It's just a wee lathe so you can turn the chuck by hand

The closest part of the chuck goes down the way (anti clockwise)

You can also lift the belt cover and i presume pull the upper belt towards yourself

If you can't turn it something is engaged and others will help

Don't plug it in and switch it on blind if you dont have a clue

If you just want to check the motor, slacken the primary belt (On Myfords, the belt is tensioned by just the weight of the motor, so lift it, and remove the belt from the pulley.

With the motor unloaded, it should spin up.

Assuming that it is a single phase motor, when you switch off, just before it stops, you should hear a click as the centrifugal switch kicks in again.

(The switch makes contact when the motor is stationary, and powers the start winding. When the motor reaches speed, the centrifugal switch opens and de-energises the start windings, leaving the motor with power to just the Run windings )

If the motor does not spin up when the belt is refitted, you need to start checking, stage by stage, from the countershaft onwards what is causing the problem.

Howard