I’m struggling!

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Changing speeds on my Warco VMC mill is becoming increasingly difficult.

Can anyone tell me if they know the correct VBelt indentification marks, as I find it hard to do and I wonder if the correct belts are fitted

I would add that I have two fingers missing on my right hand and at 75 I’m not as strong as I used to be.

John

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Hi John, the belts are A750 and A900, that's what fit my Warco VMC.

Regards Mark P.

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Posted by Mark P. on 24/10/2020 17:41:08:

Hi John, the belts are A750 and A900, that's what fit my Warco VMC.

Regards Mark P.

Thanks Mark , my mill was built in 2010 so I wonder if there are any variations in different years in belt size?

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

Hi John, mine is about 6 years old, I don't think that they would change

the spec but a call to Warco would confirm it.

Regards Mark P.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

I have a similar problem on my Warco 290v lathe, the belt[s] are as tight as hell even at the correct size so I might switch to a linked belt to see if I can fine tune it.

Tony

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Are you loosening the spring loaded belt tensioner before changing the belts? If you loosen the tensioner and pull the motor forward and lock it again the belts should be loose and easy to swap pulleys.

Mike

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by Mike Poole on 25/10/2020 09:46:28:

Are you loosening the spring loaded belt tensioner before changing the belts? If you loosen the tensioner and pull the motor forward and lock it again the belts should be loose and easy to swap pulleys.

Mike

Yes it is. I also generally only use 3 of the six speeds available requiring only the rear belt to be slipped. If I really needed to move the front belt to gain a different speed I would but it’s not been required very often.

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Posted by Mark P. on 25/10/2020 09:20:23:

Hi John, mine is about 6 years old, I don't think that they would change

the spec but a call to Warco would confirm it.

Regards Mark P.

Thanks mark, I'll call them tomorrow

John

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Posted by Mike Poole on 25/10/2020 09:46:28:

Are you loosening the spring loaded belt tensioner before changing the belts? If you loosen the tensioner and pull the motor forward and lock it again the belts should be loose and easy to swap pulleys.

Mike

Yes I do release the tensioner but it has very little movement and therefore the belts are as tight as h**l

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

You could be kind to yourself and invest in a variable speed drive. Newton Tesla do packages if you don't fancy buying individual parts.

regards martin

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Check that the movable motor supporting plate and the fixed plate can close right up to release the tension . I had to remove metal from the pin to allow the plates to slide together . I also had to ease the pivot for the swinging pully unit .

Brian

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

My VMC has the A750 and A900 belts and releasing the tensioner provides enough slack for easy belt changing. Has this problem developed and got worse? The tensioner should allow the motor platform to almost close the gap, it may have a problem if this is not possible and the belts remain tight. Are the belts on the correct pulleys as a misaligned one could be losing the play to let the belts go slack. Did there used to be enough slack to allow easy belt changing or has it always been a bit tight.

Mike

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Posted by Martin Kyte on 25/10/2020 12:46:50:

You could be kind to yourself and invest in a variable speed drive. Newton Tesla do packages if you don't fancy buying individual parts.

regards martin

I would love to Martin but at my age thinking about the cost I think I'll just soldier on

Regards John

[John McCallum 1Participant @johnmccallum1]

Posted by Mike Poole on 25/10/2020 17:11:38:

My VMC has the A750 and A900 belts and releasing the tensioner provides enough slack for easy belt changing. Has this problem developed and got worse? The tensioner should allow the motor platform to almost close the gap, it may have a problem if this is not possible and the belts remain tight. Are the belts on the correct pulleys as a misaligned one could be losing the play to let the belts go slack. Did there used to be enough slack to allow easy belt changing or has it always been a bit tight.

Mike

I spoke to Warco this morning and had a socially distanced telephone call with their engineer which was extremely helpful. It would appear that someone had fitted incorrect belts in the past and the one currently residing on the rear pulley is over 2" too short. I have now ordered the correct belts which are the same as yours so, thank you.

Regards John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John McCallum 1 on 26/10/2020 10:49:33:

the one currently residing on the rear pulley is over 2" too short.

Ouch!

You must be considerably stronger than you thought!

Glad you got this sorted.

Neil

[VicParticipant @vic]

With a belt 2” too short I think you’ve done well to change speeds at all up to now!

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