HF 8 x 12 interference (belt)

[rhino]

Hi. Old new guy here. Just bought a slightly used (3 month) HF 8 x 12 lathe. While waiting for the grandsons to come and lift it onto the new bench/stand, I was getting to know the little beast.
As I put the reversing gear into the drive, I noticed that the V-belt tension bracket scrapes on the added gear. Looks like grinding about 0.01" of the edge of the sector - where the clamp bolt fits - would take care of it, but I'm asking experenced owners if I'm doing it WRONG (lol).

Thanks

 

[darkzero]

Could you post a picture? I used to have one of these lathes & never had an interference issue with the drivetrain.

 

[Rbeckett]

Most often the belt interference is caused by a bent tension arm and can be corrected by removing the arm and bending it back so the pulley strikes the belt surface square and does not deflect the belts path. A Pic is worth a thousand words though so if you could add a pic of the problem we could confirm the real cause possibly without guessing or sending you on a wild goose chase either.

Bob

 

[rhino]

Mis-stated what the problem is: Not the belt itself, but the metal bracket that adjusts the tension scrapes on the reverse gear when it (the gear) is in place.
Here is a Google picture with markings:
The red circle indicates the reverse gear in place, the curved line marks the edge of the tensioner that hits the gear.

 

[rhino]

Here is a picture of the real thing:
It looks now like the idler bracket was punched badly leaving a "ridge" or tag on one edge.

 

[Rbeckett]

Takek it to the grinder and relieve it .020 and your problem will be solved forever!!! Wish they were all that easy to fix, that plate is also the one that gets bent so it is a win-win for the fix!!

Bob

 

[rhino]

Thanks, all!