Frank Fusco
02-10-2006, 3:30 PM
I had to change the belt on the Reeves drive of my Grizzly G1067Z lathe. Did this once before and it was a daunting task requiring myself and another man. We removed the compression spring, replaced belt. Then he had to re-compress the spring while I put the retaining clip back on. This time I wanted to avoid calling for help and doing a disassembly. Per Grizzly tech suggestion, I tried opening the closed pulley with wedges of hard wood. Did not work. Finally, with the help of my wife, I figured out a way to do it. I found that by grasping the (bottom, drive) closed pulley with my fingers and bracing my thumbs on the shaft, I could open it up. When open, my wife put the belt on down to the shaft. That allowed enough slack so I could work the other loop over the top (spindle) pulley. It works but will not get down to the slowest speed, #2 setting is as low as it will go. I am hoping it will work itself into position with use. Not the best design. But, comparing a $400.00 lathe with a $3000.00 one, I guess I shouldn't complain.