Shopsmith Forums

Anyone know the exact size of the drive belt for a Mark V. I have to order all my parts from Ontario and since I live in Alberta it takes forever to get even the simplest part plus shipping cost on everything. The belt in my new machine (1981 Mark V) only says Shopsmith on it, I would guess that's so we have to shop at the Dealer store. My old 1950's era Mark V belt is so worn out I can't see any numbers or Logo on it. Would sure be nice to just pop down to the local drive and bearing shop to pick one up.

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bestdust wrote:Anyone know the exact size of the drive belt for a Mark V. I have to order all my parts from Ontario and since I live in Alberta it takes forever to get even the simplest part plus shipping cost on everything. The belt in my new machine (1981 Mark V) only says Shopsmith on it, I would guess that's so we have to shop at the Dealer store. My old 1950's era Mark V belt is so worn out I can't see any numbers or Logo on it. Would sure be nice to just pop down to the local drive and bearing shop to pick one up.

Both need a 26 1/2" x 1/2" belt. They are almost impossible to find in that size. Most 1/2" belts are now smaller than 1/2". The ss belt is slightly wider thsan 1/2". The 1/2" in 26 1/2" is also near impossible to find.

A dayco 17265 top cog is the nearest I have been able to find. They seem to provide the correct speed range. They are available in US at Auto Zone Parts. They do appear to be narrower than 1/2"

The problem I am experiencing is my drive belt is worn down to much less than 1/2" so it drops down too low in the speed control sheave and actually gets hung up on the sheave notches. I have been thinking of trying the link belt on it but I'm not sure it will work in the variable speed setup. Thanks for the reply..

judaspre1982 wrote:Here is a great thread on drive belts. It also links to another thread posted by Dusty on the second page --post#11. If you do a search on drive belts you will get more info. I believe Bill Mayo recommends link belts as a good substitute. If I remember correctly he uses 35 links to make up the drive belt.
http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... drive+belt

Dave

Hi, thanks for the reply. I was thinking about trying a link belt as I have used them on quite a few machines in the past with great success. I wasn't sure if one would work in a variable speed setup but if I can find a 1/2" locally I think I will try one and see what happens. Gotta be better than what's left of the belt on my machine now.

You can purchase the drive belt (521682) from Shopsmith.

[quote="dusty"]You can purchase the drive belt (521682) from Shopsmith.]

Did Shopsmith use a more standard size on the powerpro?

damagi wrote:Did Shopsmith use a more standard size on the powerpro?

The power pro does not have a v-belt.

It uses two poly-v belts.

Now finding them third party is a REAL challenge!;)

I just came in from the shop after installing a linkbelt in place of the shopsmith drive belt. I didn't quite make the exact 26 1/2 inch length, I could only get 26" or longer than 26 1/2 so I stayed with the 26" length and everything seems to be working perfectly, even the speed dial is right on and it works much smoother than with a v belt. I am going to change over my 1981 Mark V as well. Thanks to all for the responses and advice.