That was a thought in the lathe forum too. Yes, I could and yes, they are expensive and from what I understand, a little noisy. I have some “Fractional sized” belts coming and I will see how they fit.
As far as mods versus making lights? I just do not know yet. Until I have some time on the lathe, learning how to use it, I cannot guess as to what I will be, or will not be, doing on it. I feel like I don't want to mess with another Chinese light, if I don't have to, but that won't hold, since people have sent me a bunch of them, so I can mod and sell them off, but none of them has to go near the lathe. They can all be just driver/led mods. I would prefer that, to making parts to fit Chinese lights. I also don't know if I want to get into making things like replacement pills, as I notice it never seems to go great, since there is so much variation within a run of Chinese lights. Some work fine, some won't take the replacement and some have alignment/height issues.
Time will tell, but I don't have any answers as of now.
I've used orange colored link belts on my lathe and while good to get you up and running quickly (as well as extremely pricey) they did not transfer power as well as conventional V belts. Mine are B section.
Making threaded pills might be an ok way to practice different lathe operations like facing, boring, threading, and drilling(center and offset)on smaller amounts of metal where mistakes would be less costly. It could also be occasional or one off rather than a regular offering. If you made half a dozen S2+ pills (or some other) from brass or aluminum I’m pretty sure they would get picked up as drop in replacements. Not trying to rope you into anything, just thinking about ways to gain skills at low cost and hopefully profit.
Hey OL, if you don’t yet have belts arranged, send me direct links to what you need and I will take care of it.
Direct links so I don’t buy the wrong one’s.
PM sent, thank you.
+1
As I get older....some of those jobs don't look to bad either!
A job at Home Depot and something on the side sounds very appealing as I get older.
I figure I’ll be making keys at Orchard if I’m lucky.
It’s funny you say that. I have applied 9 times to Home Depot, 7 times to Lowe’s, etc., etc… I have applied to just about every job I figured I could do and some that I figured I couldn’t do, but there was only one two places so far, that were even interested. AT&T and I think they took me because I was a vet and they had a quota to fill. I mean, why would you take a 60 year old man and have him climb telephone poles, unless you were just fulfilling a quota. Unfortunately, I would have had to move to Dallas or Oklahoma and I just can’t do that. The other place was the local armored car place. I’m still waiting on them. I don’t hold much hope. The guy sounded all gung ho, but nothing to back up the words. Other than that, I have just been refused for all the rest. Personally I think it’s age and the fact that I was in management for most all of my life. Most places don’t want an ex manager in the hourly ranks, because we don’t take orders too well, LOL. Well, it’s true.
I've been working on getting the initial break in run done and have found a way to "make belts work", for long enough to get that done, but there's a couple of bearings that I think are bad. There's three sets of drive pulleys and one set is on shaft and used as just a means of getting power from the motor, to the drive gears and also to get the desired speeds. It is driven from the motor with a cogged belt and then uses a V belt to the drive. It was noisy from the git go, but it's just about howling now. I took it off and lubed down the shaft, but the bearings are most likely sealed. Dry and sealed. Anyhow, I made a video of it, so Grizzly could see and listen to it and that way they can't say it's "normal". Well, maybe they can, but the audio is pretty damming, so I hope they will warranty it and send a replacement.
It's one of those things. It's Chinese, it's relatively inexpensive, compared to expensive lathes, so it's bound to have that Chinese aura around it. 
It just has to have all the bugs worked out, before it will fly. I went back and tore down the Cross over and Compound again and I wet sanded with oil and 320 grit paper, all of the dovetails and flats. Now they are smooth and the cross over has just about 0 backlash, while the Compound is down to about 0.002". I found several things wrong inside them, but managed to work out all the kinks. As I say, it just takes time, to work out all the bugs.
First...Bearings....at the outset take whatever bearing they send you BUT remember that Chinese bearings are crap. What you really want are Japanese bearings. IF..and IF you can...pull the bearings (after speaking to Grizzly) and find a Miller bearing dealer and have them spec out the bearings - most likely by size. They may not be as expensive as you think. High speed and ceramics get expensive quick.
Next..
I get the age thing. I am sure many other people do here too. At the same time there ARE employers looking for the seasoned ones. HD and Lowes are two right off the bat BUT usually unless there are many stores there you usually do not get in as quickly unless the unthinkable happens. Those stores, and MOST hardware stores, want older young guys that have experience to be able to help the customer because they need it. They (seasoned employees) are the 3rd biggest marketing tool they have.
Your strength is your knowledge and experience. The 20 yr olds will always be faster than us, often stronger, BUT nowhere near as reliable because their interests have more pull than a John Deere LOL. I know nothing of the area you live in (sounds like a small town), nor do I know your work experience, BUT look for management, supervision, consulting, etc. Every profession needs them.
Furthermore..DO NOT state unemployed..NEVER EVER EVER. You can say you were "laid off and became self-employed but that full-time self-employment is not for you'. You are and have been self-employed you just never made big profits - yet! :)
So in the meantime...learn that new toy but don't get hurt. I think it was Rufus talking about little things to sell while getting practice with feeds and speeds of different materials and threading. While maybe monotonous they CAN make you a c-note here and there and they do add up. Then even do what Sinner and VOB have done by making little lights. Christmas IS coming!
Just remember the sign I had in my repair shop:
All Customers and friends must pay for services rendered.
We did a survey and found that only our friends did business with us and
since our customers are our friends and our friends are our customers
we must charge for our services in order to keep providing our services.
The videos are great! 
good to see how this is progressing for you.
Does anybody have an extra or old copy of the "machinist's pocket guide"?
I'm thinking about getting a part time job a Home Depot. I've been retired for the past two years and I'm getting pretty bored these days.
Would it be worth working part time at Home Depot just for the inside track on the flashlight sales? 
I don't know, but HD passed me by a bunch of times. When I go in there and see what they did hire, I think maybe their previous job, before HD, was holding up a sign at a corner.
Anyhow, I go to Dunbar Armored tomorrow. The guy told me I would interview, do the driving test and sign all the paperwork, so it seems I might have a job after all. Hope so. 30 hours a week, but it's much better than no hours a week.
And you get to carry a GUN! Woohoo! Watch out Tyler Texas! 
Wednesday’s headline: “Tyler man absconds with bag o’ loot. Blinds pursuers with big honkin’ flashlight.”
Good Luck Justin!
Best of luck with the interview, O-L.