Need small pulley

Have a lathe? Monday about 5:30 pm, I managed to bust off one wing of an adjustable pulley that ran my swamp cooler. As the hardware store was closed and I had to be in LA early in the morning..I girded my loins (fun in a group ) dug out a chunk of aluminum bar 3" in diameter and stuck it in my 3 jaw chuck.

I turned it to diameter, and ran a 1/2" drill down the center, pushing hard so it would be a smidge undersize.

I then took the dimensions of the belt, and the angle of the V, and wrote them down. Using a cutoff tool, I plunge turned a section that would hold my set screw, then scratched where my V would go. I set my compound for 90' and plunged in the center of the groove, and opened up the slot a bit on either side of center. Then setting the compound to the proper angle, I plunged in at an angle, first from the right, then resetting and plunging in from the left, making my V groove. I laid the belt in the groove,and Voila..a mostly perfect fit

I then ran a .50 reamer into the center, pushing slowly but firmly. Then using the cutoff tool again, I cut the pulley off the remainder of the bar. Sticking it into an angle vise, I drilled and tapped a setscrew hole at a slight angle, then deburred everything with a soft wheel.

I slipped the pulley over the shaft (perfect fit..YAHOOO!!), lined up the squirrel cage pulley, tightened up the setscrew and installed the belt.

Holding my breath, and watching for any runout, I fired the old girl up and WHEEEE..it spun up with no visible runout.

Total time was about 1.5 hours, even considering that Im not a machinist and had to do a bit of head scratching at the angle of the belt V, including buttoning up the cooler and a potty call.

When I make the next one, Ill try it over a mandrel, but in this application, it works like a charm as I did it.

Gunner, whom may be catching on. His gouging metal away is getting better and better. "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" -- Ben Franklin

Thanks Gunner, but I need the pulley to drive my lathe. I cannot believe that you cant buy a 2" pulley for a 3/8" belt in this country. I have tried every source I know of and nobody has one. I guess I'll have to have a machinist make one. Pathetic! What has happened to America. Max L.

Pathetic is right. Pages 930 & 931 in McMaster catalog 109 will give you a choice of several.

Also available from Dodge, Martin, Gates, et al, thru a power transmission distributor.

WW Grainger, too.

Ned Simmons