Should my link belt whine?

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
I've been experiencing vibration issues; not severe, but noticeable, on my DJ20 jointer since I purchased it (used) many moons ago. Recently I decided I would like to try out a link belt to see if it solved the problem. It has in as much as the vibrations, especially on shut down have all by gone away. However, in its place, I now hear a loud and high pitched whine coming from the belt. I don't believe I have the belt too tight, though I am willing to adjust it if anyone here feels that is the problem, so I am wondering if this is normal. Is this something that will go away with time or just the nature of the beast?
 
I've never noticed a whine on any of the tools I have link belts installed on (jointer, two drill presses, small bandsaw), but then you've got to remember I'm HF hearing impaired... :rolleyes:
 
I had a link belt on a 9” contractor saw. I never knew how much it whined until I got a different saw. The only difference was the belt.
 
Link belts are less aerodynamic than regular v-belts, so they do make more wind noise....its especially noticeable on a 3650 rpm machine with no cover over the belt, like an old school contractor saw. Shouldn't be excessive if the direction is correct.
 
I believe I have found the culprit. Unfortunately, it might be something I can do nothing about.

On further inspection I found the clearance needed for the belt is greater than allowed for the standard V belt. It appears to be rubbing on either side of the cutter head pulley. I am going to play with it a bit - if I can move the pulley/sheave out about 1/16" the problem will go away, but it appears that might not be possible.

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I believe I have found the culprit. Unfortunately, it might be something I can do nothing about.

On further inspection I found the clearance needed for the belt is greater than allowed for the standard V belt. It appears to be rubbing on either side of the cutter head pulley. I am going to play with it a bit - if I can move the pulley/sheave out about 1/16" the problem will go away, but it appears that might not be possible.

View attachment 101596View attachment 101595View attachment 101594

I had the problem of the belt rubbing on the underside of the fence carriage. Same problem, different location, After getting the go-ahead from Grizzly I used a rat tail file to remove a slight amount of cast iron material to allow clearance; problem solved.
 
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