Not sure if I'm a link belt fan

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,
Has anyone else found link belts to stretch a surprising amount over time?
I have one on my bandsaw and for the third time I am having to increase tension by removing links. I'm starting to wonder if one day I will be down to one last link stretched all the way around the motor pulley and wheel hub.

At the rate things are going, I may be back to a v-belt before too long. The predecessor to this link belt was a set-it-and-forget-it v-belt that lasted about 15 years and cost 1/3rd of what I paid for the link belt.
I was lured by the siren song of lower vibration, lower noise, milk, honey, etc.
Edwin

[Malcolm McLeod]

I have owned/used 2 machines with them, installed by previous owner. I tolerated them for 2-3 adjustments each, then replaced w/ traditional v-belts. I’ll never buy a link belt. Just a guess, but transmitted power seemed about half that of a std v-belt.

...never quite understood the fan base they seem to have on SMC.

[Bill Dufour]

...never quite understood the fan base they seem to have on SMC.[/QUOTE]
On my big 12/14 unisaw clone I either have to use link belts or pull the arbor bearings to replace a belt. On the unisaw the belt scan be changed without pulling the bearings. Many older lathes use flat belts that must be spliced unless you want to risk splitting the babbit bearing and maybe having to re-pour them.
Bil lD

[glenn bradley]

Contrary view just to keep it interesting. I have adjusted my link belts exactly . . . never. No stretch on 3HP jointer or 2HP bandsaw and other machines used near-daily for over a decade. I check them semi-annually. I am in a southern California desert basin where weather is a word we have to look up in the dictionary. I wonder if humidity and wide temperature swings have something to do with the failures(?).

[Frank Pratt]

They are not the cure-all that some make them out to be, but they do have a place. I've used them on a contractor saw, jointer, and drill press. I've not noticed any stretch beyond the first hour or so of use.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Tried one once for a few days. I replaced it with a cogged v-belt. Luckily I was able to return it as they're not cheap.

[Frederick Skelly]

They are not the cure-all that some make them out to be, but they do have a place. I've used them on a contractor saw, jointer, and drill press. I've not noticed any stretch beyond the first hour or so of use.

My experience has been the same.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

The heresy! How dare someone speak against the vaunted link belt! ;)

I remember when they failed in an attempt to market them as something you should always keep as a spare in your car in case you broke a real fan belt, you could still limp back home. Had a few run ins with the dang things on a ranch I worked on as a kid, they were and still are complete garbage for that use. They had to be remarketed into a job that was so light duty that a good rubber band could do it to even become acceptable, hence their entry into woodworking. Add into that a pool of low experience, wealthy, gadget chasing customers, and bingo, a market! Oh, and don't forget to market them as a premium device, at a premium price to gain a false sense of superiority. Or shops are all probably littered by small collections of similar snake oil tools all of which are a triumph of marketers over wisdom. Bench cookies, drill press planers, and factory made feather boards come to mind. The only group of hobbyists that are worse sheep, are fishermen. Yes, I'm guilty on both counts.

[Curt Harms]

I have a Delta benchtop drill press that doesn't really have any belt tension adjustment. I replaced the motor with a 3 phase for use with VFD and had to replace the drive pulley. Link belt sure was handy to get the right length. Of course I already had the belt. Like biscuits they have their place but are not a cure-all.

[Lee Schierer]

On my saw, the motor is free to pivot and the weight of the motor provides the tension. The link belt and machined pulleys significantly reduced the vibration on my saw. I've never had to adjust the tension after initial installation. As a hobby woodworker my saw sometimes sets for several weeks or more between uses so the belt that came with the saw would take a set and cause significant vibration.

[Jim Becker]

I had them on the Jet cabinet saw I owned years ago and they were rock solid and never needed adjusting. These were the "real" link belt product (red) at the time, not knock-offs. I forget the exact brand name, but I think it was PowerLink or something like that. Too long ago...

[Robyn Horton]

I think the original ones Jim where made by Fenner

[Michael Drew]

I swapped out squealing V-belts on my Unisaw a couple times. Squeal stopped, then returned. Figured I'd try link belts. That was at least five years ago and the saw is still humming along just fine. I have not ever adjusted them either. I still have the box with a short length left.

431473

[Bill Dufour]

Fenner powertwist.
Bill D.

http://www.fennerdrives.com/powertwist-drive/

[Bruce Wrenn]

Link belts were originally for HVAC techs. They were designed to be able to make an emergency belt for an air handler when the correct belt couldn't be gotten. I do have link belt and turned cast iron pulleys on my contractor's saw. Been on there for at since 1999. Never any problems.

[Ole Anderson]

Original v belts still running smoothly on my 1998 G1023. Wouldn't mind swapping for a serpentine style flat belt, but when contacted, Grizzly said they do not make the required pulleys.

[Curt Harms]

Original v belts still running smoothly on my 1998 G1023. Wouldn't mind swapping for a serpentine style flat belt, but when contacted, Grizzly said they do not make the required pulleys.

You could probably find correct pulleys if you really wanted to from a supplier of such things, you'd just have to know the diameter of the shaft/bore. They wouldn't have to come from Grizzly. Worth it? That would be up to the purchaser. I have 3 link belts on my G1023. They're probably looser than recommended but I don't notice any slippage so leaving well enough alone. If I were doing it again I'd probably install 'cogged' belts.

[Andy D Jones]

The only way to replace the final drive belt on my 1939 metal lathe is to pull the shaft, unless you use a link belt.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Jeffrey Martel]

I use the cheap knock off link belts from harbor freight. Work great for me. Never needed adjusting.

[Bruce Wrenn]

They aren't knock offs, just from a different supplier.

[Edwin Santos]

Circling back on this thread, I installed a new v-belt on my saw and it is a significant improvement over the link belt. Less vibration, and it seems like noticeably more power transfer to me. One indication is that at similar band tension, the thrust bearing is hardly engaging where before it would spin like the tasmanian devil. Another is that the motor seems to be running cooler.

I'm not expecting the v-belt to stretch like the link belt did, but time will tell.

I realize that link belts have their fans, among knowledgeable woodworkers, so I must have had a bum one. But all is good for now.
Thanks for the input,
Edwin

[Frank Pratt]

0I realize that link belts have their fans, among knowledgeable woodworkers, so I must have had a bum one. But all is good for now.
Thanks for the input,
Edwin

I think most of us that use them would not characterize ourselves as fans. It's more a case of the link belt being a suitable cheaper/easier/more convenient, alternative in certain situations. But a quality pulley & v-belt will almost always perform better.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Circling back on this thread, I installed a new v-belt on my saw and it is a significant improvement over the link belt. Less vibration, and it seems like noticeably more power transfer to me. One indication is that at similar band tension, the thrust bearing is hardly engaging where before it would spin like the tasmanian devil. Another is that the motor seems to be running cooler.

I'm not expecting the v-belt to stretch like the link belt did, but time will tell.

I realize that link belts have their fans, among knowledgeable woodworkers, so I must have had a bum one. But all is good for now.
Thanks for the input,
Edwin

Glad you reported back, sounds like you got similar results to what I've had.

One more thing I didn't mention before in my campaign against link belts, to achieve their purported "benefits" they have to slip or flex. It's impossible to have a slipping or deforming belt and not get extra wear on the pulleys and sheaves. I think long term use of link belts will cause damage to the machines. Probably not important on a $200 drill press, but might be on an old iron machine that uses replacement pulleys are impossible to get.

[Lee Schierer]

When I decided to replace the v-belt on my Craftsman table saw, I ordered a kit on line with new pulleys and the link belt. The instructions showed how to adjust the link belt. So in a short while, I was all ready to go. I walked to the front of the saw and flipped on the switch. As the saw got up to speed you would have thought I had installed a siren. Wow, what a noise. :eek: It turned out that link belts are directional and I had installed mine backwards. Once I turned it around it has been fine ever since.

[Paul Haus]

Just noticed this thread. I have link belts on 3 machines (jointer, moulding machine and bandsaw) and they've been fine. One came with link belt while I added the other 2. Other than upgrading the pulleys to cast iron from lesser ones to eliminate the wear issues there were no other changes made and I've not had a need to adjust any of them in over 20 years usage. One thing I did do prior to assembling the belt was to step on one end of the belt and pull it to remove any slack and it's worked out well.
I have no issues using link belts so far.

[Ole Anderson]

Seems I remember a time when changing out to a link belt was THE thing to do. Less vibration, blah, blah... I put it in the category of "a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife". Not my experience, but that is what I keep hearing.