Table saw belt tension

[Greg Book]

How does one know the optimal belt tension on the table saw? I have a Craftsman 21833, and to get it into the basement I had drop it down the stairs... one step at a time. By the time it got to the bottom, the motor mount had shifted from the factory location to a point where the belt was loose and nearly falling off. So I moved the mount back to where I thought it seemed tight but not too tight.

I've noticed that there is a high pitched squeal for about 1/4 second during startup, then everything sounds fine when the saw is running and fine when I turn it off. It sounds fine when cutting, but the sound of cutting may be masking the belt noise if there is one. I also noticed a smell after ripping a dozen 2x4s recently. It didn't smell like burnt wood, nor burnt electronics, or cut luan plywood, or anything else I've smelled in the shop before. I'm wondering if the belt may be the culprit.

So, how does one know they have the optimal tension on a table saw belt?

[fred marcuson]

sounds more like the belt pulleys are not aligned ...

[Philip Rodriquez]

.02 lbs per square cm. :p

[Stephen Cherry]

it's a balance between bearing wear, and belt wear. If the belt is too tight, it will wear the bearings prematurely. If the belt is too loose, it will slip, particularly during startup and at heavy load (like yours is doing).

Also, the frequency that the belt vibrates at increases with tension, so vibration problems will be affected by belt tension.

[Jerry Bruette]

That high pitched squeal is probably your belt slipping the odor you're smelling is probably your belt burning. I'd tighten the belt a little more and see what happens, if the squeal goes away you know the belt was loose.

Jerry

[Greg Book]

Sounds like some good ideas, thanks! I'll try them out.