One more thing.  While cleaning all of the debris and sawdust ou,t I did notice that there was a lot of what appears to be fine shreds of the cord that runs through the belt sucked up against the motor housing.  That seems to indicate that the belt started to wear out over time  and only failed after it eventually got too thin.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.