[thesh111t]

My HF 8x12 lathe arrived yesterday. I spent a couple hours cleaning, lubing and mounting the lathe on my bench. When it came time to put the belts on, I was VERY suprised to see that the toothed belt was as thin as it is. Is this a high failure rate item? I contacted Harbor freight and they say the belt is on back order. So if this is in fact a high failure rate item I may want to order a new one now, while my lathe is still in working order otherwise it will be weeks for a new belt to show up and a few weeks is too long to have my lathe down . Is there a heavier duty belt I can buy from somewhere? I am not docking the lathe, it seems to work great (My lathe tools have not arrived in the mail yet, but I did drill a 1/2 inch hole in a piece of mild steel round stock using my tailstock chuck.) It just seems like this may turn out to be a weak link. Thanks ahead of time for any help you guys may be able to give me.

[Ed Boysun]

You might be surprised at just how much the little cogged belts can take. They are thin enough to hold the strands that give them their strength, but not so thick that heat build-up becomes an issue. If you cut a Vee-belt apart sometime, you'll see that the strands that give them their strength are no thicker than the cogged belt. They need the thickness to give them traction on the sides of the sheaves, but the thickness comes at the cost of heat build up when they run. A Vee also slips and rubs a bit when running, so they will wear faster than the cogged belt too.
Just the same, I ordered spare belts for my lathe. Got the Vees, but the cogged is also on back-order. Have you checked with Lathemaster to see if they have the belts?
Ed

[thesh111t]

I figured that, there was a reson for the belt being so thin. I thought that if it was too thick, it would lake a lot of power to run(And we both know that these lathes don't have a ton of power to spare). I just was not sure how strong they were. So you say there pretty strong huh? I just got on the phone with HF this morning, and ordered both belts. The cog belt is on back order, but will ship as soon as it comes in stock. I'm hoping that the belts on the lathe currently will survive long enough for the spare belts to arrive. Thanks for your help.

[balsaman]

Mine is going on 3 years now. Original belt. You won't break it.

Eric

[thesh111t]

Thanks balsaman. I have been looking around online and I can't find anyone claiming that this is a problem area on out lathe. I think you are right is that it is plenty strong enough. I do have a spare belt on the way though. Better safe then sorry I say. If it sits on the shelf for 4 or 5 years before I need it then GREAT, but if I need it next week, at least I'll have it. Thanks again for your help.

[sanddrag]

LMS stocks it now http://littlemachineshop.com/product...ProductID=2811

[thesh111t]

Thanks for the link. I'll put in an order in the morning. There are a lot of things I would like ot have, on that site.

[skmetal7]

make sure your timing pulley it tight, when i got mine, i took some heavy cuts and it make a loud grinding sound. i opened the back and saw the belt slipping on the pulley. you have to remove the cover over the motor to get at it and tighten a few nuts