PowerTwist Plus V-Belts
In Dan’s recent run down on creating a happy table saw, he says that PowerTwist Plus V-Belts are “reputed to be the bees’ knees for smooth, quiet running operation”. I had to step in a correct this statement… they are not only the bees’ knees, but their elbows, toes and other favored insect anatomy.
Being an arrogant engineer by day, I pride myself on understanding how things really work, but these beauties make no sense whatsoever. You’d think that for a smooth running belt you’d want, well… a smooth belt. However, in a twist of logic worthy of Douglas Adams, these belts are about as far from smooth as possible. Fenner claims this is due to “high-tech urethane/polyester composite” and the lack of a “continuous internal mono tension cord”, but best I can figure someone sold their soul to make these work.
The belts are constructed of many segments, each about an inch long, that lock together with a twist yet are every bit as strong as a conventional belt. This also means that there is no worrying if the belt is the right length because you can create any length you need by adding or removing links. It also means that in a pinch you can grab the belt off your band saw and size it for your table saw with almost no down time.
This is one of the easiest upgrades you can make to any of your belt driven machinery and gets a lot of bang for the buck. The belts are available in a range of standard profiles to fit any machinery you’re likely to run across. Don’t try to make sense of them, just enjoy ’em.
Brian Todoroff
Contributing Editor, Nothing Severed Yet
www.nothingseveredyet.com
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