Schedule a Meeting · Talk to a real woodworker: +1 937-890-5197 · 8:00AM – 4:30PM ET

Gilmer belt alignment

HopefulSSer

I've installed the new gilmer belt in my headstock, however I'm a little concerned about the alignment. It's riding up against the shoulder on the outboard end of the cog. The old one did the same before it broke.

Should it be more centered? And assuming yes, how would one adjust it? I don't see any provision for that. The idler bush seems like it should abut the stop screw, and the idler bearing has a groove to accept the point of the grub screw, so everything seems to have a fixed position. And if I were to move the idler position, it would affect the v-belt alignment. What am I missing here?

Thanks!

JPG

Post a pix that includes both ends of the belt(drive sleeve etc., and idler sheave, and end of idler shaft etc..

It does tend to track there!

HopefulSSer

It seems like the idler shaft and drive sleeve axes are not parallel. The idler seems like it's "tipped up" slightly on the sheave end, making the outboard side of the belt a little tighter than the inboard. Maybe the pictures will show what I'm talking about. I was able to get a little breathing room on the drive sleeve cog by scootching the bearing inward in the offset bush but I don't like it.

DLB

HopefulSSer wrote It seems like the idler shaft and drive sleeve axes are not parallel. The idler seems like it's "tipped up" slightly on the sheave end, making the outboard side of the belt a little tighter than the inboard. Maybe the pictures will show what I'm talking about. I was able to get a little breathing room on the drive sleeve cog by scootching the bearing inward in the offset bush but I don't like it.

First, full disclosure, my Gilmer machine appears to be worse than yours. I haven't done much with it in recent years, and it's pretty rough. The belt always rode where yours started.

As part of a PowerPro rabbit hole, I found I could measure the angles of the shafts by putting a lathe faceplate on them and measuring the relative angles of them. With any luck at all, the face plate will be extremely close to normal to the shaft. I used two 3-3/4" face plates but I think the larger one would work as well. I used a Wixie to measure the angle, there are many alternatives. There are some pretty good smart phone apps, though they can't publish accuracy. (I don't like to use my phone for things like this out in the shop due to potential for dropping it. Wixie or competitors are relatively cheap and durable.)

It's important to make sure you are using a Gilmer belt tension procedure. IIRC it will should have somewhat less tension compared to a Poly-V.

- David

edma194

Gilmer belts can slide side to side along the cogwheel unlike the multi-groove belts. If it's not wearing out the side of the belt from contact then you should leave it alone until you can identify an actual problem in operation.

HopefulSSer

DLB wrote First, full disclosure, my Gilmer machine appears to be worse than yours. I haven't done much with it in recent years, and it's pretty rough. The belt always rode where yours started.

As part of a PowerPro rabbit hole, I found I could measure the angles of the shafts by putting a lathe faceplate on them and measuring the relative angles of them. With any luck at all, the face plate will be extremely close to normal to the shaft. I used two 3-3/4" face plates but I think the larger one would work as well. I used a Wixie to measure the angle, there are many alternatives. There are some pretty good smart phone apps, though they can't publish accuracy. (I don't like to use my phone for things like this out in the shop due to potential for dropping it. Wixie or competitors are relatively cheap and durable.)

It's important to make sure you are using a Gilmer belt tension procedure. IIRC it will should have somewhat less tension compared to a Poly-V.

- David

Not familiar with Wixie. I'll have to look that up....

RE tensioning -- the belt (directly from SS) came with instructions, and there's an admonition on the website to call tech service when installing for proper tensioning procedure. I called and they read to me the sheet that came with the belt. :D They said set the speed to G or H, tighten the belt til it gets noisy, then back off until it's quiet again.

Thanks for the info!

HopefulSSer

edma194 wrote Gilmer belts can slide side to side along the cogwheel unlike the multi-groove belts. If it's not wearing out the side of the belt from contact then you should leave it alone until you can identify an actual problem in operation.

I've not run it enough of course to know if it would be a problem, it just looked wrong. Since I'm new to these machines I figured I should investigate before I break something. ;) I'll run it a while and keep an eye on it. It might be fine!

Thanks!

JPG

I'se a bit confused. The third pix above shows a poly-v idler pulley??? BTW it is one groove too far towards the back(s/b two vacant grooves on both sides)(pulley has 13 grooves - belt has 9 ribs.

Second pix-The eccentric is NOT fully inserted(washer should be flat against it)(would do the same as you did with the bearing).

I assume you moved the bearing away from the set screw positioning??

DLB

JPG wrote I'se a bit confused. The third pix above shows a poly-v idler pulley??? BTW it is one groove too far towards the back(s/b two vacant grooves on both sides)(pulley has 13 grooves - belt has 9 ribs.

I'm not seeing that. :confused: Could you be seeing the compressed spring and cap on the motor shaft in the background? Or, please circle for those of us (most of us, I think) less observant...

- David

JPG

I think "THEE" are more observant than I. Yes I was referring to the motor shaft spring. :o

HopefulSSer

Yes this is all gilmer. Second pic -- offset bush is fully inserted and against stop screw and washer. There's a little boss cast onto the housing and that's where the screw sits when tight. In that pic I've less-than-fully inserted the bearing into the bush to move the belt inboard on the drive sleeve cog. That's what gives me the 1/8" or so of clearance you see in the first pic (as compared to the original pic in the first post).

Here's a pic that shows the boss cast into the housing. I'm tempted to remove it but I'm sure it's there for a reason so I will leave it be. But removing it would move the bush in the direction I feel it needs to go.

In this pic, based on Ed's comment, I've inserted the bearing almost fully into the bush. It's still not quite where it would like to sit based on the groove in it and the point on the grub screw. But with it set like this I still get a tiny whiff of air between the belt and shoulder of the drive sleeve cog so I think I will run it like this and see what happens. The belt still sits funny on the idler cog but not much I see to do about that.

chapmanruss

HopefulSSer,

I have been on vacation so let me add my comments a little late. The Gilmer Belt does ride next to the edge as shown in your earlier picture. Looking at different Gilmer Drive Sleeves I have seen that wear pattern on both non-clutch and clutched Drive Sleeves. Re-aligning the Idler Sleeve will affect the alignment of the belt to the motor as well as the speed adjustment. As far as wear to the edge of the Gilmer belt rubbing against the edge you are more likely to break the belt from other causes, especially on a non-clutch Drive Sleeve, before any wear there can become an issue. Most Gilmer Drive Sleeves are the clutched type as that was an early change during their first year of production.

HopefulSSer

Thanks! As I said earlier in the thread, I wasn't sure if it was normal or not but it looked odd. But since it's normal then I won't worry about it.

markf

Similar to the original post in this thread, my gilmer belt seems to ride at the edge of the cog. But it also looks like my cog is quite worn. So, I'm looking for advice! (Edit: Not confident it's really a Gilmer drive issue, made a more general post about the idler sheave being loose. Also ran across some other threads about Gilmer wear: Bill Mayo's comments about wear and alignment seem most comprehensive, this unresolved thread showing similar Gilmer drive wear and this one suggesting it's not too bad.)

I bought this greenie about a year ago, and it's generally been working well. I've used both slow (jig saw) and fast (table saw) functions. Today I was trying out routing for the first time, but after a minute at high speed (slightly above table saw) I saw faint smoke coming out of the headstock, and then the motor stalled (humming but not turning). The drive hub was almost too hot to take off when I went to open it up.

The sheaves did need oil (moved back into position very slowly), but the V belt seems to be just over 1/2" wide at the outer edge, so I think it's not too worn. But (as pictured) the gilmer belt seems to be pressed to the side strongly enough to curve the edge up slightly, possibly because of the wear on its side of the cog. With the case open, when I run it at high speed I actually see the occasional spark near the gilmer belt. I can't tell exactly where it's coming from. But when I stop/unplug again, the gilmer belt is very hot, whereas the V belt feels only warm. (Please correct my terminology if I'm messing it up: V belt goes between the sheaves, gilmer belt is much shorter/wider and in different models would be the poly-V belt?)

Anyway, I'm wondering can be fixed, or what needs replacement. Is my cog worn beyond use, and maybe that's why the gilmer belt is pressed to the side? Thanks for any recommendations!