what is best distance between flat belt pulleys

derwen1959 · Feb 1, 2018

I have a very old sawbench or across the pond it is called shingle mill and I want to make a frame and mount an engine and I will put an axle underneath so that it can be towed.. what I would like to know what is best distance between flat belt pulleys as I am thinking that a flat belt will not drive good when there is short distance between pulleys.. I am in UK

Janicholson · Feb 1, 2018

The distance is not as important as the alignment, and tension. Even 3 ft or less can be operational. Find the belt then set the distance. Jim

jeffcat · Feb 1, 2018

Just a question that might help him. Some of the guys that run this nice old stuff are using the belts from roll balers. Just what I have heard. Is this correct?

rustred · Feb 1, 2018

the thrashing machines we used had a 100' endless belt, and the weight of the belt was an advantage to the machine running. the longer the belt the better it operated. and on the buzz saw we used one about 20' long. tractor at slow idle. but in your application should not matter.

Andy Martin · Feb 1, 2018

The weight of the belt was the tension on old long belts. And the longer the belt the easier the alignment.

Like Jim said, if everything is all on the same frame you can get excellent alignment and tension so the length is unimportant.

Janicholson · Feb 1, 2018

No knowledge of those belts, but they would work. We had 6 wood working machines, planers, edgers, saws etc, that used short belts. All our pulleys were slightly crowned. 3" belts 1/8" crown. Jim

Jaden · Feb 1, 2018

If there is a significant difference in size of the pulleys, make sure the distance is enough that the smallest pulley gets at least 120 degrees of belt wrap contact.

funky_g00 · Feb 1, 2018

I have two tractor mounted buzz saws. One has an adjustable tensioner pulley and the other I believe has a slotted frame to adjust the tension.

moresmoke · Feb 1, 2018

You can also use serpentine belts for small flat belts. Works good to drive things like water pumps off a small hit and miss.

Texasmark1 · Feb 4, 2018

My only experience was a neighbor who came over one day to hammermill some corn stalks for me.....I had the mill and the stalks and he had the rest of the equip.

He had a JD B as I recall and the belt was 20' working distance between the two sheaves. In the process, he mentioned to me the importance of the "energy stored" in the belt and every time you dumped a big wad of stalks into the mill, it loaded up the drive mechanisms but pulled through without a problem due to the "energy stored" in the belt.

With that said, I'd go for the longest distance between sheaves as you can reasonable fit to your application.

what is best distance between flat belt pulleys

derwen1959

Member

Janicholson

Well-known Member

jeffcat

Well-known Member

rustred

Well-known Member

Andy Martin

Well-known Member

Janicholson

Well-known Member

Jaden

Member

funky_g00

Member

moresmoke

Well-known Member

Texasmark1

Well-known Member

Similar threads