I have been using power twist belts around here for years. Never even
knew there was a right and wrong direction. Never had any trouble with
one. I hate beating on a lathe spindle. The one on my Atlas 10" lathe
has been there for at least 10 years. I only run it backwards about
twice a year, but who knows, it may be on backwards already!

Pete Stanaitis


xray wrote:
I know it has been discussed but I haven't found an exact answer in
older messages.

I bought a used 13" Taiwan lathe. It was very dirty and I have been
cleaning and lubing the last days. Mechanically it looks good, but I
just realized the belts both are in bad shape.

It uses two B-size belts, motor to intermediate, and intermediate to
spindle. To replace them I would need to remove the spindle and two
other shafts. I have a semi-manual with parts drawings but no text at
all on the process. Looks long and ugly to me. I never worked on any
lathe spindle before.

So I was all set to buy some PowerTwist link belt when I remembered that
the motor is reversable. Am I correct that link belts only work in one
direction? Are there any other split belts that run both directions that
are worth considering?

Right now I am leaning toward disconnecting the reverse switch and
getting the link belts.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.