Moving v belts on pulleys ?

[Rich2502Participant @rich2502]

Any tricks for moving around tight v belts around on multi stepped pulleys on a pillar drill?

[Rich2502Participant @rich2502]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Loosen the belt

Seriously … if you can’t do that, you are either using the wrong size belt or a very badly designed machine.

MichaelG.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

There is usually some way to release the belt tension, the motor platform can often be released to swing against a spring. As you are going to move the belt on a cone stack then I prefer to move the end that is moving to the smaller diameter first and then the other end. Just pushing the belt towards the edge of the V groove while turning should make the belt climb over and into the next groove. Be careful as a friend lost the end of a finger manipulating a belt across a multi belt pulley.

Mike

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Same as Mike says, a bit hairy just be careful.

Tony

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Rich2502 on 19/06/2022 12:47:24:

Any tricks for moving around tight v belts around on multi stepped pulleys on a pillar drill?

Is this your Tauco?

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

I have a Warco mill/drill. To change from the top speed range to the lowest there is a need to remove the motor to intermediate belt and the intermediate to quill pulley belt. The motor /intermediate is made easier by slackening off the motor tension screw allowing that belt to go slack. However, the other belt is a right pig as you have to slacken off a couple of bearing hub bolts, swing the intermediate pulley arm which slackens the belt.

Consequently, I use a small tyre lever to prise the belt off of the large pulley (Whichever that may be). To be on the safe side, isolate the machine first, as it is all to easy to have an accident!

Because it is such a pain in the posterior, I added 2 extra pulleys to the motor and intermediates. This gives me the full range of speeds without having to remove any belts, just move them up and down. I did have to modify the belt cover some what, but it still protects the operator.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

I once had a drill with the intermediate pulley but it always floated and the tension for both belts was applied by the motor adjustment. It doesn’t seem to make sense to fix the intermediate pulley.

Mike

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Pity you weren't on the design team Mike !

[Frank GorseParticipant @frankgorse]

Wrap a strip of cloth,as many thicknesses as necessary, round the belt and use this as a handle to ease the belt over the edge of the pulley. Easier to do than to describe,this was shown to me by a proper engineer during my very brief career in engineering.

[egaParticipant @ega]

Speedy Builder5:

I have same machine and, like Mike Poole have the intermediate set to float:

I am running from a VFD and don't change often change pulleys

Also visible in the photo is my self-extracting draw bar and flywheel on the quill pulley; the latter is very useful for rotating the spindle by hand.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

You should not never "need" levers to move a belt across cone-pulleys. That risks damaging the flanges and suggests the belt is a size too short for the machine.

The machine should have a method for readily releasing the tension at the motor end; by allowing inwards movement of the motor on a hinged plate.

Once done, ease the belt off the smaller diameter first. Move it to the larger of the selected new pair then ease it over the smaller.

Mind your fingers!

Always leave a little slack in the belt. It should be possible to push the middle of the longest leg of belt by finger-pressure inwards by maybe half an inch, before the resistance increases markedly.

A two-stage reduction often lets the centre pulley cone mounting float on a swinging-arm (as on the Myford VMC Mill), but on some including the Warco mill/drill it is mounted on an adjustable plate held by gripper screws. On such mechanisms:

. – Slacken both sides of the drive.

– Move the belts as required.

– Tighten the secondary belt (to the spindle) first as above by moving and re-tightening the idler mounting,

– then tighten the primary (motor) belt by its motor adjustment.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Yes. Pull the belt down towards a smaller pulley and rotate the machine by hand. Always reinstate the belt on the smallest pulley last. Always use the correct length belts.

regards Martin

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

That centre pulley is designed to pivot on the centre column axis to make changing the belts easier when the motor is moved as far as possible in the slackening direction. The pivot never needs tightening.

 If the pillar drill does not have the centre pulley, then you should investigate ways of getting the motor to move slightly further in the slackening direction.

Edited By old mart on 19/06/2022 19:26:38

[Rich2502Participant @rich2502]

On my Tauco drill with a new motor, yes the belt is jus a fraction too small, the motor mounting bars are fully up to the hilt and there's no adjustment.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Rich2502 on 20/06/2022 12:29:21:

On my Tauco drill with a new motor, yes the belt is jus a fraction too small, the motor mounting bars are fully up to the hilt and there's no adjustment.

Looking at the pics, there does not seem to be a quick-release for the tension on that old machine.

Take care, if the belt is too short – it may be over-loading the bearings.

Personally, by now, that drill would have been fitted with a 3 phase motor with VFD.🙂

[Author]

Posts