Michael Koblic wrote:
I am not sure if I am going crazy or the world around me is:

I am going around trying to price out a project: To reduce motor speed using
a pulley system by 16:1 would cost me in pulleys alone $50 using a local
supplier (2 6" and 2 1.5" pulley). I have just come back from an auction
where one could buy several drill pressess for around $40. For this I have
two step pulleys, a motor, a shaft, some bearings etc.

Since when has it become cheaper to buy an assembled piece of second-hand
equipment and cannibalize it for parts rather than buy parts alone? Come to
think of it, it would not even have to be second-hand equipment: Plenty of
cheap small drill presses for $100, i.e. a cost of 2 step-pulleys alone.
BTW a single sleeve 1/2" bearing - $5.00.

Is this an atypical observation? Is this a common phenomenon in the USA
also?


Depending on your packaging constraints you could look at using a poly V
belt drive with a one stage reduction. Have a look at a modern washing
machine. I have used a poly V drive for a flat lap with about a 5:1
reduction and machined the motor pulley myself, the driven pulley being
a VW Golf (still Rabbit in the US?) rear drum which provided the
bearings and stubaxle to support the assembly with the lap plate being
mounted on top of the drum. The OD of the drum was machined as standard
and one benefit of poly V belts is that with reduction of over 3:1 IIRC
you don't need the larger pulley to have Vs, it can be a plain surface.
Poly V pulleys with taper lock bushes are readily available, at least in
the UK, if you can machine your own.