I have a Trot Bilt Super Tomahawk chipper/shredder. The question is what should the chipper knife clearance be. If someone could measure it and reply, I would be very grateful. The holes in the main shaft set the flail/chipper location and the old shaft was very bad. This machine came to me with a bent main shaft and bad main shaft bearing. I had to cut the ends off the main shaft to get the flail assembly out of the machine. I have made a new shaft and it all looks good and should work well. I am running 1 in shaft bearings on the new shaft and that should improve the life. If anyone needs a shaft or other machine work done to extend the life of their machine pleas send an E Mail. I also have manuals and numerous sources for parts. I make flails out of old truck springs and harden them.

I think your machine might be a Gilson, made under private label for White. It is definitely NOT White Outdoor, which is one of many MTD Brands. If it is Gilson, they use two belts, one for forward and one for reverse. The forward belt is closer to then engine and wraps around conventionally. The reverse belt is twisted into a "figure-eight" and the engine pully drives on the "Vee" side, and the tiller pulley contacts the "flat" side of the belt. Suggest you look at the Rustytiller site below and go to "TECHINCAL" where the manuals are located. BTW: Could also be a private label Ariens, although handles look different. Ariens mounts engine same way, but uses a special model with extra shaft from the camshaft to drive reverse. Here is a link that might be useful: Rustytiller - Gilson

I feel your belts can be found at WWW Grainger on line and in many major Cities. My need was a Serpentine belt (ribbed) for my 1972 Sears, Campbell Hosfield 1HP Air Compressor. I come close to paying 40.00+ vs 20.00+ (approx) for the same belt locally). Search WWW Grainger or the links below. Good Luck!!! http://www.grainger.com http://www.grainger.com/category/automotive-belts/automotive-mechanical/fleet-and-vehicle-maintenance/ecatalog/N-cvk?nb=serpentine+belts&searchSortKey=bestMatch&okey=serpentine+belts&mkey=serpentine+belts&nls=3&NLSCM=14&EndecaKeyword=serpentine+belts&ssf=3&searchRedirect=serpentine+belts

More info. After a beer tonight, got underneath the tractor and found the belt stuck in between one of the idler pulleys and its bracket above. The belt came to a screeching halt and, of course, wore off at the crank pulley. Come to remember, it did that last time, too... (he says, foreshadowingly). Thinking over all the thoughts here, I looked at that particular idler pulley (one of the flat ones where the back of the belt rides, immediately off the crankshaft pulley) and it appeared to be worn more at the top than the bottom, toward its bracket. I messed around with it further and noticed that its bracket -- a bellcrank that has another pulley that controls the tension when the brake/de-clutch pedal is released -- was wobbly rather than pivoting in one plane. I removed that bellcrank and the two pulleys on it and found the spacer that it pivots on was worn, as well as the hole in the bellcrank it fits into (both are held onto the tractor frame with a bolt). So here's my theory: this bellcrank pivot point wore to the point where it was tilting downward at the front (toward the crank) and was both wearing the top edge of the belt (in previous times I found evidence of that) and/or popping off the top edge of that leading pulley and getting caught. When it got caught, the belt stopped and the crankshaft pulley wore through it. This reasonably explains all the symptoms I've been seeing. For further reference, I found no evidence that the belt was riding deep enough into any v-pulley groove to bottom out; the parts book shows the same crankshaft pulley assembly for both engines. Tomorrow I call a Simplicity parts dealer to see if the bellcrank, spacer, and pulleys are still available. If so, then ~$100 in parts (including a new belt) and I'm "back on the road." I do have the Jonesin' for a new lawn tractor, but this ole gal has been so good for me it's hard to "quit her"... Thanks, I'll keep you posted. - GA