Covington #761

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Wed May 21, 2003 3:30 pm

anyone have one and willing to give me a review of it?

in particular, how easy is it to change belts? sturdiness? usability?

thanks in advance

Deb Libby · Post by **Deb Libby** » Wed May 21, 2003 4:36 pm

Hi Charlie ...
I've got one and it is very easy to change belts, etc., even for mechanically inept me. I have the tall back plate and, even with that in place, the belts slide on and off easily, then tighten in place. I use mine with the felt belt and cerium also .... that gets sloppier, but still easy on and off.
I have had it a little over a year, no problems .... I think you'd be happy with one.

Brad Walker · Post by **Brad Walker** » Wed May 21, 2003 8:55 pm

I have the #761 and would recommend it over Covington's other models. Changing belts is fairly straightforward, only takes a moment or two. It takes a few times to get the hang of adjusting the tension, but after that all's ok. Hooking it up to a water source was not difficult, but you do have to buy a few inexpensive parts at the hardware store. I also use the diamond belts, which weren't cheap but which last a lot longer than the silicon carbide.

People have reported previously that the smaller models (464, 466) are harder to work with, to hook up to water, and to change belts. Check the archives if you want more info on this.

Cynthia · Post by **Cynthia** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:35 pm

Brad Walker wrote:... Hooking it up to a water source was not difficult, but you do have to buy a few inexpensive parts at the hardware store. I also use the diamond belts, which weren't cheap but which last a lot longer than the silicon carbide... Check the archives if you want more info on this.

I don't have water in my garage, which is where the kilns and cold working equipment live these days. What I did was to drill a hole in the bottom side of a 30# plastic cat litter bucket. The few inexpensive parts I got at the hardware store were some dohickeys to attach the copper tubing that came with the wbs to the bucket. A couple of rubber washers to seat or seal it and a dohickey for the inside and outside of the bucket to hold it in place where the copper tube feeds in. I put the bucket on a shelf above the wbs, attached the tubing to the sparayer at the top of the belt and it's a gravity fed when you open the valve for plenty of water.
Even I, with my vast knowlege of plumming and equipment pulled it off.

Fortunately when I went shopping, I took the copper tube and explained to a gal what I was attempting to do. She knew just what dohickeys I needed.

Ron Bell · Post by **Ron Bell** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:51 pm

I've had my 761 for about a year and am very satisfied with it. Changing belts is a snap. Adjusting tension as mentioned is a bit tricky but I simply adjust on the fly while I am working. I use everything from 80 grit to cork and have been toying with a diamond belt. The water hookup was a bit clumsy and It would have been nice if the drain was at the rear and a little higher. All in all a 9 for the money!

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Thu May 29, 2003 10:47 am

thanks for the reviews. i just took delivery on a demo model from the factory at a fantastic price. it looks new except for a little bit of usage on the belt. i just have to pick up the hardware to make the water feed bucket and i'm ready to go.