Does a Contractor Table Saw Upgrade kit of LinkBelt and Pullys exist for the Powermatic 64 left tilt? If not, can I substitute with one of the other brands if the pully diameters and shaft ID are the same?
Thanks guys,
Marc
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Replies
I think you could use it on your saw, but it's important to make sure the diameter of the pulley wheels are similar. Otherwise you may be turning at a speed your motor cannot handle, or too slow to work with.
I believe I'd check with the Woodcraft or Rockler customer service people first.
Terry
"Kinky for Gov. of Texas"
Thanks I spoke to Woodcraft and I'll take one of my pullys in to match it up.
Marc
You might do well to contact McMaster Carr. They sell the belts and real, honest to god pulleys too, if you need them. You'll have to give them a bit of info (OD, ID, etc) but not a big deal. I got the belt and pulleys for my bandsaw from them.
http://www.mcmaster.com/
Maybe you have money to burn, but if not, you might want to consider simply getting the link belt and evaluate whether, after installing it, you really need the other pulleys.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I'll second Forestgirl's comment, just replace the belt, the pulleys you have are probably good enough.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
I tried to install the belt alone, but the shoulders of the pully are too narrow. The v-belt that came with the saw is rather skinny. I had visions of the linkbelt flying off the pullys and boomarang-ing across the shop...
I'll see about new pullys too.
Thanks everyone!
Marc
I think the Powermatic saw uses 3VX belts. You can get narrow link belts (3L) but the taper is not the same.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
"but the taper is not the same." Ouch, you lost me there. Taper? I have experience only with the sorta-standard link-belt on an old Jet TS. Do other link belts have taper? Does mine have taper and I'm just not remember it?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG, maybe I should have said cross sectional area. If you look at a pulley the groove is wider at the top than the bottom. The belt should have a matching taper to fit in the groove. A standard 3L or AX belt is 3/8" wide at the top and 7/32" wide at the bottom. A 3VX belt is 3/8" wide at the top and 5/16" wide at the bottom which give the belt a taper. You need to use the correct belt to fit the pulleys properly.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
Yep, I knew that regular belts will have that taper. Just didn't think my link belt had any. You can tell that gardening has kept me out of the shop for awhile!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
What problem are you trying to solve? How old are the existing belts?
Pete
The existing belt is about 7 years old and it's got cracks. There is vibration while the saw is running, but the motor and the blade/arbor run smooth without the belt on. I figured if I needed a new belt, I upgrade to the linkbelt. Heard alot of good things about it.
Thanks,
Marc
You should be able to get a new belt in the correct size from McMaster http://www.mcmaster.com A good harware store may carry machine belts too. As you've discovered, belts come in different cross sections and it's important to get the right one. I much doubt that your nice machine will show any performance difference between a new solid belt and a link belt.Pete
Edited 4/26/2006 12:43 pm ET by PeteBradley
I went to a woodworking show where a "crafty salesman" was showing the benefits of the linked belts. Well the pulleys were visably out of allignment and the saw shook badly with it's factory belt, then he switched to the link belt, sure it smoothed out BUT link belts flex much better laterally than do it's older brothers. I asked how the saw would run if the pulleys were properly alligned and if he would allign them as they should be and try the standard belt. Boy did he get mad, shut down his booth and went out for coffee. A good Gates belt works well when properly alligned and tensioned. Also there is much more surface area of the belt in contact with the pulley for greater traction and less slippage. Also over time you will have to readjust the link belt tension much more often than the standard belt.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I've installed link belts on both machinery in the Fine Woodworking shop and a few of my personal power tools, and a washing machine, and a lawnmower. In most cases the belts have been on several years and so far none of them have shown any signs of slippage or needed to be retensioned.
Surface area of the belt is only one of several factors that affect belt slippage. In my experience, link belts are as good as, or better than, conventional belts when it comes to slippage.
John White
John, I have had the same experience as you regarding link belts. Also, I have found that they work well with no noticeable slippage when run slightly loose.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
John W, I surrender, It has just been my experiance with Belt driven machinery. I mean BIG, I retired out of a power house where drive belts were ganged in Sixes and had 18' (foot) belts, driven by 200HP motors. And Pulley allignment meant a whole lot.
Thats what made me very suspicious about the linkbelt salesman not wanting to allign the sheaves properly. But I will get a link belt and give it a "whirl". But I'am still fussy about sheave allignment as all should be.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce, one issue you might not be considering is that many hobby woodworkers have equipment that sits idle for considerable periods of time. I suspect that belts tend to take a 'set' while sitting and doing nothing. When the equipment is started the belt , twice per time around, hits its 'happy spot'. I was made a believer by a good frend who purchased my old table saw. The thing wiggled and jiggled something fierce. Joe put a powerflex belt on it and could stand a coin on edge while it was running.
You're sure right about that. Sometimes one or another of my tools won't get turned on for several weeks at a time.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Hi
I got my link belts from Harbour Freight Tools, they seemed to have the best price I could find, 1/3rd the price of them over here in Australia, and thats with postage cost included.
I have put them on all my machines, and they all seem to run a lot smoother.
Recently put a link belt on my jet contractor saw. My question concerns tension. Is there a rule of thumb on getting tension right. I though I had read somewhere that the position of the hanging motor is a way of doing that. The motor should be at more of a horizontal postion rather than hanging down too much. My motor is not at horizontal and I think the saw is running pretty well. Any thoughts and/or suggestion would be appreciated. I love working with wood, but I'm not much of a mechanic.
Thanks
I use Link Belts on all my machines and I have found that they do not require a lot of tension. It is recommended that they are a link or two shorter than the original belt. Since they increase in length because you have a joint every 3/4" a somewhat shorter belt is needed. Run the machine for about an hour then re-tension. They do not have to be super tight IMHO.
Their is a discussion on Sawmill Creek about Unisaw belt tension. David Eisan describes the correct tension to look for: "The way I tension is with the motor running lifting and lowering the motor until it runs smooth. Too tight or loose and the belts "slap". Look for an egg shape where everything is running smoothly and tighten the motor bracket bolt."
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37957
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
Edited 6/11/2006 10:55 am ET by JerryPacMan
Just make the link belt the same circumfrence as the belt you are replacing. Or, see where the motor hangs with the existing belt and add or subtract links to get the motor to the same position. Precision is not required.Howie.........
Thanks for the advice guys.......
Deb
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