v belt problems

[Paul Engle]

I am replacing my drive belt on jet 1236 and wondered if anyone has gone to a variable speed belt for the larger reeves drives instead of the standard 3L or 4L size fractional hp belt. the inside shive of my reeves ate the motor side of the belt in 4 months and looks like the bottom of the shive on low speed eats into the side of the belt. I was looking at Gates variable speed belts and they are notched and have a narrower lower section which means the top of the belt does the driving and the exposed bottom part of the fixed shive should not interfer at low speed. The VS belt being stiffer than a normal v belt across the top of the belt would take all the strain. I know the mini and midi's use a vs belt that is flat and thinner than a normal v belt what say you guys and gals?

[Bill Boehme]

They would be nice, EXCEPT for the fact that I have not found any that are less than about 3/4 inch wide and usually they are closer to 7/8 or even 1 inch. I have perused the Gates catalog, but maybe I overlooked a narrower belt and shorter. The best that I recall, the Reeves belts are much longer than what is needed for the jet 1236.

Bill