Pulley on lower feed sprocket shaft.

[Yves Leibowitz]

Hello,

I am curious as to putting a pulley wheel on the shaft of the lower feed sprocket for Reel to Reel. The diameter in the center of the wheel is pretty much the size of the shaft making it impossible to put on. I have never put these on before, but i am assuming to put it on requires force because the shaft has to turn the wheel correct?
To put it on are their any tips one could provide? Let me know thank you.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Sounds like the bore of the pulley and diameter of the shaft are not correct. In your case, having the pulley bored out to the correct size may be the easier fix. But it will be necessary to accurately measure the diameter of the shaft to at least +/- .005 so the pulley fits on accurately. If the two measure almost the same, and the pulley has a just slightly smaller bore, then you may be able to heat up the pulley and slip it on. That has to be done very quickly as the pulley will cool off fast and shrink back down to its original size. The better alternative in your case might be to take pulley and shaft to a machinist and let him decide.

[John Eickhof]

what make and model are you working on? is the part a genuine replacement or custom made? in ordinary conditions, mark is correct in that the fit is quite close, generally a factory part or aftermarket part will fit ok. check the end of the shaft for damage or hammer marks or dents this may be preventing you from starting to slip the part on, normal machining, the end of a shaft is cut to a slight bevel and the bore of the part is chamfered to allow easier fitting, you can dress the shaft with crocus cloth or a fine file to take off any rough edges.