Segmented belt on a variable speed lathe?

[Nick Fisher]

I have a Delta 46-612 Variable speed lathe, and am having vibration problems due to old belts, and was thinking about replacing them. Has anyone here thought about using the segmented belts instead of the regular v-belts on a variable speed lathe? I was a little worried because of the way the pulleys move and work. If anyone has a thought on this, Please let me know, thanks,
Nick

[Don McManus]

Hi Nick,

I just changed to a red link belt on my Jet 1236 . Its only been a few days, but it seems to be working OK with the split pulley system, aka Reeves drive.

Obviously , I cant say much about long term wear yet.

Oh, and the springs made it a PITA to get the belt on the pulleys by myself, so if you may want to have a way to keep them open, like a gear puller, or a buddy with strong fingers.

Good luck!
Don

[Scott Lux]

I did it on my previous lathe, but that was an electronic VS. I don't know know that it will work well with a Reeves.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Link belts work great on a Reeves drive lathe, as I've used them on my old General 160 for years, and they save the BIG job of having to remove the spindle assembly to replace belts on most lathes.

[Nick Fisher]

Excellent, I'll put them on later today. :)

[Harry Robinette]

Nick
You must make sure to grease the pulleys mechanism should be a grease fitting in the end. When low on grease my General 160-18 will start to get a little vibration.

[Nick Fisher]

Well,
I just put the new belts on, LOVE IT!!!
Everything is so quiet and smooth, I can balance a nickel on its edge and it wont walk or fall over. I love this lathe now! I was a little worried about it, and was thinking about keeping my Delta 46-701, but now it's a no brainer. Thanks for all your help.
Also, I looked for a grease fitting, but didn't see one. If I run into problems, I'll check for it again, but everything is running smoothly now. Took me forever to try and get the dead center out of the tail stock till I tried heating it up, then it slid out like a charm. Now I got a live center in it, and a Nova Chuck installed, can't wait to start turning some bowls.
Now I just have to figure out whether I want to repaint i or not. It's fairly clean, but has some rust and marks. Hmmmm. That's a lot of work that I may wait on for next year. Thanks again,
Nick