An odd development. I replaced the belts on the 5914 lathe a week or two ago. At first, it ran quietly, but now a loud cyclic squeak has developed at low Reeves-drive speed settings. The actual speed isn't important; only the speed setting matters, and the noise comes from the lower pulley. It sounds like a rubber squeak.
There doesn't seem to be any harm in it, but I wonder if this has been observed before.
Joe Gwinn
spray a little wd-40 on the belt and see if the noise goes away. or rub the sides of the belt as it turns, with a bar of soap.
If the noise doesnt go away..you could be losing a bearing.
Back off the motor tension adjustment
gunner
at yoyodyne they were all veterans of the psychic wars exiled from the eighth dimension where the winds of limbo roar" mariposa rand mair theal
Will try. I think people also use belt dressing for this.
Will check. It's certainly possible, as no doubt the new variable-speed belt is pressing on things differently than the old, worn belt.
Hmm. The other possibility is that the pulley on the motor is too close to the motor, causing the now much stiffer belt to come into the pulley at too much of an angle. This is adjustable, and I put it all the way in when repairing the wobbling-pulley syndrome ("Clausing 5914 VariDrive Wobble", January 2008). It may be time to back off a bit.
This is set by the strength of the spring that pushes the Reeves-drive pulley flanges together on the countershaft, whereas the squeaking seems to come from the Reeves pulley on the motor. This is not user adjustable, and there was no squeak before belt replacement.
The only tension adjustment possible is of the timing belt from countershaft to spindle, and this seems correctly tensioned.
It may be useful to poke around with a mechanic's stethoscope.
Joe Gwinn
Did you thoroughly clean the pulleys before you fitted the new belt? - its not unusual for the old belt to have shred gunk onto the pulleys, then the new one picks up a lump of it and squeaks....if the new belt feels grungy after such a short use, its probably it - and sometimes you can see/feel the lump...
(And yes, I know bugger-all about lathes, but other things I have worked on have developed the same symptoms after belt changes...)
Andrew VK3BFA.
The flanges feel clean, although the old belt was certainly well gunked up. Maybe the new belts are too clean. Using WD-40 on the belt will add some oil. Likewise, belt dressing.
Joe Gwinn
Haven't tried it, but I like the soap idea. It should be the easiest to remove if it causes some sort of problem. If the noise changes/goes away after applying at least you know you're on the right track.
Ivory, Irish Spring, Dial... so many choices ;-)
Given the old industrial flavor, should not one use Fels Naptha Soap?
Joe Gwinn
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