Originally Posted by
1.41
FWIW there's at least 1/2 deflection on the belt of my 319. If one grabs the belt at the bottom pulley, there's a fair bit of movement side to side. It won't come off the bottom pulley, but there is movement.
I have an idea that one of the purposes of the cleated belts is that they can run really loose and that way they put a minimum amount of strain on the motor and on the bushings. Again, FWIW, the old Pfaffs had these type of belts and on at least one or two of their models, Pfaff had an adjustable idler pulley that could be used to take up slack on the belt. Again, it's clear that they intended the belt to run as loose as possible.
These belts are easy enough to find, though a bit pricey. The new style of belt looks like it's made out the same type of stuff that car timing belts are made out of. I suspect that they'll last 100 years by the look of them.
There's a guy in Turkey making cleated belts for Pfaff machines. I suspect that if one gave him the specs he could easily make one for Singer machines.
Yea, I’m with ya on that..one seeming affirmation is how loose the motor belts run. I’ve played around with a few of my machines, and found that even though the motor belts seems too loose, it’s not loose ‘enough’ and the motor won’t turn the machine very well.
I ended up ordering a modern style timing belt, so we’ll see how that will turn out. I’m kind of wondering if it is marked like the original, so you can get it in time properly, but I’m sure it is.
I appreciate your feedback! It’s good to stir some thought 😎
Frank