Originally Posted by
MadCow333
Years ago, people put a piece of rubber or vinyl or whatever tubing over the friction wheel to give it some grip. I don't know whether that fell out of favor or not. But I never read anything negative about it when I was on those discussion lists back in the late '90s.
The friction pulley for that machine is still being made. So if it's hard, slick, or has a flat spot you can get a new one. They're on ebay & most online parts sites. It's for a 1/4" shaft. To prevent flat spots, when the machine isn't being used, put something behind the motor to hold the pulley away from the handwheel.....I just use a folded up scrap of fabric.