drive belt for Powermatic 3520A

[Terry Nance]

I have a Powermatic 3520A model lathe. The lathe is going on 8-years old. As a professional turner the lathe is used nearly every day. Yesterday, while moving the drive belt from the high speed to the low speed setting I looked at the condition of the drive belt. Even though the original belt seemed to be in good shape I thought it might be a good idea to have a spare belt on hand.

In my parts manual the Powermatic part number is 6077228. This appears to be the same belt for the newer 3520B model.

I did a search for a source for this belt and came up with this link;

http://www.toolsandmachinery.com/po...5/powermatic-micro-v-belt-6077228-257955.html

They want $82.50 for this belt 😱

On my old belt I can read these numbers;

Dayco 260J and also this number 2203

Doing a search for Dayco 260J I have come up with much cheaper prices.

Here for $17.51; http://www.sportsmith.net/productsearch.aspx?s=dayco 260J

I also found one price as low as $4.99. It seems this belt is a drive belt for a fitness walker.

I did searches on this site for Powermatic drive belts with no luck. I checked out the Mustard Monster Site and again nothing. Before I take a chance and buy one of these cheaper belts can anybody tell me a good source for this belt? 😕

Thanks in advance.

 

[Alan Trout]

Terry,

There is no reason that belt should cost $82. I generally get my belts from a local Belt and Pulley supply house. Depending where you live, if it is a major city you should have a industrial belt and pulley supply house. I bet the belt will be less than $30 from them as well. The $17 sounds about right. If you can find the same Dayco belt # it should be essentially the same belt. I personally would buy the cheaper one.

Alan

 

[Terry Nance]

Thanks Alan. I have no local sources. San Antonio is an hour drive for me.
I thought $82.50 was a rip off.

This site; http://www.ereplacementparts.com/search_result.php?q=6077228&type=search-part&alert=1

Wants $90.75 😱

 

[Rob Wallace]

Hello Terry!

Paying more than $ 10-15 for this belt is total (and unethical) rip-off....

Contact "Belts For Anything" in Louisiana at: http://www.beltsforanything.com/site6.php (easiest by phone at 1-337-235-9736) and ask them about poly-V belts. They may even have the PM 3520A & B on their "tool list", and know exactly what belt is needed.

I just checked the Powermatic on-line manual for the 3520B's belt (Part number 62), and you apparently will be looking for a 260-J Poly V-belt (which is 26.0 inches in length, and with a "J" belt section). You will need to determine the number of ribs (usually 6 for a lathe of this size) and then order the belt 260J-6 after confirming this is what you need.

I placed a group order with "Belts for Anything" about a year (or more?) ago to do a "bulk-buy" of replacement/spare belts for members of our woodturning club to allow them to keep at least one spare belt in inventory if they should ever have a belt break or become damaged. I ordered at least 35 belts of different sizes (mostly poly-V belts), and I can say that working with Belts For Anything was an excellent experience - superb customer support, with friendly and quick service and shipping.

If you are buying one belt, for its relatively low price, you should get at least one more to keep on hand, since the shipping cost will be the same. Get together with some of your friends and do a group buy of spare belts for their lathes too - cheap insurance when a belt breaks and you need to use your lathe ASAP without waiting for something to ship.... ..the 'spare-parts-on-hand' concept is useful for the individual woodturner just as it is in industry.

Good luck!

Rob Wallace

 

[KurtB]

Terry,
If you find Rob's website helpful and able to supply the replacement belt, why don't you let us know here? I'm sure you could find a few takers who would be willing to go in with you on a group buy, even if they might have to pay to have it shipped to them.

Just a suggestion...

 

[Bill Boehme]

The price of $17 is about right if you want to get a quality belt made by Gates or other US manufacturers. If cost is more important, then you can get a Chinese made belt for about half that cost. Keep in mind that cost is a fairly good indicator of worth. My opinion is that while you may not always get all that you pay for, you will almost never get something worth more than what you paid.

You do not really need to find a cross reference number because the numbers are standardized. The belt length is 26.0 inches. The type of belt is a J-section, which means it is a small size poly ribbed or micro-V profile intended for low power applications using fractional horsepower motors (the industry refers to motors under 3 HP as being fractional horsepower, so don't despair that the belt size is inadequate). Belts of this type come in half-inch length increments. The last part of the belt size is missing, but is easy to determine -- just count the number of ribs. The most common widths are 4,6, and 10 ribs. The full part number of the belt should be one of the following -- 260J4, 260J6, or 260J10. The reason that the width designation is missing is that the belts are made in very wide sections and then cut to produce belts of the desired width. If I am not mistaken, you can get just about any J-section belt that you need at McMaster-Carr.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Belts4less.com is a good source for belts. I have another model of lathe, and got 3 spares for my machine. They are a division of Belarus Tractor, and gave me superb service.

Hope this helps!

 

[Terry Nance]

As a follow up to my original post. I contacted vbelts4less and they had the correct belt in stock. 😀 Their website is http://www.vbelts4less.com They are part of Belarus Tractor International. 800 356 2336. They had over 30 belts in stock.

Thank You Roger for your suggestion.

You can order over the phone, but there is an additional $5 fee.
You can order directly from their website.

Bill, you are correct, the belt is 260J10.
The cost of the belt is $4.64. 😀 I still can’t believe one source charges $82 and another charges $90.75 for the same belt. 😱

Rob, you are correct. I could have ordered multiple belts and paid the same shipping. I was afraid to order more than one belt until I knew for sure this was the correct belt. The shipping for one or more belts was $12.27.

I just took the new belt and compared it side by side to the original belt. They are identical. The belt is a 26 inch long belt with 10 ribs. If you measure the belt on the outside with a tape you will get a length of 26 ¾ inches.

Thanks to everyone that posted. 😀