My lathe setup

[jdm]

On 3/24/2021 at 1:51 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

Using my lathe, I attempted to make this rather large staff for a stopwatch.  The challenge started with how to make the slot in the staff.  I attempted it with a dremel.  Very crude.  I thought about using the cross slide and a cutting wheel on the headstock, but, alas, there is no Z adjustment on my cross slide. 

I don't know if that is in the books, but you might try grinding a forming tool and cut with it using the slides, push toward the work which is held in a collet with the spindle well braked.

That is done sometime to cut keyways in gears and pulleys. There is even people cutting entire cogwheels this way, I call them lathe diehards.

[LittleWatchShop]

On 2/24/2021 at 9:13 AM, Klassiker said:

The concern I would have with a toothed belt is, they have no stretch in them

Taken guidance to heart and replaced toothed drive belt with 3mm TPU (I have lots and lots of TPU because I use it in my 3D printer when I am printing things that need to be flexible...stretchable).  One benefit is that the lathe is quieter now.