<PAGE>



EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF PRINCPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO EXCHANGE ACT RULE
13a-14(a) AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, William T. Fejes, certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of TB Wood's
      Corporation;

2.    Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue
      statements of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
      to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
      such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the periods
      presented in this annual report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
      information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
      material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
      flows of the registrant, as of, and for the periods presented in this
      annual report;

4.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we
      have:

      a)    designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
            disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
            supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
            registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
            to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
            period in which the annual report is being prepared;

      b)    evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
            and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about
            the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of
            the end of the period covered by this quarterly report based on such
            evaluation; and

      c)    disclosed in the report any change in the registrant's internal
            control over financial reporting that occurred during the
            registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
            fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
            affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
            registrant's internal controls over financial reporting; and

5.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based upon
      our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,
      to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's
      Board of Directors (or persons fulfilling the equivalent function):

      a)    all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
            or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
            reasonable likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
            record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

      b)    any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
            other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
            internal control over financial reporting.

Date:   May 5, 2006

/s/William T. Fejes
-------------------------------------
President and Chief Executive Officer
(President Executive Officer)