I have my new lathe set up on the board and the motor mounted directly to the board rather than via the small metal plate. Mounted on the plate, belt slips badly at the slowest pulley combination, mounted directly on the board, the belt still slips but I have to clamp down harder on the chuck, but I can still stop it. The belt is slipping at the motor pulley.

Is this something that will decrease as the belt breaks in or the pulleys lose their smooth surface?

Rick

This may sound dumb, Rick, but you have the belt on with the ridges facing out, right?
I only ask because I have seen posts on various forums where folks are having trouble with the belt because it was on backwards. It's an honest mistake.

How much tension? It can be pretty tight, but doesn't need to be guitar string tight.

It's subjective, but the belt needs to be able to slip from a safety stand point. How much slip is the part you have to decide on for yourself. I make sure mine will slip before the motor starts to stall.

Dean W

Dean,

Yes, I am fairly sure that it is installed with the "v" in the grove of the pulleys. Maybe I don't have it tight enough. I am concerned that if the chuck can be stopped that there will not be enough power applied to it to power through cuts.

Rick

My motor is mounted on the plate then it is mounted on the board, (loosely). When the belt is installed, the weight of the motor applies tension on the belt so it does not slip.

With the motor mounted rigidly to the board and adjusted so the belt has about 1/2 to 1/3 inch deflection, there is very little slipping. I want to do some fairly heavy cuts, 0.020-0.025 to see if there is any problem with the belt slipping then.

Rick