On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:55:50 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:


It's principal limitation (which is anecdotal--I haven't
experienced it yet) is that the Reeves drive doesn't transmit torque
well at low speed.

You'll have to define what you mean by the above, it is a constant
horse power device.

Well, it happened on my drill press once when I first got it. I was
turning a good sized Forstner bit at a fairly low (what I thought was
conservative) speed and the bit would stop. The motor kept running,
but the shaft/chuck/bit assembly stopped. Constant horsepower it may
have, but the system depends on friction to work, and the low
speed/high torque demand seems to have exceeded the coefficient of
friction.

Anyway, the anecdotal evidence I had was not that, but what someone
posted either on the wreck or on r.c.w. as a limitation of the -700
around the time I first posted my gloat about it (as I recall).

If you do get it, let me give you a hint for working protocol. You're
not supposed to change speeds without the motor on. Therefore, get in
the habit of turning the speed down every time before you turn it off.

A "Reeves" type drive should be running when you change speeds to
minimize wear on the belt and the sheaves.

I said that: "you're not supposed to change speeds without the motor
on." My point was that if you turned the motor off when the speed was
set high and then chucked up something that needs to be turned slow,
you'll have to unchuck, turn the lathe on, reset the speed, and then
rechuck the blank. Do not turn the thing on with big ugly,
out-of-balance work and the speed set on high.

You also don't want to leave the drive in one position because you
will tend to wear a groove in the sheaves at one place which makes a
smooth change of speed very difficult.

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
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LRod wrote:

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

What I'm really trying to convey is that you don't want to "set it and
forget it" for extended periods of time.

I had a customer once who used a Reeves drive on a mixer.

Tended to operate at the same speed for weeks at a time.

Eventually he would wear a groove in the sheave faces.

It was time for a rebuild.

By varying the speed setting, even a little bit, you spread the wear
and tear over a larger area, thus no sudden speed change surprises.

Lew

Thanks for your input, both of you.

Clint

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
nk.net...
LRod wrote:

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

What I'm really trying to convey is that you don't want to "set it and
forget it" for extended periods of time.

I had a customer once who used a Reeves drive on a mixer.

Tended to operate at the same speed for weeks at a time.

Eventually he would wear a groove in the sheave faces.

It was time for a rebuild.

By varying the speed setting, even a little bit, you spread the wear and
tear over a larger area, thus no sudden speed change surprises.

Lew