G0490X belt tension ?

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

I just purchased my 490x about 2.5 weeks ago and have it all setup and running good.

I think I may have the belt too loose, but I'm not sure. When I shut the machine down, just as everything is about to stop I get a bit of vibrating and racket.

So, I take the side cover off so I can see what's going on. It looks as though the belt starts slipping right before the motor winds down. Is this a bit normal? It is a single belt drive (which is kinda cheesy IMO).

Belt deflection - i can move each side of the loop, in the middle of the two pulleys about 3/8".

Should I tighten to about 1/4" deflection? I don't want it too tight as we all know that's not good on the bearings. The book doesn't really talk about how tight it should be...

Thanks!

John

[Eric Garner]

I had the same problem. It seems that the belt stretches a bit after use. I had to drop the motor a few times to tighten up the belt. The belt finally stopped stretching and the knocking went away. I still had a bit of vibration.

So, I changed the belt out to a Power Twist Link belt. It cut all vibration down to almost nothing.

[Michael Sobik]

I had the same issue as Eric. I tightened mine down two or three times. After the motor pulley fell off and ruined the belt I put a link belt on and haven't had any problems. Oh yeah, check to make sure the set screws on your motor pulley are tight :D

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Good point on the set screws.

Maybe I should just upgrade to a link belt. I can see the benefit on a single belt drive.

My 3-belt grizzly planer run super smooth - as does the 3 belt uni.

Thanks guys.