Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - Need gear belt for nameless jointer.

Hi,

I acquired an old woodworking 4-1/8" bench model jointer. I have broken the gear belt and need to locate a new one. Can someone help me identify the manufacturer, since it is definately not marked or stamped anywhere on the jointer?

Here are the details from the jointer tags:

It was made at 700 Plainfield St, Chicopee Mass. zip 01013-1562. I have looked up the address on switchboard.com and it says there is no such address, but there are other nearby business addresses so I believe the search is valid.

It has a cast iron table surface and an old steel table fence so I guess the jointer is quite old. An elderly man owned so maybe it is 20 plus years old. It is a 3 blade setup, 110v, 7/8 hp motor (althought is grapefruit sized).

The belt is a flat belt with cogs that meet up with the gear pulley and geared motor shaft. I think this may be referred to as a "gearbelt" but that is a guess. It is 1" wide, about 12" long(round), with 50 teeth (cogs), set at 1/4" width per cog and paired blank.

My local Delta / Porter Cable warranty shop told me I would need to know who made it before they could find a belt. I plan to go to Graingers later but meanwhile, I would like to save some guess work. Besides, I don't understand pitch and pitch width as they are described in the catalog; and the only belt that seems to match is not a stocked item so I hesitate to order it for $14.

I could post a picture of it, but there is nothing identifiable about it. It is a model 665A, serial 3370 and it painted grey.

Any ideas would be helpful.

Lugnut.

Mark,

Try contacting the Gates Rubber company or Dayco Belts. If it looks like an automotive or equipment belt, you can surely find an interchange. Try bringing the old one with you to a good parts store (one with a large stock of belts). Explain to the guy what it is for and see if he will call Gates. Or, just measure it the best you can and e-mail them. They will reply within a day or so.

I got the manual for a Little Wonder edger I found (going to fix it in a few minutes...see post in small engine forum) and when I needed two belts, I just called up Gates and gave the Little wonder # out of the book. The lady said, "Oh yea, it's a 4L30". Went to my local True Value...walah, two belts in stock for 4 bucks each. Wohoo!!

Mark, also try infospace.com and do a reverse address search. It might be a company that went out of business or was taken over.

Shot in the dark, but maybe start to email some known companies that make these tools.

When I bought an old Sears toolchest (rollaway/chest type) from an estate sale for 50 bucks this spring, I wanted to find out who made it for Sears. As luck would have it, my dad still had an instruction sheet from a Sears toolbox he got in 1979. I started looking and noticed that if you wanted a personalized nameplate for your box, you sent away to this address in Iowa. A little digging, and the name was evident: Waterloo Industries. Sure enough, in 1960, they made my Sears Box. I was able to order most of the parts through them, although the lock rods for the upper chest were wrong and I had to send them back. I had a machinist at work make up new rods. The box looks and works like it did in 1960, including locking and sliding like new. I did spend many hours sanding and painting it, but the end result was well worth the effort. I made the mistake of not buying the other two oldies he had at the time (I didn't think I had the space). I have been after him to grab those other ones, as they are only 50 and 40 bucks. Old stuff like this is made so well!

Good luck and good to see you around.

Try http://www.grainger.com. They have an site for replacement parts that may carry a replacement belt.