# Clausing 100 Clutch/vee Belt Problem



## krash22 (Dec 27, 2016)

Yesterday the spindle on my Clausing 100 Mk. II Dual decided to stop turning.  The motor turns, and so does the countershaft.  As near as I can tell without dismantling anything, either the clutch/brake lever mechanism on the countershaft is in a state of constant slippage, or the vee belt from the spindle to the countershaft is worn excessively.  It seems like the clutch/brake does work to take the headstock spindle "out of gear," but there's not enough friction somewhere between the countershaft and the headstock spindle to turn the spindle regardless of the position of the clutch/brake lever.  (I've always avoided using the clutch/brake lever for fear of having it give up the ghost at some point, and I doubt whether the vee belt has ever been changed.)  Part of the enjoyment of having an old tool like this one is that it be able to function as originally designed, so if the problem is the clutch mechanism I'd prefer to fix it instead of modifying the countershaft to make the clutch feature non-functional, but what ARE the choices of fixing versus modifying the clutch/brake?  I think the Clausing part number for the vee belt is DL-258, long since unavailable from Clausing -- can anyone recommend a source for that? 

Thanks in advance for any information/advice. 

Charlie Koster
San Gabriel, CA


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## wa5cab (Dec 28, 2016)

Charlie,

Unfortunately I don't know anything about the 100 MK II, and the only manuals that we have appear to be either too early or too late.  

But on the belt, did you actually call Clausing about the belt?  It's strange that they wouldn't have it as they do still have belts for the similar vintage Atlas machines.  In any case, if you examine the OD of the belt, you may find the industry belt number on it.  If it is a Fractional HP belt, the number would be like 4Lnnn or 5Lnnn, where "nnn" is the nominal outside length in hundredths of an inch (so 4L350 would be 35").  If it is from the Multiple V-Belt family, the industry number is a letter plus two digits.  For example, A42 is the number for the two spindle belts on the late Atlas under-drive 12" models.  You will have to look up the length in something like Machinery's Handbook because the two digits aren't quite the length.  A42 is 43.3" nominal.


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## krash22 (Dec 28, 2016)

Hello, Robert,
Thanks very much for the reply.  I did speak with Clausing, but they do not have a belt under the part number specified in the manual, nor do they have a cross-reference number for Gates or some other manufacturer.  Thanks for the information on the industry belt numbers -- I'll take a closer look at the belt tonight to see whether there's any vestigial identifying mark on it anywhere. 

CK


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## krash22 (Dec 30, 2016)

So, I bought a linkbelt on McMaster Carr to replace the vee belt on the machine.  As I near as I can see, when the head stock lid is down, the vee belt is just too loose.  With a new, slightly tighter belt, I hope the headstock spindle will turn again.  As I said above, I've hardly ever used the clutch/brake, so that's probably not the problem.  (Occam's Razor ...) 

I'm still sorting through the boxes of parts that came with this lathe when I got it about 10 years ago, and I've attached photos of the parts I can identify as being related to the taper attachment.  The support was already bolted to the crosstable when I got the lathe.  I don't know whether this is a complete taper attachment, but (1) the parts I've got don't match the illustrations in any Clausing taper attachment manual that I've got; (2) there are no mounting holes on the top surface of the crosstable to indicate that this taper  attachment's cross slide extension was ever mounted to this lathe; and (3) the through-holes in the clamps (two clamps, not one) for the shaft don't line up with the through-hole in the lower slide, which makes me think that, whatever it is exactly, it's not for a Clausing Model 100.  The taper attachment support is mounted, so how come these other parts don't seem to fit?   Any insights would be welcomed. 

CK


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## COMachinist (Dec 31, 2016)

Looks to me you are missing a lot of parts. You have the same problem I have. I need some parts for a 7515 tapper attachment and can not find them. Your lathe is like mine mine is pre atlas 110 quick change before the 4800 atlas. I have the bar, but no taper slide or cross slide extension.  Call Clausing and ask for bulletin 7515-1 taper attachment, you will also need matching instructions for early model 12" lathes  bulletin 7515-C they  will tell you they don't have that bulletin but they do make them send you one, it has an drawing on what to do view of parts you will need to machine holes and tap sizes. So far I have found exactly 0 of the parts I need. I have built a much lighter and faster to setup unit to do my barrel tapers. Just about given up trying to find the parts needed.
Good luck
CH


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## krash22 (Dec 31, 2016)

Thanks very much for the information. I have printouts for about four different Clausing taper attachments, and I thought I had them all, but apparently not. I'd love to see a photo of yours. 
CK


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## COMachinist (Jan 3, 2017)

Sure I can do that, but not sure about copy write laws. If the Mod will let me know, I'll scan and post here. If you call Clausing, they can email you the bulletins, 7515-1 and 7515-C for early model 100's.
CH


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## krash22 (Jan 8, 2017)

Clausing sent me the 7515-c, thanks very much.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk


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## Fortis64 (Jan 14, 2017)

krash22 said:


> Yesterday the spindle on my Clausing 100 Mk. II Dual decided to stop turning.  The motor turns, and so does the countershaft.  As near as I can tell without dismantling anything, either the clutch/brake lever mechanism on the countershaft is in a state of constant slippage, or the vee belt from the spindle to the countershaft is worn excessively.  It seems like the clutch/brake does work to take the headstock spindle "out of gear," but there's not enough friction somewhere between the countershaft and the headstock spindle to turn the spindle regardless of the position of the clutch/brake lever.  (I've always avoided using the clutch/brake lever for fear of having it give up the ghost at some point, and I doubt whether the vee belt has ever been changed.)  Part of the enjoyment of having an old tool like this one is that it be able to function as originally designed, so if the problem is the clutch mechanism I'd prefer to fix it instead of modifying the countershaft to make the clutch feature non-functional, but what ARE the choices of fixing versus modifying the clutch/brake?  I think the Clausing part number for the vee belt is DL-258, long since unavailable from Clausing -- can anyone recommend a source for that?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any information/advice.
> 
> ...


I have the Fortis 4800 (clausing derived) which also has the brake/clutch lever. Have you tried adjusting the clutch ,The a knurled nut with a set screw ,depending on your model,the knurled nut should be on the other end of  the actual clutch . It takes micro movements to set it up but they are known to be problematic and a lot of owners modify the shaft to do away with the clutch mechanism. I'd rather try and keep mine .Does the clutch make a rattling noise when it's slipping? .



Sean


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## krash22 (Jan 15, 2017)

Fortis64 said:


> I have the Fortis 4800 (clausing derived) which also has the brake/clutch lever. Have you tried adjusting the clutch ,The a knurled nut with a set screw ,depending on your model,the knurled nut should be on the other end of  the actual clutch . It takes micro movements to set it up but they are known to be problematic and a lot of owners modify the shaft to do away with the clutch mechanism. I'd rather try and keep mine .Does the clutch make a rattling noise when it's slipping? .
> 
> 
> 
> Sean



Thanks for the reply.  I got the clutch/brake issue sorted out - - it was a case of operator error and ignorance.  Among a couple other things,  I had the back gear lever set wrong, and when I finally understood that,  the clutch/brake works as intended.


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