Strange behavior

[starman2]

OK, so this is one Ive not heard of before.

I was in the process of calibrating my machine. All went well in the sensor calibration. No issues. I decided to do the belt calibration as well. I used a piece of 3/4 inch MDF which is 50 inches long and 4 3/4 inches wide. Loaded the board, and began the serquence. The machine started to measure the board. While it was measuring the length, the machine started "oscillating back and forth in the lenght direction, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Finally had to lift the cover to stop it. Closed the cover and the machine began moving the board normally for a short distance then began the sam wild oscillation. Id appreciate any ideas!!

[Jeff_Birt]

I would not suggest using MDF. It produces so much fine dust that the sensor will get covered over and interfere with the calibration process. Use a piece of nice clear pine instead.

[AskBud]

OK, so this is one Ive not heard of before.

I was in the process of calibrating my machine. All went well in the sensor calibration. No issues. I decided to do the belt calibration as well. I used a piece of 3/4 inch MDF which is 50 inches long and 4 3/4 inches wide. Loaded the board, and began the serquence. The machine started to measure the board. While it was measuring the length, the machine started "oscillating back and forth in the lenght direction, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Finally had to lift the cover to stop it. Closed the cover and the machine began moving the board normally for a short distance then began the sam wild oscillation. Id appreciate any ideas!!

MDF is hard and also heavy.
The symptom would indicate that the Brass roller lost contact with the board and the Board Sensor, under the truck, was having a hard time reading the board. The Brass roller may have just jumped on & off due to the hardness of the board.
AskBud
1) Additional support rollers are needed on boards longer than 36", in my opinion.
2) Place tape on the bottom of the board on the key pad side, and tape down the center on the top side.

[racer]

Thanks Bud Organize part 1 & 2 were really good . thanks for taking time to due these.
Racer

[Icutone2]

The masking tape could fix the slippage on the board. Also check the pressure on the rollers. In the past I found that my rollers were to tight 98 Lbs.. Caused the machine to shift the pattern being carved to shift also. Hope this helps!
Lee

[Digitalwoodshop]

Between Ask Bud and Icutone2 and others,

Great Answers.... I might be able to take a few days off and know everyone will be in good hands..... Good Answers....

AL

[pkunk]

MDF will flex quite a bit without support rollers in a 4 ft x 4 3/4" length. Roller pressure would have to be extreme to hold it on the brass roller.
As stated, MDF is not a preferred material for the CW.

[barncarver]

I found my crank arm to be loose, so I tightened it. Now I find the crankarm not to work properly! I've tried loosening and tightening to get the right tension and have not found it yet. When I turn the arm, either up or down, it sometimes doesn't engage the screw for the rollers to come down on the piece to be carved. Does anyone have an idea of how I can fix this?

:confused:David

[Ike]

I found my crank arm to be loose, so I tightened it. Now I find the crankarm not to work properly! I've tried loosening and tightening to get the right tension and have not found it yet. When I turn the arm, either up or down, it sometimes doesn't engage the screw for the rollers to come down on the piece to be carved. Does anyone have an idea of how I can fix this?

:confused:David

When you tighten the screw for the crank handle make sure the spring is still there and you need to press it in all the way and continue to apply the pressure until the screw it tight.

The handle must be inserted all the way. Then another thing sounds like post the handle attaches to is loose. Once you get the handle pressed on all the way it should tighten the post.

Ike

[Digitalwoodshop]

Like Ike said.... The handle has a key way in it... So you snug the screw and turn the handle until it falls into the key way. Then you continue to tighten the handle screw.

AL

[starman2]

thank you all for the ideas....much appreciated. Warmed up the shop to 70 degrees for over 3 hours before attempting belt calibration again. used a clear white pine board 3.5 wide by 48 long by .75 thick. the machine goes through its routine asks for the bit, then as its measuring length, it still still begins to rapidly go back and forth until i stop it by lifting the cover. The only thing different now is that Im getting a track roller error. Any additionasl ideas would be appreciated

[cnsranch]

Starman - either the roller is losing contact with the board, or the board is getting bound up in the machine, causing the movement you describe.

First, check to make sure that the board is flat along the keypad side, and that you haven't lost the rubber o ring at the brass roller.

Second, after placing the board in the machine, and before cranking the head down, manually move the board thru the machine to see if it's binding up. If it is, the board's edges aren't parallel to one another.

[cnsranch]

Another potential problem - the sliding plate (the one you place against the edge of the board before cranking the head down) may not be square to the machine - that can cause the binding. Rather than sliding it tight against any board, use a couple of business cards (thx, Jeff), or do as I do, fold a piece of sandpaper in half, and place it against the board and plate. Once the plate's snug, remove the sandpaper, that will give you some wiggle room, as a board's edges are rarely perfectly straight, or parallel to one another (at least in my shop:rolleyes:

[starman2]

Well I guess its a moot point now..... checked on the board binding, the oring, and the sensor and all seemed fine. Tried running the calibration again to see if it might work and DISASTER!!! Ripped a track belt, and a very unhealthy crunching noise. Guess its time to try to use my sears service agreement. Anyone have any suggerstions on whoi to talk to at Sears? They dont even seem to know what the machine is!!

[cnsranch]

starman - sorry to hear about that one...

I haven't had the torn roller problem, but I do recall a number of posts where it has happened to others - as I recall, if the tear isn't THAT bad, you can remove the torn portion and continue to use the machine, just with a smaller amount of paper. They must not be tracking right, causing the paper to come off one end or another, binding and then tearing.

I'll do a search for you and see what I can come up with.

[cnsranch]

starman - do a search using the word "torn" and using the quotation marks. You'll find yourself with 70 threads with the word "torn" in each of them (not necessarily in the title of the thread, just a word contained within one of the posts inside the thread) - open each thread and you'll find most to have some advice for you.