I have a Grizzley gearhead lathe, and wouldn't want a belt drive. It is harder to get different "things" to fit onto the spindle. Never buy anything that you cannot eventually set up for 5C collets. I think that threaded spindles tend to be less accurate.

The belt drive has a threaded spindle. Watch those chucks, faceplates, etc, pop-off if you run the darn thing backwords. My first lathe was an Atlas/Craftsman belt drive. I bought it new in the mid 70's. I ended up putting a frequency drive and a three phase motor on my present machine that runs off of single phase. Life is good now. What I hated was the fact that you had to take a big 10 inch gear off, and change it to go from high range to low range as far as spindle speeds. They don't tell you those things in the catalog. Cheapass design!

When I changed the motor I changed the drive pully to a compromise. Power is not a problem for a gunsmith. We don't make axels for railroad cars. My machine is an old Grizzley Model 1003 I think. It is a 12 x 36, and a bit short. You notice they have gone to a 40 inch bed. My old Atlas 12 x 36 was a bit longer "effectively." I bought a taper attachment with mine, and have never used it. Circumstances have kept me from useing it much. You need it if you intend to do any real barrel turning. I had to D and T the backside of the apron to instal it. It must be paralell to the lathe bed. For the life of me I cannot remember why that is so necessary right now, accept remember with that with a taper attachment you cut tapers in like a 9 inch section of the attachment.

Moving it: Do it in two steps. Take it off of the cabinet, and install the cabinent where you want it. Leveled it. The move the lathe, and put it on top, and level it. You don't damage the lathe when it is on the ground. I used an automotive engine hoist, and a sling. I took the tailstock off to move it, and put it back on after the lathe was mounted.

We let the lathe down the basement steps on a dolly hooked to the back end of a Ford F250 4x4 for an anchor. We re-assembled the motor hoist and lifted the lathe back onto the cabinet after it was located in the basement by the cabinent.

Comments from help were like, "You aren't going to move soon are you."

Good luck with your friends.... I bet there's a guy in Montana that is just fighting to come help, initials JB. None from here in Ohio.