New To Me Craftsman 618 - Everything In Order?

I have one, you won't be sorry you got that one. The only change I made so far was to swap the belts for "Link Belts" don't have to move the spindle to change belts now. "Link Belts come in a 3L size.

"Billy G"
 
Dave,

Any industrial drive components supplier (belts, bearings, gearboxes, etc.) should have the belts. The original motor belt is a 3L210 and the spindle belt is a 3L350. The counter person will know what those numbers mean. Some belt manufacturers put the industry number on their belts and some don't.

The "3" means 3/8" nominal belt width. The "L" means Fractional Horsepower (don't ask me how they came up with "L" for that). The three digits mean the circumference of the outside of the belt in tenths of an inch (I've never seen anything but "0" for the third digit).
 
Dave;

The main reason I changed the belts to link belts was that my lathe is older than yours and does not have the spindle bearings as yours does. The spindle on mine is bushed. I don't really want to disturb the fit by moving the spindle forward to change the belt.

"Billy G"
 
I like the idea of a link belt but would rather keep it looking somewhat original. I don't expect to be changing belts that often. Maybe a stupid thought, though.

Thanks wa5cab for the info. I'll see what I can find near me.
 
Rich,

Thanks.

Dave,

There are two schools of thought on link-belts versus V-belts. Some claims no doubt stem from comparing a 70 year old V-belt to a new link-belt. The big advantage (and one of two official reasons or benefits listed by the original inventer) is that machine down time for an emergency belt change is minimized. Also true from a hobbiest's perspective (i.e., you do not have to pull the spindle and in some cases back gears and countershaft in order to change the spindle belt).

The other advantage is not really applicable to us. In a large factory with many machines using a large variety of sizes and lengths of belts, instead of the warehouse stocking at least one of every belt used in the plant, you stock enough links to repair any machine or maybe any five machines in the plant. When a belt breaks, you draw the necessary number and size of links to replace that belt, and the next day, Purchasing orders a new belt. When the new belt is installed, the links are returned to inventory.

The disadvantages are that link belts stretch at least when relatively new, they are more prone to slippage because there isn't as much material in contact with the pulleys, and they are not reversible. Someone can always find an exception but in general they are more expensive unless you buy them from Harbor Freight.

All that being said, use whichever you want to use. Aside from the reversing issue (which may or may not be applicable), they will both work.
 
Robert;

A link belt in itself will not stretch. What happens is the tabs that are linked together will "seat" in their mating holes. Once this has occurred the belt will remain that size. I have had a link belt on my table saw for over 20 years now. I took it off and measured it today. It is .122 longer than it originally was. If it seast a lot, say .250, just shorten it by 1 link. Try that with a stretched "V Belt".

"Billy G"
 
OK. I didn't give the mechanism (didn't actually know it), merely the reported results. I have seen several posts either here (meaning H-M, not necessarily this forum) or elsewhere that reported needing to remove a link after a running in period. Certainly not a major problem.

V-belts stretch only when the inelastic cording begins to break up. How long that takes depends upon a lot of variables but is an indication of end-of-life. If not overloaded, maybe 35 to 50 years of intermittent service based on various machines here, most of which still have their original belts.
 
Thanks West, I'll bookmark this for later. I actually ordered two belts (motor and spindle) for about $9 total off eBay. Should be here middle of next week. I'm doing the traditional belt first because I did want to do a little disassembly and cleaning before any machining. If it proves to be a bear then I'll get this link belt. I rebuild old Honda motorcycles and am familiar and comfortable with pressing out steering head bearings so I'm not too concerned.

Not sure if I should make a new thread for this next question but it's along the same line regarding things I'm missing... So I realized that I don't have a chuck key. This is a Bison 3200 series 4" chuck and the key hole is 9mm or .354"...23/64ths would do it too. I'm seeing a few keys on eBay for fairly cheap but these Bison ones are like $45! Can I make one with some square stock and weld a handle on it? Or are there better resources for chuck keys than eBay? How snug does a key need to fit? Can I get one smaller like 5/16"? I'm asking because I see one on eBay for $13.

Thanks everyone!
 
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