Proper drive belt tension?

[Rusty Eads]

I tell you going from direct drive to belt driven for the first time is making me scratch my head on what should be simple knowledge. Thanks to all that has helped me so far in this transition. Now for the my next quandry, what is the correct tension for my drive belts? In case you haven't followed my other posts, I have rebuilt a Walker Turner cabinet saw from the 1950's. It has a triple belt drive system. Also, what is the easiest way to align all the belts? Will the belts slightly out of line cause vibration? The saw runs with little vibration, just more than what I think it should based on what I have read about cabinet saws.

Thanks again

[harry strasil]

as long as you have a matched belt set, you should have no trouble, and if possible get the automotive belts with the notches on the back, the run smoother because they have no memory where they go around pulleys. I was always told to use a straight edge and you should have a half inch of distance at the mid point when pushed with your finger with a reasonable pressure, I think its around 2 lbs of pressure.

[harry strasil]

http://www.maintenanceresources.com/referencelibrary/v-belts/proper.htm

[harry strasil]

http://www.morbark.com/Service/belttension.pdf

[John Morrison60]

I agonized with belt alignment on an old Unisaw that I refurbed.

I used the straight edge and I think got it pretty close, but then
a search on OWWM website pulled up a post by one of their
experts that said just to tighten one of the pulleys down but
leave the other one a little loose.

Then power up the machine for 5 seconds and let the second
pulley self align. Then tighten the second pulley.
It did move a small amount from where I had it, and I have not had any problem with a very smoothe running saw.

Good Luck
John