How I fixed my piece of junk Delta lathe.

[Bill Bukovec]

Like many others, the Reeves drive failed on my Delta lathe.

I got it spinning again replacing the spindle pulley with an aluminum step pulley. This required machining a custom step key because the slot ( on the inside diameter) of the pulley was a different width than the slot on the spindle shaft.
I also mounted a step pulley on the motor.

A plywood shelf is mounted to the ways.

The motor is mounted on a piece of plywood which has bolt slots to adjust the belt tension.

Yes, it's ugly and it's not a pleasure to use. But it will get me by for a few years before I haul it to the scrap pile.

I think the two pulleys added up to 50 or 60 bucks.

[Mike Wagner]

Great solution I will try myself. In addition to my Powermatic 3520B, I also have a Delta Ironbed. I use the ironbed for certain dedicted turnings, and this is a great solution to the speed adjustment issues. Thanks for sharing.

[Richard Coers]

A used 3 phase motor and a Chinese VFD would also make a fairly cheap fix with electronic variable speeds.