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sgimbel

sgimbel

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
675
Location
Round Rock, Texas
It's a long story but I ramed the motor on my Rikon, with my head, and besides multiple cuts, on my head. I cannot adjust the belt tension any longer. Its locked in the tight belt poistion but won't allow me to take the tension off for adjusting the belt tension for adjusting speeds. Any ideas? I'm full yime in a wheelchair so I can't just throw the lathe around for adjustments.
 

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Scott, that adjuster looks as if it is in the most loose position to me? Can we see a picture of the belt.
 
Scott, sorry for the troubles. It sounds like you must be pretty hard-headed.;) From the picture, it looks like the motor is cocked a little sideways. Check the mounting bolts and plates to see if it has shifted with the encounter with your head.

The tension adjustment bolt is springloaded so you can adjust its position. I would adjust it up a quarter turn, so that is it sticking straight out, and tap on it with a dead-blow hammer (or regular hammer if thats all you have) to loosen it.

Hope this helps and good luck.
Tomas
 
OK, Texans!!! I've heard too much about Texans and know there are a lot of you in the area of Round Rock so let's get to proving how good Texans are!! I know you want to help this man out and I can't come all the way from Florida so do your good deed!
 
It looks like the mounting plate is bent. I would just take a small sledge and tap it back into position. Just make sure you do it gently so you don't crack the cast frame of the lathe. If you contact Rikon, I'm sure they can help you with a new plate but it is some work to get it in.
 
Dang, must have been the steel plate!!! Looks like all you need is an BFH to fix that. If you don't have one or its not enough try an RBFH.
 
Although the motor does look to be 'out of line' the main problem to me appears to be that the belt is angled too (as stated above) that may be stopping the motor pulley train from moving when unlocked. Try prying the belt off that top spindle pulley to see if that loosens things up. It may damage the belt but it may also fix the problem.
Hope that helps... Good luck!
David
 
An old mechanics trick:
You should be able to use a pry bar or screwdriver (or something) to guide the belt over to the next smaller groove to the right while you rotate the pulley by hand. It should then travel over to the next grove and get closer to alignment. If you need to do it a second time to get it back to straight, repeat the above.
 
Scott,
I have this lathe and it looks like the handle is bent to the right. I would use a wooden mallet or tiny hammer to bent it slightly to the left. On mine, once I have loosened the hold down, I have to lift up on that handle to loosen the motor so I can adjust the belts. If you lift the motor you can then get the belt off the top pulley and adjust so that both fit on the correct notch. If i lived closer I would come do it for you. Sorry to hear about this, hope your head is doing okay.
 
sgimbel said:
It's a long story but I ramed the motor on my Rikon, with my head, and besides multiple cuts, on my head. I cannot adjust the belt tension any longer. Its locked in the tight belt poistion but won't allow me to take the tension off for adjusting the belt tension for adjusting speeds. Any ideas? I'm full yime in a wheelchair so I can't just throw the lathe around for adjustments.
Click to expand...

:bananen_smilies008: Scott; I can see that the belt is shifted over so that it is on two unmatched pullys, and it so tight that it has lifted the motor itself. So much for that problem !! After breaking both feet and being in a wheelchair for the last three months of last year, I think the real problem is the fact that Scott might not have the strength to make those adjustments that are needed !! You just don't realise how little strength and leverage you have sitting in a wheelchair unless you have been there. I think that the suggestion in one of the threads of someone in that area helping Scott out is the best idea. Jim S
 
You could try hitting your head on the opposite side of the lathe and see if that would push it back into proper position.

Hope your head is okay and that you get this fixed soon.
 
I have read this post a couple of times and waited but there has been no description of the accident. We see the result but the cause is still a mystery.

There has to be a story there somewhere. I hope the head feels better.
 
Haynie said:
I have read this post a couple of times and waited but there has been no description of the accident. We see the result but the cause is still a mystery.

There has to be a story there somewhere. I hope the head feels better.
Click to expand...

:curse::curse: Having been in the wheelchair for three months, I can tell you first hand that you don't have to lean left, right, or forward very much to loose your ballance and land on the shop floor. Also forgetting to put the brakes on doesn't help either. Hopefully there is nothing between you and the floor, but that's not always the case !! Been there, done that !!! I was going to ask Scott, but had a good idea of what might of happened. Jim S
 
I have pretty much this same lathe so I know why this is hard for you. The others are right about the problem being the belt not on the correct pulley positions. I accidentally did this the other night when moving the belt...I moved the belt over one position too many. When you get in this situation the handle you normally lift to relieve tension is already pulled up so you have no more play to relieve the tension to move the belt. I had to pull up really hard on that handle to get the belt moved back over one step. In that photo though it looks like your belt is two positions off and thats why it looks like the motor is not sitting level. The motor is being pulled up by that tension. If you can get a friend to come by to help have them use a screwdriver like someone suggested and use it to force the belt to move to a smaller pulley as you manually turn the wheel. I wouldn't try to bend anything until you get the tension relieved from the belt. I think you can get this working again without bending anything.
 
Since the lifting handle is maxed out in travel due to the belt being out of alignment try removing the tightening bolt completely, this may let the handle come up some more and give you enough slack to move the belt.
 
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