Howard Ferstler

Hello, Group,

I am a newcomer and just posted an introduction on the other list.

Anyway, I have a number of tools, and lately I have decided to stock up on spare parts (belts, brushes, guides, etc.), just in case down the line something gives way and the company informs me that the parts are no longer available. No use taking chances, so I am stocking up on some critical items right now for the future.

Anyway, I have a Delta SH100 table-top router/router that I tried to get a spare drive belt for and on the phone the Delta people said the part was no longer available. If you go to the Delta web site the entire tool is no longer available.

My question is: does anybody here know of a source for the belt? Perhaps there is a substitute that is available from some other company or perhaps some parts outfit, somewhere, has a stockpile of parts. The fact that Delta probably had spare belts on hand at one time but now no longer does, tells me that the belt is something that is prone to eventually break.

Yes, I know that some people hate this particular tool (a replacement for the earlier Delta 43-505 model), but I have modified mine a bit and some of the problems others have had have not bothered me, anyway. The mods include my own design table extension (wood, of course) and a modification to the dust collector that makes it much more effective. I have also replaced the clunky fence with a single-piece version of my own design. The table works fine, although I wish it had variable speeds. It is a budget tool, but it works fine for the projects I have in mind.

In any case, I would like to have a replacement drive belt on hand, just in case the existing one breaks in the future. This experience with Delta tells me that my parts-stockpiling approach is not a bad idea. The bad thing is that I did not do this with the Delta shaper/router sooner.

Howard Ferstler

jodiemeglio

I'm sure an auto parts store can get you one if you take it in. V belts are really easy to match and ribbed belts are pretty easy too. I used to sell parts for all kinds of machines and outsource them through NAPA.

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Howard Ferstler

The belt is actually pretty small, and I doubt if any kind of automotive version designed to interface with stuff like generators and air pumps would work. It is probably no more than 18 inches long, and is probably of much lighter construction than a typical automobile V belt.

Interestingly, I did go the automotive-belt route with my Ridgid 14-inch band saw. The belt that came with it was a stiff-as-hell, twisted joke. I replaced it with a segmented auto version and that reduced chassis shake with the unit considerably.

Further mods for the saw included getting rid of the weird rubber mounting feature for the motor, and stiffening up the mount for the motor and saw chassis by installing a stiff MDF sheet of wood under the metal top panel of the included metal base. (Longer screws were required, of course.) I also installed counterweights on both wheels, and when I finished the saw had morphed from a borderline paint shaker to butter-smooth performance. I think the automotive belt had the greatest impact.

In any case, the drive belt for the SH100 shaper/router is much smaller than any automotive belt I have seen, although perhaps a small engine camshaft belt might work. To do the sizing work I would probably just have to wait until the belt breaks. Perhaps it never will.

Howard Ferstler

Joe Lyddon

Welcome Aboard!

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Howard Ferstler

Normally, I just order spare belts for my assorted tools and store them away for emergencies. Since I could not get the belt from Delta, I pulled the table top off of the shaper to take a gander at the belt to see if it looked like any other kind of belt that I could obtain as a substitute spare.

However, it was completely different from the belts on my other tools, which are either automotive-grade V-belts (my Craftsman 6x48 belt sander and Ridgid band saw, for example) or small, somewhat narrow and segmented belts for the smaller tools. Instead, it was a rather thin for a drive belt (a bit thicker than heavy-duty repair tape), and about an inch wide. It appears to be made out of a woven material that is coated over on both sides by a thin rubberized film. I estimated it to be about 15 inches long. It drives the spindle at 3.5 times the motor speed.

In spite of its thinness, it looks quite rugged for the job it has to do and would probably last for years. Still, it would be nice to get a spare to keep on hand.

Howard Ferstler

1jack

Hi Howard. About a year ago, I changed out my table saw belt because of vibration. I purchased one of those red and or take away links to make fit. I have been delited with results and, It can be spare for any broken belt in your shop. I like it so much that I would use it and put your belt aside as spare. Link belt 1Jack

Howard Ferstler

Hi, 1Jack,

Actually, this still would not work. As I noted, the belt is thin and much smaller and flexible than a typical shop-tool, automotive-grade V belt. Indeed, the only thing I have found out there that is similar are the flat, thin belts one finds in upright vacuum cleaners to spin the rug beaters. The trick is to get one that is the right length.

One of these days I will pull mine off and go looking in vacuum cleaner repair shops for a belt of similar length. I think that would work just fine.

Note (to slightly change the topic) that my Ridgid band saw did have an automotive type belt that caused some vibration and I swapped it out for a much more flexible, segmented auto belt that I found at an auto parts store. That worked very good, indeed, but a belt like that would not work in my shaper. I reviewed the Ridgid saw in the tool review section of this web site, by the way.

Howard Ferstler

Gerry KIERNAN

Hi Howard.
You probably already thought of this, but just in case, have you looked at the belt, from the side, to see if it has a number on it? Most belts do, although they can disappear with age and use.

Gerry