So, the new piece for the motor pulley arrived today, and it was a shocker - I had assumed that part of the way a REeve's drive works is to have one side of the drive pulley loose and freewheeling, as that's how mine was. WRONG!! It's supposed to be firmly anchored to the shaft, just sliding back and forth as tension is applied.
Needless to say, my old pulley was in really bad shape. There was a pile of metal shavings inside the headstock cover, and there is a good
2mm clearance all around the inside of the pulley to the piece that actually rides on the shaft. That thing was basically using friction between the brass fitting and the pulley side to drive the lathe! Yow!! Talk about heat!!! (I'll ry to post a picture to show you the damage, it's amazing.)So, I replaced it, and it runs nice and cool, but even better, it runs fast. I had thought I was getting full speed, but I wasn't even close.
Which brings me to my other topic. having previously only used a lathe which was in pathetic shape, I didn't realize how fast these things are supposed to run. It turns out that I'm NOT a complete incompetent at the skew chisel, but rather, I was trying to use a skew chisel at far too slow a speed, probably 900 rpm or so. Lots of catches and chewed up wood as a result, and a distinct temptation to throw my whole garage out into the street.
Just tried turning a pen now, and ended up having such a great time with the chisel making fabulous shiny cuts that I ruined the pen itself and had to part off all the wood from the brass tubes, but I don't care. I realize now that I pretty much have the basic skills needed to do the skew, and that makes me VERY happy.
(I've also been watching the first Richard Raffan video, and this has been very helpful as he makes several mistakes and comments on them. I appreciate that he was truly honest to the audience and let them know that even "Master Turners" who make video make plenty of mistakes too, and and just really good at covering them up.)
Amazing what a difference that one part makes, the lathe is super quiet now, no more rattling sounds of the loose pulley wabbling around, it's just whisper quiet. I held a phone up to it for my wife, who was amazed.
I'm off to have more fun. Wheee!!! (Giddy little kid at Chistmas noises.)
Mark