How (Not) To Replace The V-Belt On The 46-140

Someone once asked me for advice on how to remove the headstock spindle in order to replace a worn V-belt. I have personally not had occasion to do that and to be frank I really don't want to risk accidental damage to the spindle itself or to the headstock casting. So if and when the time comes for me to replace the belt on my lathe I'm first going to give one of those flexible link belts a try. Even if it doesn't work out I can always reuse the link belt on my tablesaw.

For those of you who have already determined for yourselves that you're going to install a new V-belt and must therefore remove the spindle to accomplish that task, know that the owner's manual will be of no help to you on this subject. Judging by the lack of information there I'm going to assume that the lathe came from the factory with the V-belt and headstock spindle already in place.

The parts schematic is the only official source of information on disassembly that I know of, but sadly it offers no verbal guidance about the process.

Here's a link to a thread over at OWWM that discusses how to remove the headstock spindle and bearings. (It's not obvious from the thread's title, but a response to the OP's question discusses the 46-140 specifically.) That response may or may not be the complete and authoritative word on the subject but it's all I could find. If you're at all unsure about something posted there don't hesitate to contact the author(s) of that thread via the OWWM site as most OWWMer's are rather helpful folks and are more than willing to share what they know or have learned. If you come upon this article some months or years from the date of this posting, do a thorough search of the OWWM site to see whether or not someone may have subsequently raised this issue. Of course, if you find something really good and useful it would be most appreciated if you would mention it or link to it in a comment to this article. (Refer OWWMer's here, or readers of this blog there, I don't care, as long as the new information you've come across is duly noted for posterity.)