Sourcing motor pulley

[Don Jarvie]

3 belts is plenty. Swap out both the motor and arbor pulley. It will be easier to find a 3 belts for swapping out both.

[Patrick Kane]

Didnt even think to go to the bearing shop. I have a handful locally, and ill go that route.

Going for 5hp motor. Yes, i did consider swapping out the arbor pulley to match the new motor pulley, but thought it might be simpler to just find the right motor pulley. Most modern drives use one wide belt instead of numerous v belts anyways, right?

Glad im not the only one that has struggled with this. Already ive been proven wrong on sourcing a lot of parts for this powermatic.

[Don Jarvie]

I get my pulleys and belts at Surplus Center. It’s easier to swap out both pulleys since you can get the same pulley with the different bores. 3 belts is much harder than 2 so I would recommend 2 belts. 2 belts is plenty for a 5 hp motor. I would need to look at what I did for my 66 but a 3 1/2 wide pulley would fit.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I get my pulleys and belts at Surplus Center. It’s easier to swap out both pulleys since you can get the same pulley with the different bores. 3 belts is much harder than 2 so I would recommend 2 belts. 2 belts is plenty for a 5 hp motor. I would need to look at what I did for my 66 but a 3 1/2 wide pulley would fit.

Careful with broad sweeping statements. Horsepower transmission for a given sheave (pulley)>v-belt>sheave combination is dependent on several factors: smallest diameter, rpm, v-belt profile, allowable tension, and # of belts primarily, but there are others. Most catalogs for any specific manufacturer will have a design guide included. I highly recommend them!!

There are numerous versions of the 'Taper Lock' concept, including a trademarked one. Also search for 'QD bushing'. If memory serves, Martin, Dayton, Gates, and TB Woods are the big names. If you ever want to change a drive ratio, they are the way to go: keep the hub, and just buy a new sheave diameter. The hubs are designed/sized to fit standard frame motors and common shafting sizes.

If you never expect a speed change, then a pre-bored sheave may be cheaper - - if you find the right size. I'd suspect a machine shop's time to custom bore it will double or triple your costs?

[Darcy Warner]

As an example, I needed a motor pulley that was roughly 5 1/4" OD, 4 groove, A series belts with a 32mm bore.
After two failed tries by motor shop, I found a supplier on line that had 4 groove A series pulleys in the exact size I needed. 145.00 for the pulley and 70 bucks to bore and broach and I had the exact pulley I needed. My only other option was having one made, last odd ball 2 step pulley i had made was 400 bucks.