Belt change on old lathe

[Dan Masshardt]

So I have an old delta Rockwell 11" lathe that I am generally happy with.

It is on the original cast iron legs / wood table and the motor is bolted to the lower table.

My problem is that belt / pulley changes are al,out impossible (pain in the butt at best.)

Does anybody have a good method for mounting a motor that is secure but also allows for easier loosening / movement to change speeds? Thanks.

[Peter Lamb]

Dan, I had similar Delta. First it sounds like your V belt is much to tight. You can put shims, 1/4" plywood, between the motor and the shelf it sits on. Another
possibility is to mount the motor on a piece of one by lumber and use two hinges to attach the board to the shelf on the lathe stand. The weight of the motor may be sufficient
to tension the V belt. Trial and error. If not add a low tension spring between the motor board and the shelf. Either will make changing belt locations much easier.
Both worked for me.

[Dan Masshardt]

Dan, I had similar Delta. First it sounds like your V belt is much to tight. You can put shims, 1/4" plywood, between the motor and the shelf it sits on. Another
possibility is to mount the motor on a piece of one by lumber and use two hinges to attach the board to the shelf on the lathe stand. The weight of the motor may be sufficient
to tension the V belt. Trial and error. If not add a low tension spring between the motor board and the shelf. Either will make changing belt locations much easier.
Both worked for me.

Thanks. There is a 1/4" shim under the motor now. I may go the hinge route with maybe a pin to secure it.

[Dennis Nagle]

+1 on the hinges. I've done this a number of times and it works very well. A V belt grabs so well that it is hard to slip even if there is just the weight of the motor on it.

[robert baccus]

Yeah, that works well--while you're at it consider a link belt. Much smoother and quitter and easy to adjust your motor/mount dimentions.

[Michael Mills]

Another + for the hinges.
If the motor does not provide enough weight you may consider one of these. Mount to the base and it's a snap to loosen the tension when moving the belt.

[Dan Masshardt]

Thanks everyone. Great ideas.