link belts for Grizzly 1023S

Can someone help me order the correct size link belt for my 1023S table saw. It has the oe 3 belt pulley and original belts which are 3/8" wide. Do I order the 3/8" link belt or the 1/2"? Most of the websites that sell link belt tend to steer you to the 1/2" size. So the question is, should one replace 3/8" v-belts with 3/8" link belts? Thanks.

Reply to
Garland
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IMHO you should go back with the original matched set of belts. Typically Link belts are best when used 1 at a time. Link belts stretch as they settle in. With 3 belts the time will probably be 3 or more times longer. You are going to probably be under there readjusting the belts much more often than you like.

Reply to
Leon

For a matched set you don't order a link belt at all -- you order the proper matched set either from the OEM or take the belt to a local distributor for matching.

Unless someone before you put a smaller belt on the saw, the OEM put the proper belt for the pulley size on the saw--larger or smaller won't fit properly.

There was another thread just recently on "replacing belt on Jet" that got into more detail on matched sets.

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Reply to
dpb

I have link belts on my other equipment and I remember they stretch a little, but I don't mind doing a few adjustments to get rid of the noise and vibration at startup that my 1023S has always had. I'm also familiar with matched sets from my automotive days, but it seems to me that the link belts solve that issue too. There must be plenty of Grizzly 1023 owners out there who have replaced the 3 belts with link belts. Anyone?

Reply to
Garland

I have worked on or near a few table saws that have 3 belt setups. I never saw or heard any issues related to three belts. The only time I had a had time with 3 belt setups was on 25 year old cooling towers where one or more belts were missing so the pulleys were worn unevenly. The same vintage air handlers worked fine even on 5-10 year old belts. The cooling tower problem was fixed for $100,000. Nothing new towers will not fix.

I am not sure I would be obsessing over vibration at startup. I would want smooth when running the tool.

Reply to
Jim Behning

How do they possibly solve the issue of slight mismatching lengths that is the whole purpose of the matched set (so each picks up a proportionate share of the load).

If anything, I'd be quite comfortable in asserting the difference in length between three link belts would be worse than that of three production belts of the same size before the matching process.

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Reply to
dpb

I strongly suspect that 3 link belts would never actually be evenly adjusted, one or two would most likely be carrying a majority of the load until several adjustments have been made to compensate for stretch.

Reply to
Leon

Leon wrote: ...

That's the whole point -- they'll never end up at the same length, therefore, they'll never have the same tension.

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Reply to
dpb

I had difficulty using and sizing (Powertwist} link belts until I read this:

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using this approach I have not had any issues determining the appropriate link configuration for a specific application, and have not had to retension any belts after install either, but I did check just to make sure. Some have been in use for three years plus. regards, Joe

Reply to
Joe Brophy

Reply to
Garland

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You got fabrication spec's for that?

(Not necessarily arguing, I've never seen them touted as for use w/ multi-sheave drives.)

But I'd still ask what problem are you trying to solve by going to a link belt instead of the OEM? IMO, the question of smoother running is rarely if ever the belt but indicative of a problem elsewhere in the machine, most often poorly machined/balanced pulley(s).

$0.02, imo, ymmv, etc., etc., etc., ... of course...

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Reply to
dpb

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> Since using this approach I have not had any issues determining the appropriate link configuration for a specific

but I did check just to make sure. Some have

Reply to
Garland

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Thinking about the process further, depending on what the actual manufacturing process tolerances are and the type of process error that prevails, I could actually see where the link belt might actually be self-correcting. If, the tolerances are consistent and independently distributed from piece to piece or are selected randomly there's at least a reasonable chance the errors would tend to the mean as

1/sqr(num_links). So, perhaps they would actually do a better job of matching than my first gut feel indicated.

Still haven't found a reason for them, specifically, but that's a different question... :)

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Reply to
dpb

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