Slowly I am cleaning up my father's old Delta power saw. The V-belt it
came with had to be 50 years old, and vibrated badly. The replacement
from the local auto parts store was a lot better, but still very noisy,
and one could see the belt slapping back and forth (resonating) quite
violently. This at 1750 rpm. Both pulleys are the same size, and fairly
small (so the blade can be raised the greatest distance above the
table).

Belt resonance and vibration is a well known problem with table saws and
woodworking equipment in general, and the standard fix is to replace the
standard endless-loop V-belts with belts made up of multiple interlocked
links, usually those made by Fenner, the theory being that the
vibrations are turned into heat by working the links against one another
as the belt slackens and tightens in response to the resonance.

So, I replaced the $5 generic V-belt (1/2" wide by 33" long) with 33" of
Fenner PowerTwist+ size A/4L (5' cost $29 from Amazon.com).

What a difference it made. The vibrations are gone. Reportedly, this
will yield smoother cleaner cuts, and I believe it.

It does a nice job on aluminum plate, but the plate has to be clamped to
a sled running in the mitre grooves to make straight cuts. As it
happens, the sleds I made for the bandsaw fit perfectly.

Joe Gwinn

Joseph Gwinn wrote:

So, I replaced the $5 generic V-belt (1/2" wide by 33" long) with 33" of
Fenner PowerTwist+ size A/4L (5' cost $29 from Amazon.com).

What a difference it made. The vibrations are gone. Reportedly, this
will yield smoother cleaner cuts, and I believe it.

I have been wanting to buy a power twist for a few years, one thing that helps for those
of us that use a regular v belt is to just lift the motor, and slip the belt off when we
are not using the saw.

Wes

In article ,
Wes wrote:

Joseph Gwinn wrote:

So, I replaced the $5 generic V-belt (1/2" wide by 33" long) with 33" of
Fenner PowerTwist+ size A/4L (5' cost $29 from Amazon.com).

What a difference it made. The vibrations are gone. Reportedly, this
will yield smoother cleaner cuts, and I believe it.

I have been wanting to buy a power twist for a few years, one thing that
helps for those of us that use a regular v belt is to just lift the motor,
and slip the belt off when we are not using the saw.

The intent being to keep the belt from taking a set while sitting? I'm
sure that this is true, and the 50 year old belt vibrated very badly,
but the brand-new solid V-belt also vibrated badly enough. I suppose it
could have taken a set while in a cardboard collar awaiting a buyer.

Anyway, I think that the $15 link belt (half of $29 for 60") will last
forever, and absolutely solved the problem. Just as all the woodworking
folk said it would.

Why are you waiting to buy?

Joe Gwinn

Joseph Gwinn wrote:

Why are you waiting to buy?

Keep forgetting I want one when I'm ordering. I put it in my amazon shopping list though
so I'm sure amazon will remind me

Wes