So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt
under heavy load seem attractive.

John

On Dec 10, 2:05 pm, JohnM wrote:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/southbend/page12.html

"JohnM" wrote in message
m...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt under
heavy load seem attractive.

John

The one negative to consider is the pattern that would develop from the
chain. It could very well manifest itself in the finish of the machined
part. Or not.

Harold

On 10 Dec, 19:05, JohnM wrote:
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt
under heavy load seem attractive.

John

Chain drives are quite common on single and multispindle automatic
lathes.Both roller chain and inverted tooth type are used.

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:24:23 GMT, "Harold and Susan Vordos"
wrote:


"JohnM" wrote in message
om...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt under
heavy load seem attractive.

John

The one negative to consider is the pattern that would develop from the
chain. It could very well manifest itself in the finish of the machined
part. Or not.

Harold

My Logan 8" shaper is final chain drive. You can just discern the
pattern in the finish. It's still very good, but I wouldn't like it
on my lathe. When everything's right, the lathe finish is excellent.

Pete Keillor

Cause it would be noisy as hell, and speed changes would be time consuming
too.

I have a large horizontal mill (7.5hp) that had a "silent chain" drive from
the motor to the countershaft. I needed to wear hearing protection when it
was running. I converted it to v-belts and now it's nice & quiet.

Tony

"JohnM" wrote in message
m...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt under
heavy load seem attractive.

John

"JohnM" wrote in message
m...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe
with roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't
offer perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big
deal? The biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage
when crashing the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking
of the belt under heavy load seem attractive.

John

timing belt?

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:24:23 GMT, "Harold and Susan Vordos"
wrote:


"JohnM" wrote in message
om...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt under
heavy load seem attractive.

John

The one negative to consider is the pattern that would develop from the
chain. It could very well manifest itself in the finish of the machined
part. Or not.


Base on personal experience it will eventually if not at first.
Roller chain is not a constant speed power transmitter except in one
case. That's when the exact same sprocket is used as the drive and the
driven. That's fine when everything's new. However the chain soon
wears just a little and there goes the smooth power transmission. The
resulting pulsations most definitely show up in the finish on lathe
work (don't ask how I know).

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
"JohnM" wrote in message
m...
So why couldn't one replace that dumb ol' flat belt on an old lathe with
roller chain? I seem to remember that roller chain drives don't offer
perfectly smooth power transfer, but is it going to be a big deal? The
biggest loss, for me anyway, would be the loss of slippage when crashing
the carriage but the advantages of no slippage/shucking of the belt under
heavy load seem attractive.

John

The one negative to consider is the pattern that would develop from the
chain. It could very well manifest itself in the finish of the machined
part. Or not.

Harold



Thanks, Harold, and everyone else with thoughts on the subject. At least
I have an option to the belt if I decide I can't stand it any longer.

John