I Need Some Suggestions

[crokett™]

I have an older Delta 46-451 lathe.  I am in the middle of changing the headstock spindle belt.  This lathe has 2 belts, one from the motor to the Reeves, one from the Reeves to the headstock.  To change the headstock belt you are supposed to be able to drive the spindle sideways out of one side of the headstock, change the belt and then drive it back.  The manual says to "tap gently" so I don't think it's supposed to take a lot of force.   I have been using a link belt on it because when I hauled it out of a barn (literally) 10 years ago the headstock belt was in bad shape and broke early on in testing. Back then I couldn't get the spindle to slide in the pulley.   The link belt has been slipping so I decided to replace it with the proper belt.  I was able to get the spindle moved far enough to the left to get the belt on but putting it back together I can't get it moved far enough to the right.  The pulley is too far over to the right.  It hits the side of the headstock, and I can't use the indexing pin. Using a wrench as a spacer on the pulley and hitting the spindle doesn't move it.  Using the spindle nut to try to draw it through doesn't move it.    I had thought originally about taking the headstock to a machine shop to have the belt changed but to do that the way it's bolted on I think the entire lathe would have to come off the stand and be turned over.    Any suggestions besides taking it somewhere?  I can get the pulley to spin on the spindle with the set screws removed.

[EvilTwin]

I have an older Delta 46-451 lathe.  I am in the middle of changing the headstock spindle belt.  This lathe has 2 belts, one from the motor to the Reeves, one from the Reeves to the headstock.  To change the headstock belt you are supposed to be able to drive the spindle sideways out of one side of the headstock, change the belt and then drive it back.  The manual says to "tap gently" so I don't think it's supposed to take a lot of force.   I have been using a link belt on it because when I hauled it out of a barn (literally) 10 years ago the headstock belt was in bad shape and broke early on in testing. Back then I couldn't get the spindle to slide in the pulley.   The link belt has been slipping so I decided to replace it with the proper belt.  I was able to get the spindle moved far enough to the left to get the belt on but putting it back together I can't get it moved far enough to the right.  The pulley is too far over to the right.  It hits the side of the headstock, and I can't use the indexing pin. Using a wrench as a spacer on the pulley and hitting the spindle doesn't move it.  Using the spindle nut to try to draw it through doesn't move it.    I had thought originally about taking the headstock to a machine shop to have the belt changed but to do that the way it's bolted on I think the entire lathe would have to come off the stand and be turned over.    Any suggestions besides taking it somewhere?  I can get the pulley to spin on the spindle with the set screws removed.

I had one quite a while ago and replaced the headstock bearings cause I thought they might need it.   I dont remember too many details of what I did, but I do remember that you have to be real careful with that pulley as it is a fairly thin aluminum and you can deform it if it hits one side of the casting while you are tapping or hitting on the shaft.  It took some time and finagling to get the shaft moved to one side and it all did come out.  You may want to try and heat the pulley with a heat gun and see if that makes it slide a bit easier.  For any more help, I'd need to see some pictures.

[MKepke]

I have an older Delta 46-451 lathe.  I am in the middle of changing the headstock spindle belt.  This lathe has 2 belts, one from the motor to the Reeves, one from the Reeves to the headstock.  To change the headstock belt you are supposed to be able to drive the spindle sideways out of one side of the headstock, change the belt and then drive it back. 
<snip>   I had thought originally about taking the headstock to a machine shop to have the belt changed but to do that the way it's bolted on I think the entire lathe would have to come off the stand and be turned over.    Any suggestions besides taking it somewhere?  I can get the pulley to spin on the spindle with the set screws removed.

I've changed the headstock bearings on my Delta HD, but its been so long I don't remember exactly what I did. Thinking I removed the inboard bearing cap and moved the spindle over that direction. Inboard bearing has to come out.

Have you checked the OWWM forum..they should have directions.

PS. If it comes removing the headstock, you should be able to remove the bolts clamping the headstock casting to the sheet metal base from the normal upright position. I've done that too- ran it with a riser block(s) for years before I got my Woodfast.

-Mark

[crokett™]

I had one quite a while ago and replaced the headstock bearings cause I thought they might need it.   I dont remember too many details of what I did, but I do remember that you have to be real careful with that pulley as it is a fairly thin aluminum and you can deform it if it hits one side of the casting while you are tapping or hitting on the shaft.  It took some time and finagling to get the shaft moved to one side and it all did come out.  You may want to try and heat the pulley with a heat gun and see if that makes it slide a bit easier.  For any more help, I'd need to see some pictures.

thanks.  I will try the heat.   at some point in the past I was able to move the pulley a bit because when I got the lathe the pulley was too far to one side so I couldn't use the indexing pin.  I did something with some threaded rod as a drawbar (I still have it) to adjust the pulley but don't remember what I did.  I will probably try to engineer that again.  

I've changed the headstock bearings on my Delta HD, but its been so long I don't remember exactly what I did.  Thinking I removed the inboard bearing cap and moved the spindle over that direction.  Inboard bearing has to come out.

Have you checked the OWWM forum..they should have directions.

I have the directions, they just aren't working. 
     As to taking the headstock off, it's bolted to the lathe body (ways) from underneath.  the lathe is bolted to the stand.  I am not sure I can get to the headstock bolts without taking the entire lathe off the stand and rolling it at least on it's side.   I would have to go through the lower access door and past the reeves drive.

[crokett™]

I was able to get the pulley off with heat and some PB Blaster but mostly heat. I opted to disassemble everything. I will mount the spindle on another lathe, or figure out how to do it with my hand drill and sand it smooth. I will then figure out how to fix the inside of the pulley.

[Stwood_]

  I will then figure out how to fix the inside of the pulley.

Inside of the pulley buggered up? If so, I have a gizmo I made that holds cloth backed paper for smoothing ID's of holes.
You can make one if you have a hacksaw.

[crokett™]

Inside of the pulley buggered up? If so, I have a gizmo I made that holds cloth backed paper for smoothing ID's of holes.
You can make one if you have a hacksaw.

It is a bit. I have a hacksaw.  I also have a kit I got a few weeks ago that holds the sandpaper tubes and was going to use one of those.  Its the expanding rubber cylinder.  I got it for a different project but it should work for this.

[crokett™]

The lathe is back together. This weekend I took the spindle and the pulley to a friend's lathe. I made up some "hones" with 1" dowel and wet/dry sandpaper glued to them. I found a real cylinder hone on amazon for 20 bucks but figured it was overkill. After I cleaned the grime off the spindle I found a few spots where the pulley would hang so I hand filed those down. I used my 180-320 grit hones to deal with the bore on the pulley, then put the spindle back on the lathe and used the the sand paper to finally clean that up. The spindle has a flat on it where the set screws on the pulley are supposed to go. I think the original problem with it was time+grime+at some point the pulley was allowed to spin so the set screws were not on the flat. This caused indendations+raised spots which then locked the pulley onto it. During assembly I lubed everything with pb blaster. I am hoping that helps prevent the rust again.

[Danny in Houston]

I asked ChatGP and got this:
Hello, this is Bing. I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with changing the headstock spindle belt on your Delta 46-451 lathe. I have searched the web for some possible solutions and here is what I found:

- According to the Delta web site, you can download the Owners Manual for your lathe model here⁹. It should have instructions for changing the belt and bearings and spindle. You can also call them for a manual or a replacement spindle at (800) 223-7278⁹.
- Some Delta lathes have removable spindles with morse tapers that can be knocked out of the cartridges by removing the nut and giving the spindle a protected (block of wood) pop⁶. You can also use a long steel rod that will fit inside the knockout hole to drive the spindle out⁵.
- On some models, the inboard bearing has to come off the spindle on the inboard side, not the other way. There is a shoulder on the spindle to prevent it from going towards the out board end. You have to drive the spindle from outboard to inboard without restricting the inboard bearing. It goes with the spindle and is removed after the spindle is out⁷.
- On some models, both the inboard and outboard bearings are pressed into the housing, and you have to free the pulley from the shaft by loosening the grub screw. Then you can press the spindle shaft through the inner bore of the bearings⁸.

I hope this helps you with your problem. If not, you may want to take your lathe to a professional or contact Delta for more assistance. Good luck!

Source: Conversation with Bing, 2/15/2023(1) How to remove spindle from Delta HD 12" 46-450?. https://www.aawforum.org/community/threa...-450.1161/ Accessed 2/15/2023.
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(3) How to remove spur center in head stock | Woodworking Talk. https://www.woodworkingtalk.com/threads/...re%20items Accessed 2/15/2023.
(4) Help - Trying to remove spindle / pulley on Delta 3401A (3400 like) lathe. https://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/fo...like-lathe Accessed 2/15/2023.
(5) Trying to remove headstock spindle - American Association of Woodturners. https://www.aawforum.org/community/threa...dle.14723/ Accessed 2/15/2023.
(6) Delta Wood Lathes - The Whittling Guide. https://thewhittlingguide.com/guides/lat...od-lathes/ Accessed 2/15/2023.
(7) Delta 46-541 Lathe question - FineWoodworking. https://www.finewoodworking.com/forum/de...e-question Accessed 2/15/2023.
(8) How to remove spindle from Delta HD 12" 46-450?. https://www.aawforum.org/community/threa...-450.1161/ Accessed 2/15/2023.
(9) Lathe Headstock Guide - The Whittling Guide. https://thewhittlingguide.com/guides/lat...ock-guide/ Accessed 2/15/2023.