[scottandme]

For teams with a lathe, cutting channels for the polycord works well. We used mcmaster #8749K17 PVC pipe along with andymark hubs for 1/2" keyed shaft (drive) and 1/2" ball bearing hubs (idler). The hub OD is 2.25, so it was a nice match for the 2.25 OD, 1.125 ID pvc pipe. We used clear 1/4" polycord and fused the ends.

If you have a mill, just use a 1/4" ball end mill to cut a 1/8" deep channel in two blocks of aluminum, then you can heat the ends resting in one channel, push them together, and then cap it with the other piece of aluminum so that the fuse is nice and round.

We used way more bands than are necessary, 1 or 2 would be plenty.

The other method is to use the flat urethane belting and just crown a pulley with tape to keep it centered. Urethane v-belt would also work fine, we used that to turn our turret.