Temp wooded pulley?

[Shawn scott]

I'm in the beginning stages of rebuilding my atlas 10f lathe. Unfortunately during the transporting from the seller to my shop the lathe cut through a tie down and toppled off the trailer. Thankfully as far as I can see the only damage was the main dual counter shaft drive pulley was mangled. I found a few replacements on ebay, but my goal is to keep cost reasonable. Im sure I could throw money at the problem and fix it but I'd like to try alternatives first. I was thinking of making a temporary pulley from wood. Then once the lathe is up and running i want to turn a new pulley.
Are there any thoughts on using a wooden pulley? Or other options i haven't thought of?

 

[francist]

I’m not familiar enough with that machine to be able to visualize which pulley you’re referring to, but as far as the actual material itself I would not have serious concerns about using wood as a temporary substitute. I think if I were to make one I might opt for something like MDF but again, I’d have to consider the size and design first. Mahogany would be a strong second choice for me.

I think the bigger challenge may be getting your temporary version to remain true enough on the shaft for long enough to turn the replacement. The belt tension is not huge but wood is not as good at holding diameter tolerance as the Zamak was, so you may find after a short while the temporary version starts to run a little sloppy on the fit. At that point it’ll get worse fast. Maybe consider pressing in a bushing of sorts to provide for a stronger interface between shaft and pulley? At least for as long as it takes for you to turn a new one (no small task, by the way).

-frank

 

[Shawn scott]

I’m not familiar enough with that machine to be able to visualize which pulley you’re referring to, but as far as the actual material itself I would not have serious concerns about using wood as a temporary substitute. I think if I were to make one I might opt for something like MDF but again, I’d have to consider the size and design first. Mahogany would be a strong second choice for me.

I think the bigger challenge may be getting your temporary version to remain true enough on the shaft for long enough to turn the replacement. The belt tension is not huge but wood is not as good at holding diameter tolerance as the Zamak was, so you may find after a short while the temporary version starts to run a little sloppy on the fit. At that point it’ll get worse fast. Maybe consider pressing in a bushing of sorts to provide for a stronger interface between shaft and pulley? At least for as long as it takes for you to turn a new one (no small task, by the way).

-frank

Frank,
Its the aluminium 2 step pully that mates the electric motor to the rest of the machine. Pressing in a bearing is a great idea, I had not thought of that. Also I was planning on making a multi layer build up of wood to make the pulley. Over built to hold tolerance as long as possible.

 

[francist]

Ah okay, so maybe about 6-8” diameter. The fact that it’s two-step should help as it’ll give a deeper hub which might not wallow out as fast as a thinner one. Good luck, and post your progress

BTW- I believe the original pulley will have been Zamak, not aluminum.

 

[mickri]

Do a search for DIY wooden pulleys and you will get lots of hits on how to make one. Even how to make a two step pulley. You can also make one out of pressed fiberglass. Make a four piece wooden mold. Fill it to over flowing with fiberglass cloth saturated with resin and squeeze out the excess resin. This is how they used to make sheaves for blocks on boats. You could include a dowel with a slot for the keyway for the shaft size you need and shape the mold for the V belt. Don't forget to use lots of mold release wax. Something like this.

 

[mickri]

And welcome to the forum. Lots of really friendly, knowledgeable people on here who love to share their knowledge.

 

[Downunder Bob]

I'm in the beginning stages of rebuilding my atlas 10f lathe. Unfortunately during the transporting from the seller to my shop the lathe cut through a tie down and toppled off the trailer. Thankfully as far as I can see the only damage was the main dual counter shaft drive pulley was mangled. I found a few replacements on ebay, but my goal is to keep cost reasonable. Im sure I could throw money at the problem and fix it but I'd like to try alternatives first. I was thinking of making a temporary pulley from wood. Then once the lathe is up and running i want to turn a new pulley.
Are there any thoughts on using a wooden pulley? Or other options i haven't thought of?

Back in the day when most factories and shops ran on line shafts most of the pullies were made of wood, usually withy a metal canter piece, especially if has to have a keyway. any hardwood will be fine.

 

[tcarrington]

Looking at Atlas 10f pictures on line....
The large two step pulley on the countershaft could be realized in wood quite well. I agree with previous comments on this matter. Making an insert would be an excellent idea. I have a couple of others.

1. Buy a temporary pulley from an industrial supply house. Up to 4 inch aluminum is under 20 dollars. Cast iron for 8 inches moves you into the 40 to 60 dollar range. Many shaft sizes are available. Depends on the size of the belt. (these pulleys may require some perfecting of the surfaces based on my limited experience - got one that needed the vee touched up)

2. Use the forum. I am willing to wager someone here has one, or will help you make the temporary or parts thereof.

I think a wooden pulley, although not original, might look good or at least interesting on an Atlas.

 

[mickri]

The pulleys have to be the same size as the originals for all of the speeds to be the same and for the belt to be able to be the right length for each pulley. The OEM pulleys are not a standard size. Our craftsman expert Robert should chime in here with the correct size for the pulleys. For everything to work right you will either have to make the pulleys or buy OEM pulleys.

 

[silence dogood]

A hundred years ago a company called Berkshire Mill supply Co. made wooden pulleys for line shafts and other machinery. So wooden pulleys must had worked very well. If you type in "making your own wooden pulleys" on the web there are several ways to make wood pulleys without even using a lathe. Personally, I would use good quality plywood if you decide to do this.