# Loose belt on my new/very old jig saw.



## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

I got this jigsaw for at an auction for $7.00 two of them went up for bit for choice between the two. There was a bigger and newer one with a metal frame but it didn't have a motor. for $7.00 I should have gotten them both but I only had $50 and it was still early and I wanted the big old school wood clamps that i did get and will be posting very soon.

I haven't used the jigsaw yet because the frame is REALLY wobbly and the belt is so loose and flops around when it's running that I'm afraid it's going to fly off and smack me. I could brace up the stand to try and get the wobble out and put a thin board between the saw and the stand top to get the pullys farther apart to tighten up the belt.

So, what do you think I should do?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

put a additional 1/2"-1""board under the saw that should tighten the belt. Or get a shorter belt


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Slide the motor toward the rear and it looks like it will tighten the belt. Could just get a shorter belt?????


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks guys! I like the idea of moving the motor… I don't have to buy a new belt.

by the way the old school wood clamps I was talking about can be seen under my work bench. I paid $32.00 for 10 of them.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Great deal on the clamps ,they will come in handy I have a couple dozen of those type of clamps and I use them all the time.


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

The belt needs to be properly tightened for proper operation, but more than that, I suggest you make a belt guard to cover it for safety purposes.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Some vibration can be reduced by using a power twist belt, and if possibly, turned pulleys as opposed to cast ones. Cast pulleys need balancing due to the nature of the casting process and are balanced by drilling out some material. Turned pulleys typically do not need balancing! I used both on my 40 year old TS and it made a world of difference!

There are also vibration dampening feet that can be added!


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Holy cow is that ever a long belt. I'd put a board under the saw that extends behind it and remount the motor there and then you will need a belt that is about 1/3 that length. A long belt like that will do a lot of whipping if it has much slack in it. The motor usually has slots in it for adjustment. Put the new belt on and pull the motor tight with it on and spot the slots on the wood and then put in some threaded anchors or T nuts from the bottom so you can use machine screws to tighten it down. Put the holes for the T nuts in the middle of the slots drawn on the wood so you have some adjustment left.
It looks like that motor could be heavier than the saw it self. In that case I would use a longer board and mount the saw a bit forward so the center of the weight is over the center of that frame.

Oh, and make a little guard for the belt to keep things from getting caught in that open belt.
.................Jim


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## OnlyJustME (Nov 22, 2011)

Nice pick ups. If the stand is really that wobbly i would rebuild it. It looks to be top heavy even with the motor on the bottom and too tall. You can take the existing one apart and reuse the wood and a bit more and move the legs further apart and shorten them. Before taking it apart slide the motor back until the belt is properly tensioned and measure the distance between the pulleys so you have a reference for where to position the motor to make it the correct distance.

Just another wood working project to do. 

Just saw how long ago this was posted. Have you fixed the situation?


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