Link style v belts

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PT Doc

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Dec 24, 2011
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In a different thread, someone recommended that a link belt could help quiet down my grinder. Since I didn't know much about them, I decided to read up on them. I came across these sites with reviews:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=6040&Max=999

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020051/4906/4-Foot-of-12-Link-Belt.aspx#Reviews

The reviews seem to be consistent in regards to noise reduction. Obviously these are woodworking sites, but pulleys and motors are similar, so why haven't these made headway with our belt ginder setups. Woodcraft has a promo of $10 off $25 so the $35 price for 4feet would be $25. Obviously the cost is higher than the traditional v belt, but is that the only reason?
 
Tracy at usaknifemaker.com has been selling these for years... lots of folks running them. Always good to get a reminder about a great product though. :thumbup:
 
Many of us use the link belts for our grinders.

You can get one from Harbor Freight. For $25 you get enough belt for 2 grinders :)
 
I have them on my KMG, the 4x6, and the drill press. They're not miracle cures for noise, but they do help.

Another potential advantage for me is that if one breaks, all I have to do is replace links and not wole belts. I have a few feet of the two different sizes in a drawer for that if it ever comes up.
 
I think it transmits power much better and last a lot longer than standard v belts. I purchased 50 ft and run it on all my shop machines.
 
A combination of these and some well balanced machined pulleys will drop some serious noise (in my past experience). Ive got them on my bandsaw and table saw.
 
I have one of those old craftsman table saws I picked up for $50. Had to buy a motor and when I put that on with the old pulleys and a regular belt it was loud, really loud and shaky. I bought a set of pulleys and the vbelt and installed those, pretty darn near whisper quiet. It is literally the quietest saw I have now. Not sure how much was from which, I just know the combination really works great.
 
I bought a set, for my drill press, from HF too. Works fine and, if it makes you feel better, they were made in the USA.
 
I first heard about them YEARS ago when my dad was pretty heavy into wood working. He bought a couple feet at a wood working show in chicago and put some on his table saw at home. It noticeably cut down on both noise and vibration. Since then, I've been sold on them.
 
The Fenner Link drive belts are one of those products that you don't find until you need them. If none of your machines make drive noise or vibrate, then most people would never think to look for them. The adjustable length does make them very handy for machine-building though.
 
The only reason I've stayed away from link belts is that I occasionally run my grinder backwards (mainly at low speed for finishing my edges with a leather belt). It looks like the link belts wouldn't work to well in reverse. Do any of you have experience running link belts backwards?
Erin
 
I've accidentally put my link belt on backwards a few times and ran it for a while with no dramatic effects......actually I didn't notice any but then I wasn't looking for any either as I didn't know it was on wrong.
 
I get linkbelt any chance I can, great to have a 10 foot length to yank off enough for different sized belts for different machines. Keep a length in my truck in case I break the fan belt, a nice temporary fix to get you home :D
 
Erin Burke said:
The only reason I've stayed away from link belts is that I occasionally run my grinder backwards (mainly at low speed for finishing my edges with a leather belt). It looks like the link belts wouldn't work to well in reverse. Do any of you have experience running link belts backwards?
Erin
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I do it on my Coote, which is driven by a link belt. It makes a little more noise but I haven't noticed any ill effects. I would hesitate to do this in a very high-torque application but for my setup it seems to work fine for occasional reversing. If I spent a lot of time running it backwards I would probably just flip the link belt, they usually stretch enough to roll off over the edge of a pulley without having to mess with the tensioning system.
 
I have thought about trying one of these belts, my kmg belt will slip and I thought maybe the link belt wouldn't slip as much as the v-belt ?

steve
 
Sam Salvati said:
Steve if your belt is slipping there's not enough tension.
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Absolutely. Reguardless the belt you own, there should be no slippage if everything is setup correctly. That said, linkage belts are awesome. I had one on my tablesaw and it brought smoothness/vibration to a whole new level. I could stand a coin on edge while running the saw. That is how smooth linkage belts run.
 
Woodcraft has a promo currently through the end of the month: code 62012 and its $10 off $25. The 4 foot link belt was just under $35 so about $25 out the door. Can't beat that. The woodworking folks there were super happy with this product.
 
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