Adjusting the belt tightness on a 1440 asian lathe

[richl]

Pm1440gs
I noticed the belt were squeaking on my lathe the other day. To adjust them as per the manual there are 3 10mm bolts that hold a bracket to the lathe, the bracket than holds the motor.

Problem: the bolts are almost completely inaccessible (2 of the 3 are in the back)
I am thinking of making a mount more in lines to what is on my other Asian lathe which has a hinge and is far more adjustable.

Anyone have ideas or solutions they used to make theirs work.

Thanks

 

[JimDawson]

Is it easier to get to the motor base bolts? A washer as a shim between the motor base and the mount might work. I think the last time I had to touch mine was about 10 years ago when I put new belts on. But a hinged motor mount would work well, be a nice project. Or build a special wrench to get to the bolts

 

[richl]

I'm thinking a hinged mount, I have a couple ideas, I was hoping someone has already solved this one and could give me a headstart. I have a couple isolation mounts that I purchased for this lathe, so it's a good time to get them installed also.

Thanks for the response Jim, always appreciated.

Rich

 

[Hozzie]

I replaced my original belts with linked belts on my 1440GS before even turning anything. Can't say I remember having a big issue getting to the bolts to loosen them. Maybe loosend the wrong ones, but whatever I did it worked. I'll check later.

 

[richl]

This is the mount on the lathe

This is the mount on the motor

It's a pain to get to the bolts on the lathe mount, the back 2 would require a long handle ratcheting wrench. I think it would be easier to do maintenence to the lathe with a hinged bracket.
The 4 bolts on the motor mount are easier to get to, but they have no adjustments

***Check that all the bolts are in and tight on your headstock to cast base, 1 missing, the other loose.
***The headstock adjustment cap screws, while the screw was snug, the locking nut was loose, I tightened mine up just in case. I'll check for alignment when everything is all together again.
*** there was something else, old timers has taken over my brain right now, I'll remember later...
OK, manual says the bolts holding in the bracket are 10mm 1.75, they are 12mm 1.75, which does narrow your selections on isolation mounts, the only 2 choices have 3 1/4" diameters, 1 3/4" is the biggest they should be. I'm hoping I can grind down the mount on my belt sander. (From mcmaster carr)

 

[Hozzie]

Yep, those are the ones I loosened. Don't remember what I used, but don't remember it being too bad. Maybe I got lucky. Good reminder to check them now and again to make sure they remain tight.

 

[JimDawson]

Looks like you have plenty of room to build something there. I used heavy gate hinges when I did the motor mount for my vertical band saw. Just welded the hinges to the mounting plates.

 

[richl]

Yep, those are the ones I loosened. Don't remember what I used, but don't remember it being too bad. Maybe I got lucky. Good reminder to check them now and again to make sure they remain tight.

My wrenches are not long enough to reach the 2 back bolts. I guess yours are longer than my old snap on and macs.

The original belt tightness was ok, maybe a little bit loose when I got the machine. They must have stretched over the last few months of use. I'll need to upgrade them to something bigger, so I'll look into getting matching gates belts.

I talked to mark (mks) about going to 3phase when I got the machine, he did emphasised the need of making a new motor mount, I can see why now I'll keep that in mind when I build this one, I will at some point go 3phase.

Thanks guys for the encouragement and suggestions.

 

[NortonDommi]

Come in from the back with a short open and ring. Bit of a PITB but not hard. Also check the alignment of motor to base as mine came decidedly out of line after alledgedly going through TWO PDI's. Came with bolts with three different head sizes as well . I aligned by using a straight edge across pulley faces to get in same plane and then checked the protusion on motor shaft was correct by using a piece of 3/8 hydrualic tube with an 80* bend, one long leg. This locates the two legs of the bend on one pully,(input shaft), and the long leg rests on the motor pully. Adjust until the long leg rests in the groove. Once this was done and belts fitted alignment was easy as a straight edge across the pulley's will show any misalignment.
I like the hinge idea and have been putting it off until I convert to a ribbed belt with a floating idler, an adjustment rod similar to modern car belt adjusters is my choice.

 

[richl]

Thanks Norton
I am a bit surprised myself at the number of things I find on my lathe that are not right. I don't mind going thru the machine as I learn about it better and make corrections... but, some things are just plain wrong... oh well, that's Chinese budget machines for the budget American market.

I was wondering about a ribbed belt, is this something that would require new pulleys? I had not really put any planning into this project, it kinda just happened by accident. Before I thought on how I would make a new mount, I had the bolts removed from the motor and than the bracket on the lathe... now I am going to make the mount with a heavy duty gate hinged so that I can get the machine back together to turn the kind of hinge I would like to make.

Thanks for your input, I'll keep it in mind when it comes time to test mount the new motor mount.