Problem with Power twist v-belt

[Michael Taylor]

Greetings, I had to store my tools for several months as we moved to a new state. Now that my new shop is being pieced together, I can't find my Power twist link v-belt. I had it on a Powermatic 64A for 17+ years. So, I did the research, learned I need a 3/8" x 4' belt, ordered it, installed it and it doesn't seem right at all. I confirmed the pulleys are co-planer, no damaged and spin freely and straight. However, the vibration is terrible! I confirmed the orientation is as the belt travels from the motor to arbor, the tabs face the motor.

The pics attached show the the belt isn't sitting "square" into the pulley's slot. It's the stock pulley...never changed. It's as if it's too big and is pitched out. One pic shows one side of the tabs getting lightly chewed up only after 2 minutes of run time.

I'd hate to return to the standard v-belt, but this isn't right. Any thoughts?

[Ron Selzer]

wrong width belt, way too wide
good luck


ron

[Michael Taylor]

I measured the top, the side that doesn't touch the pulley, which is 1/2" and the smallest part of the tabs measure 11/32". Does this mean it's a 1/2" or 3/8" belt? Not the first time the wrong part was sent from Amazon.

[Frank Pratt]

Yes, the belt is too wide.

[Ronald Blue]

You measure across the back. If it is 1/2" it's clearly a size up. The photos show the belt doesn't nest in the properly. The belt should always ride on the sides and never on the bottom.

[Andrew Hughes]

I would like to suggest that you take the link belt you have to measure for a good quality regular non link belt.
Link belts might start out good but once they start slipping they get glazed they start wearing out pulleys.
I had to learn this the hard way.
I will keep the one I have for measuring.
Heres what they look like when they go south.

[Jack Frederick]

I ran segmented belts on my Unisaw for a few years, but when I had the arbor assembly replaced the tech said definitely use the correct V-belts. The saw was noticeably smoother with the V's

[Frank Pratt]

The deal with link belts seems to be that they will smooth things out if the pulleys are the cheap cast type, but good pulleys & good conventional belts will be better & smoother. I have machines with v-belts, link belts, and the flat multi-groove belts. I like the flat multi-groove the best. Very smooth & absolutely no slippage.

[George Makra]

I just have to laugh every time I hear about link belts and then being supposedly Superior. When they first came out 20 or 30 years ago they were emergency repair belts.till you could get the proper vee belts. They were sold in HV AC supply houses and bearing houses as a temporary solution.

Somehow these miraculous belts have become the cure-all for all manner of ills.

As long as you have good sheaves along with a good quality belt and your alignment is good you will have no problems with power train vibrations or noise.

[jim sauterer]

I was in the HVAC business we used to carry that belt on my truck as a temporary fix until I could get the proper belt then it would come off and go back in my truck.never left one permanent.just my 2 cents

[Frank Pratt]

I just have to laugh every time I hear about link belts and then being supposedly Superior. When they first came out 20 or 30 years ago they were emergency repair belts.till you could get the proper vee belts. They were sold in HV AC supply houses and bearing houses as a temporary solution.

Somehow these miraculous belts have become the cure-all for all manner of ills.

As long as you have good sheaves along with a good quality belt and your alignment is good you will have no problems with power train vibrations or noise.

Or, if you have say, a contractor saw the vibrates a lot & the belt slips, and you don't have enough money to fix it right (new pulleys, high quality belt etc, you can just spend a few bucks on a link belt. The saw was markedly smoother and the belt never slipped. When I sold the saw 15 years later the belt had no appreciable wear.

So go ahead & laugh. Sometimes a link belt is an excellent solution.

[Jacob Reverb]

Or, if you have say, a contractor saw the vibrates a lot & the belt slips, and you don't have enough money to fix it right (new pulleys, high quality belt etc, you can just spend a few bucks on a link belt. The saw was markedly smoother and the belt never slipped. When I sold the saw 15 years later the belt had no appreciable wear.

So go ahead & laugh. Sometimes a link belt is an excellent solution.

I like 'em, too, and never had a lick of trouble with one.

This stuff is funny ... several years back, everybody said they were great, now apparently the 'correct' answer is that they stink, 10 years from now, they'll be great again.

[Jacob Reverb]

I also carry one in my boat so that next time, maybe just maybe, I won't have to hang my head in the pitching, rolling, yawing bilge for 2 hours 30 miles offshore removing the raw water pump and bracket from my GM 350 to replace its belt. (Yeah, I know: You can put two belts under the bracket and tie the spare one up out of the way to prevent having to remove the bracket next time, but if you do this, you had better make sure the spare belt is long enough before you put everything back together. DAMHIKT.)

[Frederick Skelly]

Or, if you have say, a contractor saw the vibrates a lot & the belt slips, and you don't have enough money to fix it right (new pulleys, high quality belt etc, you can just spend a few bucks on a link belt. The saw was markedly smoother and the belt never slipped. When I sold the saw 15 years later the belt had no appreciable wear.

Sometimes a link belt is an excellent solution.

+1. Like any other tool, I use them when and where they help.

[Mike Kees]

When I had one on my contractor saw it slipped easier than a solid belt did.It did however last about 10 years.