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.

20200426_075810.jpg

[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.