- Joined
- Nov 14, 2016
- Messages
- 3,262
Still not sure why Atlas made the 618 belt changes such a PITA, one of the reasons I picked up the Mk.2 was the ease of belt changes.
I think just a carry over from the era they were made. Flat belt the spindle was not a big deal because the belt was stitched together on the lathe, kind of like a modern link belt. The change to Vee belts initially just swapped pulleys from the flat belt era, and seems to have carried over for some time. The 618 dates back to the 1930s, and even though always vee belt as far as I know followed the standard at that time. I have a 1978 Logan / Powermatic and it also requires taking the spindle apart to install a new belt, pretty sure this is the case for most of the major USA brands.
Not familiar with the Mk2 belt change, how is it different from the earlier 6" lathes? Just easier to pull the spindle?