everything but realized the belts weren't around the pulley...DOH!
Had to disassemble again, place belts, then reinstall the crazy heavy E-drive.
Once everything was in and I thought I was in the home stretch....the belts were TOO LONG!
No matter how I adjusted, there was too much slack.
SO, I had to cut two brand new belts and buy two new link-belts. A costly mistake if you figure in the price of a replacement pulley and 2 extra belts.
Luckily, nothing was damaged other than that pulley, but I could easily have cracked the underdrive using a gear/bearing puller and hammering away.

Now, whenever refurbishing old lathes, etc. I DO NOT TOUCH GEARBOXES OR SPINDLES....unless it is absolutely necessary. I wil kindly tell the perfectionist in me to shut up when it comes to having the "right" kind of belt.:nono:

 

[Dr.Fiero]

Well - in the end, believe it or not I'm GLAD I went to all this work.

It's all back together, and is now smoother and quieter than it's ever been. Along with being 100 times cleaner!
Since it was all apart, it gave me a chance to better understand exactly how everything worked together. I set the gear clearances in a far better fashion than they were. Found a few things that were downright loose, and it's all good now.

If anyone recalls one of my original posts about this machine, you might recall that I said it was REALLY noisy. Turns out that the back gears were totally out of adjustment. Fixed that, and now there's almost no more noise with them engaged than not.






On a total side note...
If you're short on shelving (who isn't?); I was in Ikea the other day, and found these shelves in the kitchen section:

Stainless steel, and easy mounting to the wall.



Ditto on the stainless and easy mounting - but it's a magnetic (steak knife) strip.

I think they were $15 each or there about.

 

[pdentrem]

Looking good! Other than the tumbler gears it is a dead ringer for mine. So next step is a little lipstick and polish and when your are done get it dirty.
Pierre

 

[Dr.Fiero]

Looking good! next step is a little lipstick and polish

Well - after doing all the mechanical stuff, it was just TOO damn ugly to leave.

So in connection with my thread about paint here: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/12659-Paint-type-amp-color

LIPSTICK HAS BEEN APPLIED! :lmao:

Gun's cleaned, masking is pulled off.
After dinner I'll go start putting together the few things I pulled off to make life easier then report back with the legally required series of pictures.

 

[Dr.Fiero]

AAAAAAND as promised.....

The "new and improved" Busy Bee.




The change gears on the end - simply because I never took a shot of them before. Meh.



I liked the color so much, I painted a portable table top with it!




And while totally unrelated... my "G0704" (which is actually a King Industrial VC20) in the process of being CNC'd.

 

[pdentrem]

Is that a carb sync stick behind the mill on the wall?
Pierre

 

[Dr.Fiero]

Yep! One I slapped together about 15 years ago.

I'm just finalizing the sale of my last multi cylinder bike though, so it's now just a wall hanging.

 

[george wilson]

I have one of those red ,commonly available link belts on my 14" Delta wood bandsaw. No noise issues with it. I got lucky some time ago,and got nearly a whole reel of the GOOD,industrial like belt,which I happen to have the tool for assembling it,too. Years ago I had a Burke #4 mill,and to avoid tearing down the headstock,I used the high grade link belting on it. No noise issues. I had to buy the tool to assemble that belting,and still have it.

This belting is made of black,fiber impregnated rubber,with metal rivets in every link.

 

[mabmach]

Aha! Success. Just needed a fresh day, a parts list... and a brass hammer.

Started like this:
View attachment 48750

All this and more "fell out" (ha! yeah right). This is only the main spindle:
View attachment 48751

Which left me with:
View attachment 48752View attachment 48753View attachment 48754


So - since this stuff isn't mentioned anywhere else on the web (that I could find after a few days!), hopefully Google will crawl it and find:
Motor to pulley belt: B31
Pulley to spindle belt: B32
Left outer oil seal: 65*85*12mm
Left inner oil seal: 55*75*12mm
Right inner oil seal: 60*80*10mm
Right outer oil seal: 80*100*12mm

I'll update this with the bearing numbers if I remember to look.

The drawing/parts list is wrong, and vague.
There's no numbers listed in it other than a reference, and they show the left side using one # for inner and outer, and the same on the right! <-- wrong.

One trick if anyone else needs to do this... there's a hole in the right side of the headstock casting that is plugged, then painted over! This little hole is critical, as it allows you take out the shaft that supports the rear pulley assembly (after removing the set screw that's hidden, pointing straight up). There's no way to remove the pulley shaft with the assembly installed (it's too long). Just guesstimate where the hole would be and tap it with a punch. Falls right in.

Time to grab some kerosene and start cleaning! FYI - methyl hydrate is WAY too wimpy. The grease just laughed at it as it ran away.

Hi, I just bought a Husky PC36 that was purchased from
Busy Bee 1980. it has a headstock that look exactly like yours. I have not been able to find a
manual for it and will have to replace the spindle seals. Where did you get your seals? Also will read your thread and would appreciate any
suggestions.
mabmach