Delta DC-380 (15" Planer) Drive Belt Questions

[Al Currano]

I just purchased a used Delta DC-380, M/N 22-680, which overall is in very good condition. The seller purchased it new in 2003. The planer was made in Taiwan.

The planer sounded fine when the seller demonstrated it for me; I didn't notice any unusual noises. However when I got it home and took off the belt cover, I found a large amount of black powdery debris from the belts under the cover. The belts were not cracked as far as I could tell, but the sides were glazed, so I am assuming that the debris is from wear on the sides of the belts. The belts did not have Delta part number markings as I am used to seeing on other Delta tools that I own, so I am guessing they may be after-market replacement belts. They were cog-style belts, about 27" or 28" long, and they had the following markings on them: JASO-V 27 and 278CN. I have not been able to contact the seller to find out if/when he replaced them.

I measured the width of the pulleys at the outer perimeter to be about 22/64", or a little less than 9 mm, though it was a little hard to see the exact measurement because of the angle I was viewing from. Then I measured the belts - or what was left of them, and they were just about 7/16" wide, which leads me to suspect that these belts may have originally been 1/2" wide, given the large amount of debris that was present. I am used to the pulleys and belts on my other machines being exactly 3/8" or 1/2" wide at the perimeter.

So my questions:

1) What is the correct size belt for the DC-380? Is it 3/8", or is it possibly some metric size?

2) What is the size and section (e.g., A, 3L, 4L, etc) of original belt that came with your DC-380, for those of you who bought them new?

3) Were the original belts on the DC-380 cogged belts?

4) Has anyone retrofitted the DC-380 with Fenner Power Twist Link Belts, or any other brand link belts? If so, what size Link Belts did you use? I was planning to replace the belts with the Fenner Link Belts as I've been doing with my other power tools. However given that these were cog belts, and that the the pulleys don't appear to be standard 3/8" wide pulleys, I am reluctant to do the conversion until I understand the whole situation better.

Thanks in advance for any advice and assistance.

Al

[David Kumm]

Others will have to give you the exact specs but i would not use link belts in this application. They are best when used as fractional HP belts. There should be a VF replacement as since there are three belts of the same size I would look at Optibelt as they are made exact enough to be used together without being matched. True power transmission belts are the preferred choice. Dave

[Al Currano]

Interesting. After doing a fair amount of research on various Internet WW forums, I have learned that link belts are the best thing since sliced bread on any and all machines; that they are overpriced, overhyped unnecessary frills; that they are great for multi-belt sheaves; that they should never, ever be used on multi-belt sheaves; they work like a charm on cabinet saws; that they should not be used on cabinet saws; etc., etc., ad nauseum. Sounds like it has almost become a religious issue to some.

I guess I'm going to have to try them out on a few of my machines and make up my own mind. I have an old 18" shop-built bandsaw that has the belt tensioned just by the suspended motor weight that has a lot of vibration. From what I have read that is probably at least partly due to the "memory" effect of the old V-belt that hasn't been used for a few years developing a set, and then the motor bouncing up and down as the belt hump passes over the motor pulley. I could tie the motor down, but I'm going to see if the link-belt eliminates much of the vibration, as at least one of the posts I read elsewhere says it did for someone else.

[Peter Quinn]

Link belts work great for hanging motors, they are ok on single pulley applications, iir I put one on my drill press and that's fine. The shop fox mini molder hussey clone came with one, that's a hung motor, works great. But the dc-380 had three matched belts in it, so it helps if they are the same length and fairly balanced in weight. Not sure I trust link belts there. My dc-380 came with oem belts, but the delta numbers do not indicate a standard size, just a delta number, because they used to try to get you to by their over priced replacements. I don't remember the size, I just measured it with a piece of sash cord and measured the width from the pulleys. I got a matched set of VX cogged belts from master Carr for around $22. No problems. Originally I had a belt failure on a weekend and just went to my local napa and bought three belts off the rack, only two did any pulling, one smoked and burned, made lots of the black dust you describe. IME a matched set is really in order on a multi belt pulley.

[David Kumm]

Others will have to give you the exact specs but i would not use link belts in this application. They are best when used as fractional HP belts. There should be a VF replacement as since there are three belts of the same size I would look at Optibelt as they are made exact enough to be used together without being matched. True power transmission belts are the preferred choice. Dave

Once again I mispoke, VF should VX. Dave

[Al Currano]

Link belts work great for hanging motors, they are ok on single pulley applications, iir I put one on my drill press and that's fine. The shop fox mini molder hussey clone came with one, that's a hung motor, works great. But the dc-380 had three matched belts in it, so it helps if they are the same length and fairly balanced in weight. Not sure I trust link belts there. My dc-380 came with oem belts, but the delta numbers do not indicate a standard size, just a delta number, because they used to try to get you to by their over priced replacements. I don't remember the size, I just measured it with a piece of sash cord and measured the width from the pulleys. I got a matched set of VX cogged belts from master Carr for around $22. No problems. Originally I had a belt failure on a weekend and just went to my local napa and bought three belts off the rack, only two did any pulling, one smoked and burned, made lots of the black dust you describe. IME a matched set is really in order on a multi belt pulley.
Peter - can you tell me what size VX belts you ordered from McMaster for the DC-380? That is part of my problem - I don't know if the DC-380 is supposed to take 3/8" belts. The ones on the machine now are wider than that, and the pulleys are a little less than 3/8" wide at the rim. Also, the length seems to be somewhere between 27" and 28". So exactly what did you get for your DC-380?

Al

[Peter Quinn]

Ill measure them tonight and post it, I can't seem to find it in my account history or email! It's been a few years, paper trail seems to have vanashed.

[Al Currano]

Ill measure them tonight and post it, I can't seem to find it in my account history or email! It's been a few years, paper trail seems to have vanashed.

Thanks, Peter. I'll look for your post. Also, if there is a number or numbers imprinted on the belts, please tell me what they are. That might tell me exactly what I need to order.

BTW, I meant to say that the length was between 27" and 28", not 17": and 28". I corrected the original post.

Al

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Al
My 1987 Delta 13" planer made in Brazil, came with Gates Truflex 1280 belts about 7/16" across. Belts have been in use all this time, with very little black powdery debris after 26 years, your belts may be loose. IIRC the manual has section on belt tension. I do like cog style belts better on small to medium size pulleys. Tom

[Peter Quinn]

Well, I was wrong about the VX belts, I put those on the jointer and shaper. The DC -380 ( made in Tiawan early to mid 90's. ) has Goodyear flexten insta-power 83270 (3L270)' and was purchased as a matched set of three.

[Al Currano]

Thanks for the info, Tom. The Gates 1280 number tells me it is a 3/8" belt, 28" long. I have just ordered 3 Gates 3VX280 belts that are their "Super HC Molded Notch" belt, a cogged belt with machined sides. They are also 3/8" wide by 28" long. I was able to get them for about $18 including shipping from Rock Auto, with whom I do business regularly for auto parts. They had a few left at a special closeout price.

And thanks, Peter, for checking yours. In the end I carefully measured the perimeter of the pulley path, which was just about 28-1/2" as I received the planer. The adjustment bolts are positioned such that there is plenty of room to tighten the 28" belts if they stretch. I probably could have gone with a 27" belt as well, but the Gates Super HC cogged belt only came in 26" or 28", and 26" was definitely going to be too short. So I'm pretty confident the 28" belts will work, since the adjustment slots still have so much room left for further tightening.

[Peter Quinn]

Thanks for the info, Tom. The Gates 1280 number tells me it is a 3/8" belt, 28" long. I have just ordered 3 Gates 3VX280 belts that are their "Super HC Molded Notch" belt, a cogged belt with machined sides. They are also 3/8" wide by 28" long. I was able to get them for about $18 including shipping from Rock Auto, with whom I do business regularly for auto parts. They had a few left at a special closeout price.

And thanks, Peter, for checking yours. In the end I carefully measured the perimeter of the pulley path, which was just about 28-1/2" as I received the planer. The adjustment bolts are positioned such that there is plenty of room to tighten the 28" belts if they stretch. I probably could have gone with a 27" belt as well, but the Gates Super HC cogged belt only came in 26" or 28", and 26" was definitely going to be too short. So I'm pretty confident the 28" belts will work, since the adjustment slots still have so much room left for further tightening.


Love to hear how they work out. There is a wide range of adjustability on that motor. I can't seem to find matched sets anywhere anymore, and it may be because the average tolerances are adequate off the shelf for most power transmitionat least according to gates and Goodyear web site.

[Al Currano]

Gates' literature says that the Super HC belts are made to their "V80" belt matching standard, described as follows:

"Gates innovated a change in 1980. Belt molds were re-machined, manufacturing procedures redesigned,
new measuring devices developed, and closer attention paid to manufacturing variability through
statistical process control (SPC). The Gates V80 matching program produces classical and narrow
product with tighter-than-RMA tolerances. All belts in this system are in the same tolerance range. Any V80
belt of a given length runs with any other V80 belt of the same cross-section and construction."

[Al Currano]

Well, I got my Gates Super HC 3VX280 belts and put them on the DC-380 today. They are a go! Without a doubt they fit much better than the apparently too wide cogged belts that were on the planer when I got it. And they only cost $18 with shipping for the three, as opposed to $44 or more for a set of regulation Delta belts, which I don't think are cogged and probably not as good as the Gates SuperHC belts.

I did have to adjust the motor further upward to tension these 28" belts correctly, but there is still plenty of room for further adjustment if they stretch. My guess is that the optimal belt length for this planer is 27" or possibly 27-1/2" if you want to have the motor mount positioned in or a little below center of the adjustment range. But the next smaller size that Gates makes in the Super HC VX series cogged belts is 26-1/2", which may be too small.

Bottom line for all you DC-380 owner is that I highly recommend the Gates VX380 belts. Good fit, goo price, and no matching necessary.

[Robert Shepherd]

I just purchased a used Delta DC-380, M/N 22-680, which overall is in very good condition. The seller purchased it new in 2003. The planer was made in Taiwan.

The planer sounded fine when the seller demonstrated it for me; I didn't notice any unusual noises. However when I got it home and took off the belt cover, I found a large amount of black powdery debris from the belts under the cover. The belts were not cracked as far as I could tell, but the sides were glazed, so I am assuming that the debris is from wear on the sides of the belts. The belts did not have Delta part number markings as I am used to seeing on other Delta tools that I own, so I am guessing they may be after-market replacement belts. They were cog-style belts, about 27" or 28" long, and they had the following markings on them: JASO-V 27 and 278CN. I have not been able to contact the seller to find out if/when he replaced them.

I measured the width of the pulleys at the outer perimeter to be about 22/64", or a little less than 9 mm, though it was a little hard to see the exact measurement because of the angle I was viewing from. Then I measured the belts - or what was left of them, and they were just about 7/16" wide, which leads me to suspect that these belts may have originally been 1/2" wide, given the large amount of debris that was present. I am used to the pulleys and belts on my other machines being exactly 3/8" or 1/2" wide at the perimeter.

So my questions:

1) What is the correct size belt for the DC-380? Is it 3/8", or is it possibly some metric size?

2) What is the size and section (e.g., A, 3L, 4L, etc) of original belt that came with your DC-380, for those of you who bought them new?

3) Were the original belts on the DC-380 cogged belts?

4) Has anyone retrofitted the DC-380 with Fenner Power Twist Link Belts, or any other brand link belts? If so, what size Link Belts did you use? I was planning to replace the belts with the Fenner Link Belts as I've been doing with my other power tools. However given that these were cog belts, and that the the pulleys don't appear to be standard 3/8" wide pulleys, I am reluctant to do the conversion until I understand the whole situation better.

Thanks in advance for any advice and assistance.

Al
Don't know if anyone is still interested in this post, but I purchased a DC-380 in the mid 90s. I just pulled the cutterhead for replacement and the OEM belts are marked exactly as described in the original post: JASO-V 27 and 278CN. Haven't been able to run down an exact replacement, but the Jason Industrial AX26 Cogged Classical V-Belt (1/2-inch Top Width, 5/16-inch Thick) appears pretty close. The OEM belt now measures 7/16 inch wide by 3/8 inch thick.