[SEL] Galloway 5hp Saw Outfit..finally done

[Curt]

Rick,
Wow what a beauty! I am pleased to hear you say you plan on cutting a 
bit of wood on the Galloway saw. It really would be a shame to spend all 
the time and effort restoring and painting a saw rig and never have it 
see any real use again. Right Dave, Arnie???

As for the weight of the tensioner, the IHC "recommendation" is 
excessive at 150#, unless they are speaking of 150# of tension within 
the belt itself.
The idler pulley on my Herc saw rig weighs about 30# and is heavier that 
the original since I turned it from a solid piece.
Running a few numbers determined the internal belt tension is about 53# 
at the amount of belt deflection I currently have. With a 30# roller and 
53# of internal belt tension I have never been able to slip the belt on 
this saw rig even when really loaded up. I'm certain the original idler 
was lighter and would have resulted in less belt tension.

The idler on the Famous saw rig is considerable lighter. Without 
weighing it I would guess in the neighborhood of 15#. It is supposed to 
have a spring and handwheel assembly that provides down load to the 
idler to increase belt tension, but I don't have those parts made yet. I 
have been running this saw at shows for a couple of years now and the 
belt does not slip under load. I'll venture a guess that there is less 
belt tension on the Famous than on the Hercules.

That said, I would not make any attempt to impose 150# on your belt 
tensioner, the arbor babbitt bearings, or the engine bearings. These 
parts might just give up! If you have 25# of tensioner weight, be 
assured that should be plenty. If you have a bouncing problem with the 
idler (so does my Famous), either ignore it or focus on adding some 
damping. Create some friction at the pivot point by clamping some dished 
washers or using rubber washers, etc. Basically you want to make a 
torsional shock absorber.
Curt
P.S. Would you post a couple of closeup photos of the pinstriping details?

Richard Strobel wrote:

>Thanks John!  I still need to fix a few problems and then I'll shoot some 
>closeups.  Plus it needs a good cleanup.  It was such a beautiful morning, I 
>couldn't resist.
>
>   Could you possibly guess how much pull down force on your belt tensioner? 
>I guess the only way would be to swag it in lbs.  Mine really flops up and 
>down and I would guess it has ~ 25 pounds of pull down force...maybe less.
>
>  and you'r right.  Galloways are cold blooded.  I heat the mixer and have 
>much better luck.
>
>  Just saw this is going to the list so maybe Curt or someothers could 
>recommend the pull down force of the belt tensioner.  Corky saw somewhere 
>that IHC recommends ~150 pounds of force on the belt tensioner.......whew!!!
>
>  I guess a guy could use a bathroom scale.
>
>  
>