TS questions

[Ed Kilburn]

I pulled the top of my TS to check things out and clean it up before mounting it on the cart with the shaper. I bought it used and just wired it and used it. It's a 10" Dayton cabinet it works well and the spindle can be changed out with an extra long one. It's a triple belt drive, 3 AX-26 belts that are from the early 80. Should I replace them with power twist link belts, or buy a matched set of standard belts? Also what type of lube should I use on the worm gear? Everything looks to be ok, just a bunch of caked saw dust on parts that had Cosmoline, guess the previous owner never cleaned it off. Thanks for any advice in advance.

[James Suzda]

First of all I hope you marked the shims as to where they go when you put the top back on your saw. If you didn't you will have to do a little "fiddling" to get things back into place and in alignment. (Grizzly explains the process very well in their cabinet saw manuals which you can access online.)
I have read that you should not use three twist belts in unison to drive a saw. I'd just buy some new belts, but I'd use the segmented belts rather than the solid ones. But, if the belts didn't develop a "memory" and cause a vibration when running, I'd just use the old belts and see how it goes.
As for lube for the worm gear, many have used just plain old canning wax you can get from the canning section of your grocery store. Any "dry" lube will work.
Have fun with the new to you saw!

[Ed Kilburn]

Thanks James, I zip tied the shims in place on the cabinet, no chance of loosing or mixing them up. The belts are set real bad and they are the segmented type, I guess the are the factory ones.

[Jeff Duncan]

I've got 2 link belts on my Uni that I put there about 10 years ago, before I read on several forum's that I shouldn't. At the time it seemed like 3 belts were overkill for a 1 hp motor and so I just put 1 on each end of the pulley. Since I haven't had a problem in the last 10 years with them I'm reluctant to bother replacing them. But they are pricey so I don't know that I'd use them again if I had to do it again.

JeffD

[Jim Becker]

I used three link belts on the Jet LT cabinet saw I used to own and it worked wonderfully. It also eliminated the "start up bang" when the saw was cold at the beginning of a weekend woodworking session.

[Pat Germain]

For some reason, there are people who just flat out hate link belt and say it shouldn't be used for anything. Others say it's good for contractor saws and nothing else.

Yet, I've heard many a story where running link belts worked great on just about every belt-driven power tool there is. It's your saw. You decide. (But I'd put Jim's experience and advice in the "Golden" category.)

My jointer has the "BANG!" when I shut it down. It did this when it, and the belt, were brand new. I've adjusted the belt tension and motor alignment to no avail. I'm considering installing a link belt on it.

[Steve Sawyer]

I've noticed that some have attitudes about link belts, but have no idea why in my experience, or that of others I know that have used them. I know of people that have been happily using them in triplets on vintage Uni's and I have a pair of them myself on a vintage Delta jointer with double-belt pulleys.

They work great - smooth, quiet.

[Steven Wilson]

I would clean out everything and put new regular belts on. As for a lube, grease works well but likes to collect chips, so something that doesn't really collect dust/dirt would be good. I've been trying out Amsoil Heavy Duty Metal Protectant on my BenchDog lift and MiniMax Bandsaw. The Amsoil HDMP is a heavy chain lube that isn't very sticky when dry. It's also a good substitute for cosmoline. Anyhow, it's worked well on the acme thread on my lift and the internals on my bandsaw since I started using it a year ago. It seems not to pick up a bunch of dust.