Removing Myford S7 motor pulley

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Well now it's 2017 and having started 2016 by fitting a VFD to my mill now I want to do the same on the lathe. To do this I need to get the old motor off, and the first obstacle is getting the pulley off the motor. This is made difficult because the allen set screw locking it on is (a) threadlocked and (b) can't easily be accessed because the belt guard has a raised lip that stops you getting straight access for a key. I could try a ball nosed key, but given that the screw is threadlocked, if this fails and knackers the hex hole then the job gets even harder!

I could probably file a recess in the aforesaid lip to clear a key, but before I do this has anyone done this job and can suggest an easier approach that I might be missing? (And by the way you have to get the pulley off first, as it won't go through the 'ole in the belt guard that the motor shaft sticks through. Ergonomic this design ain't!)

Thanks!

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Rotate the pulley so the set screw is on the side and the allen key is inside the lip.

or

If you loosen the belt guard and shift it backwards so that the hole is not concentric can you get in from the back with the allen key.? You can also grind the short end so it needs less space. Failing that you should be able to shift the motor further into the guard (so the pulley sticks out further) to clear the lip. Take the hinged outer cover off first gives you better access and feels like you have achieved something too. Failing all that use the long end in the hex socket and the other end in a mole-grips to turn it.

Run out of ideas now. I'll go back to soldering sub mm LED's to my PCB's

Best of luck. Martin

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

If it has ben thread locked, try warming the pulley with a hot air gun first….then while it is still hot, undo or attempt to undo with a ball end allen key…..generally works. It does for me…and should make removing the pulley from the shaft easier.

[chris stephensParticipant @chrisstephens63393]

Hi John,

Had a similar problem when I VFDed my Myford, so used heat to expand the pulley and then used a puller. Once off, I tackled the screw.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

The motor rewinders often just pull a gear or pulley off if they are having trouble with the screw, then sort it out as Chris says.

Far less hassle than breaking an allen key in the screw, especially a ball nosed one which was designed to do just that.

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