Link belts on a MK 5?

trainguytom · Post by **trainguytom** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:16 pm

I was going through a back issue of some woodworking mag & a guy was talking about tuning up his table saw. One of the things he recommended was installing a link belt instead of the traditional v-belt. He raved about how much quieter & smoother the saw ran.

My question here is: Has anyone tried a link belt as a motor belt for a MK5?
Awhile back when I frequented a 10er users group, I believe some were using them on their 10er's both with speedchangers & without, but I'm not sure, so I figured I'd try the group here to see if anyone had any MK 5 experience with link belts.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:49 pm

trainguytom wrote:I was going through a back issue of some woodworking mag & a guy was talking about tuning up his table saw. One of the things he recommended was installing a link belt instead of the traditional v-belt. He raved about how much quieter & smoother the saw ran.

My question here is: Has anyone tried a link belt as a motor belt for a MK5?
Awhile back when I frequented a 10er users group, I believe some were using them on their 10er's both with speedchangers & without, but I'm not sure, so I figured I'd try the group here to see if anyone had any MK 5 experience with link belts.

Yes, I tried a few link belts (35 links) back when I was unable to get any motor belts from Shopsmith. I quickly found out I could use 1/2" X 27" v-belt as a temporay replacement. Link belts work outstanding with steel pulleys. I found I was getting a dusting of aluminum dust inside the headstock however the sheaves stayed clean and good looking and I could not detect any noticeable wear from several years of using link belts. I reface the sheave surfaces now days to remove nicks, scratches and worn areas and believe this takes more material from the sheave faces than the link belt was wearing. I found the wider Shopsmith motor belt (9/16") was the best solution and was much cheaper than the link belt and requires less adjustments.

trainguytom · Post by **trainguytom** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:02 pm

Thanks Bill. Did you notice that the link belts ran any quieter or smother, or did it just amount to a different & more expensive way to do things?

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:08 am

trainguytom wrote:Thanks Bill. Did you notice that the link belts ran any quieter or smother, or did it just amount to a different & more expensive way to do things?

Yes, the link belt (35 links) ran much smoother and quieter and with hardly any vibration compared to the regulater V-Belt. This become very noticeable when the headstock is operate only one day over several months. The link belt does not take a set like the V-Belt when not used. At the time I was using link belts, the Shopsmith belt was 3-4 times less expensive, now there is not a great difference in price. I operated link belts on my personal Shopsmiths and stand alone machinery but customers wanted the cheaper v-belt ($25-$30 cheaper).

I prefer the link belt as it keeps the sheaves clean and do not show areas of sheave wear like from the V-belt. No build up of crud on the sheave faces with the link belt so this keeps the belt from sticking to the sheaves if the headstock is not operated for long periods. Other than blowing out the aluminum dust from the headstock yearly, I found the link belt was a excellant replacement for the Shopsmith motor belt.

trainguytom · Post by **trainguytom** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:56 am

Thanks for the added info, it was just what I needed.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:45 am

I cannot help but wonder how much 'smoother'(and quieter) a power station(or crafter's station) would run with a pair of link belts.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:04 am

JPG40504 wrote:I cannot help but wonder how much 'smoother'(and quieter) a power station(or crafter's station) would run with a pair of link belts.

Quite a bit quiter and smoother without vibrations. Can be several times quiter along with less noise and vibtration. Well worth the investment of the link belt.

fgrule · Post by **fgrule** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:48 am

Is there a preferred brand of link-belt? Seems I saw these at Harbor Freight, but they were a different color (and, I assume, a different brand)?

Fred

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:58 pm

fgrule wrote:Is there a preferred brand of link-belt? Seems I saw these at Harbor Freight, but they were a different color (and, I assume, a different brand)?

Fred

Really??????:D;)

Culprit · Post by **Culprit** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 4:04 pm

It has been said, but I don't know firsthand, that the Harbor Freight ones are harder than the Fenner brand Power Twist Link Belts, and will cause more wear on the aluminum sheaves (see Bill Mayo's previous posts).

The Fenner brand is available through Amazon, Rockler, and Woodcraft to name a few.