Going to try something

[harry strasil]

I have come up with an idea to replace all the belts on my traditional power tools, table saw, band saw, sliding cut off saw, drill press, and jointer with the automotive V belts that have the notches in the back side to help cut down vibration.
The segmented belts do not take tension very well and have a habit of slipping in the pulleys and burning in two.
Besides each of the replacement belts only cost as much as a foot of the segmented stuff.
What I believe is causing most of the vibration is the memory thing that conventional solid V belts seem to have. (the curves in the belts after setting idle for awhile). I still have some non radial tires on some of my older vehicles and the thump, thump till they get warm is akin to the vibration in my belt driven equipment.

[Gene Michael]

will look forward to hearing your results. cost has kept me away from segmented belts.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have come up with an idea to replace all the belts on my traditional power tools, table saw, band saw, sliding cut off saw, drill press, and jointer with the automotive V belts that have the notches in the back side to help cut down vibration.
The segmented belts do not take tension very well and have a habit of slipping in the pulleys and burning in two.
Besides each of the replacement belts only cost as much as a foot of the segmented stuff.
What I believe is causing most of the vibration is the memory thing that conventional solid V belts seem to have. (the curves in the belts after setting idle for awhile). I still have some non radial tires on some of my older vehicles and the thump, thump till they get warm is akin to the vibration in my belt driven equipment.

You know Harry, If you fired those tailed beasts up more often, their memory might get worse.

[Peter Quinn]

Harry, I bought a few goodyear v-belts with the notches on the back side from McMaster Carr and love them. They made a noticable improvement on my shaper, and seem to work well on the planer. Very smooth power transmission and NO slipping, boy were they sticky when new. They don't seem to develope a memory at all. Of course neither do I! Much cheaper than link belt, very strong and fairly cheap. Going to get some for the drill press and jointer when I get a round-tuit...

[Wes Billups]

Harry, I just wanted to let you know that if you buy Goodyear branded v-belts there's a very good chance they'll be made right there in Lincoln, NE. I've done the same thing on some of my equipment and it made a world of difference.

Wes

[Jason Scott]

interesting idea, i'm gonna check that out too, can you just ask for the size you need, or do you need to have certain "vehicle" you ask for?

[Lori Kleinberg]

I like this idea too. Let us know how it works. My band saw has so much vibration, I get seasick when I used it :eek:

[Dave Anderson NH]

Harry's idea has been around for a long time and works very well. This is also a far cheaper approach than using the link belts which are relatively expensive. You should be able to buy these belts at almost any decent industrial supply house at about 1/4 the cost of the link belts.

[bob hertle]

Harry, guess I'll chime in here and second your opinion of the segmented belts. I tried one on a machine to avoid disassembly of the spindle, and was sorely disappointed with the performance. It was one of the orange ones made by Fenner, and was about 25 years ago when they first came out. I still have it on the shelf, along with the little tool they gave you at the time to aid in assembly/disassembly. Never again!

Fast forward 25 years, during which time I designed a lot of drives. I have found that for me, what works, is Browning gripnotch for classical (a, b, ...etc), and Browning raw edge, notched FHP belts for light duty (3L ,4L, 5L). No association with Browning, only use them because the closest local industrial power transmission house stocks them. Equivalents for these are made by others, including Gates. Most important thing is selecting the correct belt cross section for the sheaves (pulleys) on the machine. For example 4L looks like a light duty A section, but if the drive is designed for 4L, an A section will most likely give poor performance. Automotive belts have differing cross sections from industrial belts--you've got to stick to what your drive is designed for. The frustrating part of all this, is that some designers of woodworking equipment look at the drive as an afterthought, using sheaves that are way too small for the transmission of the power of the motor provided. The notched belts really help here, because they flex around the smaller sheaves easier, so the HP rating of the drive will be higher than with plain belts everything else being equal. The will also run smoother--which seems to be what everybody's after.

Hope I haven't sounded like I'm pontificating, just trying to share a lot of years of my experience with what works for me!

Bob

[John Keeton]

This sounds really interesting. Just got my Grizzly jointer set up and it isn't as smooth as I would like. Was going to get a link belt as I had used them in the past, but this sounds much better!

Wes, are the belts available online? I searched for Goodyear v belts and got variety of hits, but hard to tell which one you guys are referring to. Can someone post a couple of links?

[Peter Quinn]

Go to McMaster Carr web site and type belts in the search format...they have every belt ever...the ones I ordered from them were notched power transmission from Goodyear, A section for my shaper. They have every lenght, every section etc.

[John Keeton]

As a follow up, and as an expression of my ignorance on this topic, it seems the belt for my jointer is an "A" size, 48" belt. In looking for this belt, is this the inside length or outside length? I found the following -BX48 (http://www.captiveaire.com/catalog/PartCatalog.asp?PartTypeID=48&GenPartsID=8532&ManfLablID=65)
V-BELT - Gripnotch, 51.00 Outer Diameter Length, 49.80 Pitch Length, Precision Molded Raw Edge Construction, Oil and Heat Resistant (BX48)
It seems this should be a 48" belt, but none of the given dimensions are 48".

[John Keeton]

I was in the middle of my reply and got a phone call. Peter posted in the interim with the reference to McMaster Carr and I found my belt and an explanation that the length reference is to the outside circumference. Thanks!!

[Phil Thien]

Could someone post a McMaster part # to the belts there? I see the cogged belts, but not the segmented belts? If you can get me to the right section with a part # it would help.

[bob hertle]

As a follow up, and as an expression of my ignorance on this topic, it seems the belt for my jointer is an "A" size, 48" belt. In looking for this belt, is this the inside length or outside length? I found the following -BX48 (http://www.captiveaire.com/catalog/PartCatalog.asp?PartTypeID=48&GenPartsID=8532&ManfLablID=65)
V-BELT - Gripnotch, 51.00 Outer Diameter Length, 49.80 Pitch Length, Precision Molded Raw Edge Construction, Oil and Heat Resistant (BX48)
It seems this should be a 48" belt, but none of the given dimensions are 48".

John, why are you looking at a "B" section belt? You say the existing belt is an A section.

Regards
Bob

[Peter Quinn]

Phil...is this what you're looking for?

McMaster Carr # 6173K47

They are calling them twist lock adjust-a-belts, have them in 3L and 4L.

[Wes Billups]

Wes, are the belts available online? I searched for Goodyear v belts and got variety of hits, but hard to tell which one you guys are referring to. Can someone post a couple of links?

John, I want to start by giving full disclosure that I worked at the Goodyear plant in Lincoln, NE for nine years so I'm partial to that brand. With that said there are many manufacturers that produce just as good of product, Gates and Dayco come to mind.

I would recommend if anyone is looking for a quality cogged v-belt they find an industrial supply house in their area and take the old belts in to have them matched. Some of the automotive supply stores are starting to carry industrial v-belts as well and can recommend what size to use if you take the old ones in.

Just as an FYI. When asking for a belt, the correct terminology is a cut/raw edge cogged v-belt. As has been stated by others, the cogs significantly improve the flexibility of the belt. I've heard of automotive stores selling people Kevlar(R) or aramid corded belts. You want to stay away from these as they are designed for very specific applications and don't work well on woodworking equipment.

Wes

[Michael Gibbons]

Harry, I hope it goes well for you. I personally put link belts on four machines and they seem to be holding up well. One of the problems with other types of belts, and I'm telling you what I've heard from an automotive repair teacher, is that MATCHED sets of belts need to be put on, lets say, a TS that takes more than one, because even new belts that have the same length number could be cut from different ends of the tube that the belts are cut from. The belts need to be right next to one another from the tube or the tension wont be distributed evenly amongst the belts. Obviously that won't be the case if your machines have only one belt. Link belts shouldn't have this problem because they can stretch. FWIW.

.....Mike

[Peter Quinn]

John...I found this part # 6054K129 for McMaster Carr, AX-48 cogged belt, is that the one? My shaper uses AX-27, was a perfect fit for the A-27 OEM belt. Brand they sent me was goodyear. Getting ready to try ssame type on my jointer.

McMaster Carr sells matched sets for multi pulley machines like TS and planers, its a little tricky to navigate that site and decipher all the belt sections, lengths and types but I enjoy the education.

[Phil Thien]

I really like the sound of this and I'm gonna order one tomorrow. My little Inca jointer/planer can't accommodate the additional height of a link belt because the guard is THAT close to the pulley. Hopefully one of these will do the trick.

I only use the jointer about once a month, so the belt DOES develop a memory. Looking forward to smoother sailing.

[John Keeton]

Sorry to be so long getting back - went to church. Peter, that is that exact part # I found on the McMaster Carr site.

Bob, as I stated in my prior post ("and as an expression of my ignorance on this topic") I needed an education on the elementary fundamentals of belt dimensions. I figured out that I was looking at the wrong size in both dimensions - length and cross section.

This is exactly why the $6 is too cheap for the privilege of gaining knowledge from "creekers." Thanks!!