# A lot for very little



## GlennsGrandson

Thanks for the review, I think that you have convinced me.


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## oldnovice

+1 Rick I have had one on my TS for probably 25 years or more and when I first installed it on my then 20 year old Craftsman TS I was certainly amazed!

If you look at the reasons these things work you will see common sense; break up the harmonics with independent links and the vibrations are stopped dead.


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## MarkDavisson

+1


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## donwilwol

I agree Rick. And at first I thought the price was high, then I walked into a parts store and bought a v-belt. Thanks for the review.


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## b2rtch

I use these belts on all my tools and they work fantastic. 
Someone on LJ told me the not use them on my Unisaw, 
I use them anyway and they work great.
They used to be made in USA but now they are made in Italy and they a little different but they work the same.
Another advantage is that by keeping the bits of the belts which are too long for an application, you soon have enough pieces to make another belt for "free".
There is a direction to install them, they use to have an arrow printed on them, no longer but the manufacturer website gives all the instruction.

http://www.dubbycrosscutsled.com/education/manuals/accu-link-belt-instructions/


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## mikema

I have the HF belts on two of my machines, they work great!


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## BinghamtonEd

I cannot agree enough. I picked up and old 8" Yates jointer a few weeks back and put one of these on. Now granted, that belt was probably older than I am, and had sat for a while, but there was a remarkable difference once I swapped out to one of these. Thanks for posting the review.


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## MarkDavisson

Thanks for that graphic, Bert! I checked my saw and had installed mine backwards!


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## helluvawreck

I have heard this same advice given in a number of places. Unfortunately I haven't acted on it yet. Thanks for reminding me.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## b2rtch

You are welcome Mark.


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## ssnvet

I started using these with my jointer (1930s Craftsman with funky motor mount) and it reduced the vibration quite a bit.

Now I've got them on the Jet TS I'm re-furbishing and have enough left over to do my band saw as well.

The way Bert shows the installation is the "correct" way, and will certainly provide maximum drive power. But I've found that they run much quieter the other way, and I've never had an issue with them slipping.

The key thing about these link belts is that they can not take a "set" like regular drive belts can. This is when a tool sits unused for a long time and the belt forms to the pulley diameters at each end. Then when the tool is operated, the belt runs with a pulsing vibration.


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## b2rtch

Matt, 
Interesting as the instruction say that the belts run quieter the way they are on the instruction above.


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## Billp

Matt I added a link belt to my contractors saw its a powermatic. My pullys were to narrow so I found some the right width but the bore was to small. So I took them to a machine shop and had them bored out. It works fantastic and runs a lot smoother . I cut a lot of 8/4 Mahogany and with a thin kerf blade my saw can Handel it with ease.


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## patcollins

Yep I agree, unfortunately the Red ones and Green ones are just slightly different and you can't mix them together, so I switched all mine to the green ones from Harbor Freight and gave my red belt away to a friend that gave me a jointer.


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## Fuzzy

Several forums have had great controversy over the benefits (or lack thereof) of link belts. I tried them years ago, and have never looked back. I have them on every tool in my shop including 2 on my Woodmaster, and 3 on my Grizz 1023. They have been great.


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## wormil

Thanks Bert, I'll have to check which way my belt faces.


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## oldnovice

I wonder if I am wrong, I hold the end of the belt in my right hand, go through the first loop on the left, and proceed on around till I get back to the front! chuckle


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## OnlyJustME

Have one on my lathe. The other benefit is that i didn't have to take the head all apart to put one on. The Harbor freight one works just as well as the red ones and they are the cheapest i've found.
If i remember correctly you get 5 ft for the price instead of 4ft.
I'll be getting more for all of my machines soon.


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## sgv

would they work on a band saw ? are they worth the money on a band saw?


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## doubleDD

Every time a V-belt breaks on one of my machines it gets replaced with a link belt. Like you said these are a great way to improve the quality of all of our tools.


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## OnlyJustME

Sgv they are excellent on band saws.


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## sgv

Thanks all !!! best place to by one ? i am a fan of Amazon


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## OnlyJustME

Harbor Freight is the cheapest place but if you don't have one near you I don't know how much they charge for shipping so they might not be in that case.


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## wormil

Harbor Freight shipping is $6.99, Fedex Ground.

Best price I've seen on Amazon is $34.00 shipped but those are 48" whereas the HF belts are 60".


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## ChuckC

I have one on my jointer and one on my TS. They are well worth the money.


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## a1Jim

Thanks for the review.


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## sgmdwk

OK. Inspired by this review, I stopped by HF and bought a belt. We'll see how it works on my 24 year old Craftsman saw.


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## sgv

Ok ordered one today, will be here next week,$24.99 20% off coupon, $6.99 shipping for my hole order, question having never used one before, how tight do you make them on set up, do they stretch a lot.do you need any dressing, I have never changed the one on my band saw in all the ears I have had it,(almost 30) it looks like dry rotted rubber :O


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## sgmdwk

Well, I installed the new belt and the result was pretty nice: much smoother and more power delivered to the blade. The old belt was in worse shape than I thought, with several cracks. Too bad BF only has the 1/2 inch belt. I need a 3/8 inch for my drill press.


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## b2rtch

sgmdwk, these belt will work on your drill press just fine


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## Tedstor

I agree AND disagree. 
Replacing an old, beat-up v-belt with a new link belt will definitely improve performance. I unstalled a HF link belt on my vintage band saw and it worked quite well. 
But
Replacing an old, beat-up v-belt with a new, good quality v-belt will also improve performance. 
A v-belt can be bought from any local auto parts store for about $6. Take the old one with you, and find a new belt of approximately the same size.

Link belts certainly work well. They might work better than a rubber v-belt with poorly cast or damaged pulleys. But in my opinion, link belts get more praise than they deserve.


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## wormil

Do you have v-belts on any of your machines, Ted? There was nothing wrong with the belt I replaced nor my machined pulleys but the difference was substantial. It has lived up to the hype.


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## Rogerdat

I just picked one up two days ago and noticed a huge difference. I'm going tomorrow to pick up a few more for the rest of my machines.


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## Tedstor

Rick 
I've used v belts and link belts (red and green). I have either/both on my woodworking machines as we speak. I've also used to maintain commercial machinery and have used both in those applications as well.
Bottom line is that I'm glad the link belt has met your expectations. I too like link belts. They're great in certain circumstances. I'll just say that in my humble opinion, a good quality v-belt will work as well or better on a reasonably well tuned machine in the vast majority of cases. I would personally try a $6 vbelt first. If excessive vibe is present, I'd investigate other components in the drivetrain. I wouldn't just jump straight to the link belt. 
What are the disadvantages of the link belt? In my opinion, the lb doesn't fit properly into the groove of most machine pulleys. I've personally noticed slightly less power in machines which I attribute to the less optimal fit. But admittedly, a 5-10% reduction in power probably isn't overly noticeable in most cases, to most people.


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## oldnovice

*Tedstor*, I think your information is totally anecdotal as I have yet to find a bad review of a Power Twist, a.k.a. link belt. The vibrations, no matter how minute, can cause a V belt to develop harmonics and therefore amplify vibrations. Although vibrations may seem just to be a nuisance they can actually be detrimental to the tool itself in the long term. A link belt cannot develop these vibrations because of it segmented design.

*Other than your experience, I would like to see your source for your statement about power loss!*

In my opinion a Power Twist belt is a good investments for any belt driven power tool.

*And, NO I do not work for or own stock in any manufacturer of these products!*


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## Tedstor

I never said they were "bad". I said they weren't the magic bullet they are often made out to be. 
But you are right about anecdotal evidence. Opinions (user reviews)are usually based, at least in part, on anecdote.
If you can point me to a credible source that says a link belt is superior to a v-belt and can cure all mechanical ills, I gladly read it. I'm always eager to learn. But I'll still wonder why manufacturers don't ever seem to spec a link belt as OEM on their products. The cynical answer would be cost. But I'd think delta or powermatic would overlook the costs of a link belt if it'd improve their $3000 machines to any meaningful degree.


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## wormil

There are all sorts of wive's tales that go around about link belts and it's always fun to buck trends and go with tradition but link belts are clearly superior in some machines, especially contractor saws. If anything there is a power gain from lower vibration and better transfer of energy.

Here's a quick outtake of my Delta contractor post link belt. The camera is sitting right on the saw table so if there were any vibration it would be obvious. Sorry for the low quality, I forgot to change my camera to HD when filming.


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## Tedstor

Glad it's working for you Rick.


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## oldnovice

*Tedstor*, sorry if I came across a little harsh but, IMO, the main reason that power tool manufacturers do not use the Power Twist belts is probably, as you stated, cost.

Many years ago I worked in a product testing laboratory where we had access to some very high speed, 4800 fps, movie cameras and I saw some fantastic results of vibrations "killing" a machine. There were things happening that one could not visualize but were as evident as "the nose on your face" once seen by this camera. Later, in my career I spent months on developing a preventive maintanance system for some propriatory machines based solely on vibration profiles over the life of the machine.

Based solely on my experiences …. in the machine world there are *NO GOOD VIBRATIONS!*


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## Tedstor

We should figure out a way to eliminate the vibrations caused by cutting wood.  A commercial machine (assembly line stuff)that runs 24/7, will definitely benefit from vibe mitigation. No argument there. But a 2hp table saw? Maybe. But I'm a bit skeptical. 
At the end of the day, people should do whatever puts a smile on their face. If that includes a link belt, then all for it. 
I respect everyone's opinion, even if I don't share it. Apologies if I've given any other impression.


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## oldnovice

*OK!*

We actually do agree … for the most part!


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## wormil

Well what set me down this path was a weird harmonic vibration in my sawblade that caused a rougher than normal cut. I don't think it was any one thing causing it, just that the saw is ~15 years old and overdue for a tuneup. I came to believe the harmonic was starting in the saw and being amplified by the belt as Old Novice mentioned above. By replacing the v with a link belt I stopped that. Reducing overall vibration was a positive side effect. After the new belt and a few tweaks the harmonic has not returned. My point being that vibrations can cause problems regardless of HP or intended use.


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## rayman54

MY first TS was a Craftsman contractors unit about 40 years ago and it used to vibrate so bad it almost walked around the garage, then about 20 years ago at one of the wood workers shows i got the Inline Industries link belt and machined shive's as a kit for my Craftsman. 
It was like a new and better saw, very little vibration. I looked over the original die-cast shives and could see nothing wrong with them other than what they were,, DIE CAST. The link belt goes on other equipment as i see the need,, it works. and if needed the machined shive's as well.


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## wormil

Update: after breaking in, the links must have tightened up a bit and I had to remove 2 links but otherwise I'm still very satisfied.


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## GlennsGrandson

My table saw passes the penny test with this belt (been running it for about 6 months now). I can stand the penny up on edge, start and run the saw and it stays upright until I shut the saw down. I like it so much I bought two more, one for my jointer and one for my bandsaw. I do not like it on my bandsaw however, it made it much louder (my only complaint in this application) and I took it back off. Can't say that I notice a ton of difference on the jointer but I left it there since it wouldn't hurt anyways.

Definitely a great investment for my delta contractors saw, quieter and smoother.


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## restless

Tried the harbor freight belt worked good for a few weeks then the links started breaking apart.not sure why. On a delta contractor model. May try again, must have got a bad batch.


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## BinghamtonEd

Restless, harbor freight doesn't have bad batches.

Just kidding. Take it back and get a replacement, they're always good about that. I've been running these on my jointer and bandsaw without them falling apart.


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## b2rtch

I use them for years and I never had an issue.
Bad batch or wrong installation?
There is a proper and a wrong way to install these belts.
http://www.fennerdrives.com/videos/?=


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## wormil

I can't even imagine what it would take to break mine apart. Chainsaw maybe.


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