Ideas for quieting the Craftsman 21715 15" lathe?

I've scanned and uploaded some pictures from the manual showing the drive mechanism in the Craftsman lathe.

This is the side view with the cover off:

is an exploded view and parts list of the entire thing: can see that power comes from the shaft connectedto parts 49 and 50 (transmission pulley and drivebelt), going through the lower pulley (24 and 25),connected via the V belt (6) to the upper pulley(5 and 8), which drives the spindle. These PDFs were produced with GhostScript/RedMon. For some reason, my most recent set up of this results in lines in the output when printed. They don't obscure anything, but any ideas as to why this is happening are appreciated.

Daryl

Daryl Biberdorf wrote:

I think adding rubber pad will not be a good thing. I suggest you add some sand bag. They will damp a lot of vibration and add good stability when unbalance blanks.

Daryl Biberdorf wrote in news:5bKcncBT2-nbZLyiU- snipped-for-privacy@august.net:

I bought the Craftsman 21715 earlier this year. I was upgrading from Harbor Freights $79 lathe which I learned on for two years. I thought it was a big improvement. Wrong. I had an off balance bowl blank on it and the spindle started wobbling. I found three loose bolts on it which I tightened. Then the drive belt started slipping. I looked to see how to fix it and found it to be much of a problem. It was under warrenty so I called Sears Repair. He had to order a new belt which was a month and a half to arrive. After three weeks I heard that this model was hard on bearings which cost $80 each so I took my lathe back to Sears and got a refund. With my refund I added $245 and bought the Jet Jwl 1442 for $715 from Southern Tool. It was free shipping and I received it in four days. The jet is 1 horse power and variable speed and I have not been able to stall with any out of balance bowl blank. I was worth the extra $245. The day my new Jet Lathe arrived, Fed Ex delivered the belt for the craftsman lathe. Tommie

Tommie wrote: (clip) After three weeks I heard that this model was hard on bearings which cost $80 each(clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^ That fits with what I heard from a friend, who has the earlier gear-driven version of this lathe. His spindle has developed some play in the bearings.

As an owner of a Craftsman 21715 15" lathe, I have found the best way to quiet it is to pull the plug on it. That will not only save your ears, but help keep you from strangling the people at the service desk, parts dept., repair scheduling, and the 15 other people you have to call when it breaks. Hopefully you got the extended service agreement. It took over 2 months to get a bearing replaced, finally they gave up and gave me a new lathe that I haven't had the heart to plug in. I have the 5 year service agreement so I can wait 4 more years to plug it in, so I can have it replaced again in warrantee.

Steve Andrejat wrote: (clip) finally they gave up and gave me a new lathe that I haven't had the heart to plug in (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That may be the harshest review of a lathe ever written.

Folks I am still using my Craftsman and still consider it to be a bargain. I have it bolted to the floor and turn pieces up to eighteen inches without problem except getting that large a piece of wood. I find it quiet to turn on and dependable. I have replaced one drive belt but no big deal there. I have had both the gear driven and the belt driven models and like both. Once I get the dust collector and the drill going for sanding, noise from a lathe is not a problem. Wear hearing protectors in the shop, folks. You want your ears for a long time.

I had the old version of that lathe to start out on and it lasted me a month, and at that time all I was turning were cedar and pine 4x4s. The service department wasn't any help but the sales people were, I turned it back in and got my money back. Just my opinion but it seems that craftsman makes its big power tools look good but thats about it. Hopefully yours works out well. Personally I'd just turn it back in and get the Jet or Nova minis and be happy with a quality piece of equipment, quieter too. I'm not knocking Craftsman, thier handtools (wrenches, etc) are perfect, that's all I'll buy, their toolboxes are best for the price. They have to make money on some stuff though and I guess the big stuff is where they choose to. Either way, good luck, Guy