Shopsmith Forums

In the latter days of August, 2008 I put the new Gates drive belt in my Mark V. Before installing, I sliced off the two bulges in the sides of the belt. (the largest bulge was at the joint) It was not a smooth running belt prior to slicing off the bulges. But post slicing it ran smooth and performed well. I tried to keep track of the hours logged on this belt, but grew tired of this chore after some 35 hours. At that time there was no measureable change in belt diameter.

Eight months later, (estimated 125 hours of use) I figure the belt is pretty well worn out. At least in my mind. It was starting to make noises that were not typical in my machine. My first diameter measurement of that belt was 7/16". Most of the belt's diameter however is 29/64". When new the width was 15/32"

I also have a SS/Goodyear belt that was on the machine for approximately 1 year. (12 or 13 months) Measurements are with the photos.

The rest of this post and the next one are photo comparisons of 4 belts. Two are Gates and two are Shopsmith belts by Goodyear.

It is plain to me the Gates are inferior for lasting power by at least a year's worth of wear.

You can draw your own conclusions. I am not an engineer - just a guy that can see the difference in quality. I certainly hope that Shopsmith is able to soon be able to resume their working cooperation with Goodyear.

Here are some measurements that may be meaningful to someone:
Outside Circumferences:
New Gates - 26 1/4"
Used Gates- 26 3/8"
New Goodyear - 26 3/4"


The Diameter of the Gates belt decreased from 15/32" (0.461") to 29/64" (0.447") in approximately 125 hours of use.

** Edit:, Corrected measurements are in bold Italics

The used belt is on the top - New belt on the bottom[ATTACH]4174[/ATTACH]

Scuff mark on one part of the used belt
[ATTACH]4175[/ATTACH]

Scuff marks on another part of the used belt
[ATTACH]4176[/ATTACH]

Shiney edge of used Godyear Belt - showing thicker, more firm sides
[ATTACH]4178[/ATTACH]

It was interesting to me that both Gates and Goodyear belts are approximately the same thickness from outside to center. However the Goodyear belt has a firm, flat top, while the Gates is crowned.

All 4 belts side by side
[ATTACH]4177[/ATTACH]

Just a little more -

Measurements showed the wear on both belts was even from the outside edge to the bottom edge. In other words the sides wore evenly. Although the Gates showed scuffing near the inside edge of one side of the belt, but not the other side.

Cant say that this showed me anything except the narrower belt got narrower (down to a minimum diameter) sooner than the wider belt. This, of course is a no brainer and was expected.

Diameter measurement of Goodyear belt after one year's wear
[ATTACH]4179[/ATTACH]

Diameter measurement of Gates Belt after 8 month's wear
[ATTACH]4180[/ATTACH]

Chuck,
Thanks for the posting; I was always interested in your findings.

FYI, around November 2008 I ordered a new drive-built which by now I've used on a buddy's headstock rebuild. I'm 99% sure this belt did not say Gates anywhere; it just had the Shopsmith p/n on it. It seemed very uniform and well-made, but I didn't take a lot of notes on it.

Chuck,
Thank you so much for the update. Remember all the goings on when you first discovered the change in vendors. Nick was right there for us. It seems he too may have been blindsided by the sounds of it. Length of service vs cost. hmmmm. Sounds so familar lately when I buy something. It's that old saying
They don't make them like they used to. One of the reasons I went the Shopsmith way was durability. hmmmm. Not I will kee[ my shopsmith I love it dearly.

charlese wrote:In the latter days of August, 2009 I put the new Gates drive belt in my Mark V...

Chuck, I appreciate the time you have taken to illustrate the belt situation. Hopefully nuhobby's experience tells us that SS has replaced the Gates belt with something better??? Anyway, speaking of time spent, I notice that you have successfully discovered how to travel through time!!! Please share that info with the rest of us, so we too can enjoy the extra time.

[quote="nuhobby"]Chuck,
FYI, around November 2008 I ordered a new drive-built which by now I've used on a buddy's headstock rebuild. I'm 99% sure this belt did not say Gates anywhere]
That's VERY INTERESTING! If you would - Please check the threads contained in that belt. Are they the larger cords that can be seen in the photos of the Shopsmith/Goodyear Belt? Also does your new belt have a flat outside edge, or is it crowned, like the Gates shown?

In posting last night, I forgot to tell of another major factor that made me check the condition of the belt in the first place. The inside of the headstock was coated with a heavy layer of black rubber residue. There was very little sawdust, but a large amount of black stuff. I required three blue shop rags to wipe it all off.

a1gutterman wrote: I notice that you have successfully discovered how to travel through time!!! Please share that info with the rest of us, so we too can enjoy the extra time.

Whoops! Calendars have always been troublesome for me! And it's worse now-a-days. At my age all time/date things seems to run amuck.

There it's fixed! Thanks Tim!:D

charlese wrote:That's VERY INTERESTING! If you would - Please check the threads contained in that belt. Are they the larger cords that can be seen in the photos of the Shopsmith/Goodyear Belt? Also does your new belt have a flat outside edge, or is it crowned, like the Gates shown?

Hello Chuck,
The Nov-2008-purchased belt is miles away by now so I won't see it for some time, but positively it had a flat outside edge -- no crowning to it like your Gates photos, and as I said, no obvious vendor logo.
P.S. I bought it right after Nick got let go, and everybody was rushing for spare parts...

I've personally moved to the Power Twist Link Belt as suggested by Bill Mayo and have had positive results.

Thanks, Chris!:)