Anyone keep tearing traction belts???

[usnavybm]

I'm on my second machine now due to my sand paper traction belt tearing. I got my machine through Sears and after only 17 hours of use, my front traction belt caught on something and ripped all the way accross from one side to the other. After finding out that the Sears service department had never even heard of the machine before, I was not going to be the guinne pig and let them try to fix something that they had not been trained on. Soooo, to make a longer story a little shorter, they just sent me a new machine and the first thing I did was placed in a board to measure it.....and the front traction belt tore again. Hadn't even carved anything on the new machine yet and it already tore. Anyone else having these kinds of problems and/or have any idea what it could be? First machine worked fine on about 7 projects for a total of 17 hours before the first belt snapped. Second machine, belt snapped in less that 30 seconds of use measuring a board.

Are the belts hard to change? Does it have to go to a repair shop to be done? How much do they cost???

Thanks in advance to all who can help in my woes... :(

Delmar

[Jeff_Birt]

Delamr, I've not had one tear in around 20 hours of use. There are a few reports here on the forums of them tearing. There is a PDf in the troubleshooting section sticky showing how to replace it. What type of wood are you trying to use. Is is flat (no warp), no knots etc?

[pinetree]

I just happend to me too. RRRRRIP

I have about 3 hr. on my machine. I was starting a new project and during the length measurment, the front belt tore from the left out to the center.

[Gary]

I have a Performax drum sander that uses a similar belt, and after having a go-around with them several years ago about belts tearing or coming apart, I suggest you inspect your belts to insure they're cylindrical, e.g., tracking in the middle of the rollers and staying there. Also, carefully check the quality of the bond where the belt is joined. Any loose areas, especially at or near the ends of the joint will cause premature failure of the belt. When you do get a good set of belts, they will last a long time.

Is there any way to jog the belts in the machine to clean and inspect them??

Gary

[The Bard]

could be a pressure issue.

putting a bathroom scale under the rollers and cranking the head down would work. Do it three times and you'll get a good average pressure.

75-85 pounds is great... more would rip up belts because of friction and less would cause the board to roam under the rollers and move the belts all over the place.

but of course, i'm an idiot 8)

[Bill]

Hello Delmar,
Here is the URL for the PDF replaceing the belts.
Bill.

http://www.carvewright.com/downloads/troubleshooting/sandpaper%20belt%20change.pdf

[wallyign]

Brad

I too had some problems with my drive belts. The left one wandered toward the front of the CW and was rolling under itself.

When I took it off I was amazed to see how thin of material the belt was made out of.

Why couldn't they be made out of material similiar to the belt sander belts. It would seem to me that a belt sander belt would last a 1000 years.

Just a thought....

Wally

[The Bard]

and if it rolled under there it would do damage to the machine.

these are designed to tear before they tear up other parts of the machine.

Everyone has design changes in mind :roll:

and its

B


A



R



D



not brad.

[KarmaJon]

Yeah, I've ran through 2 sets already. I really seem to rip them when I try to measure a piece of wood. They are going like candy, but I have bigger fish to fry at the present.

I've ordered another couple of sets, but I understand it's the Chinese New year and I may be waiting a while.

Sounds like we're experiencing the same thing. Hopefully, we'll figure it all out soon!

Incidently, I've had issues with the boards being measured smaller than they are, and lines being cut longer than I tell it to. If you are also having this problem, there MAY be a common issue to the underlying problem(ripping belts and scaling issues.)

Please tell me if you also experience this issue. Though it doesn't seem widespread throughout the CW community, we may share a rarely occuring underlying problem. -thanks

[The Bard]

we have some belts in stock... hopefully we'll get yours out.

most of the measuring problems are caused by keeping it under rollers.

[KarmaJon]

Yeah, I'm keeping it under the rollers! Boy, I sure do get asked that a LOT!<grimace>

Actually, my problem seems rather rare. I'm hoping - though not through any malice - that somebody else is experiencing the same problem so I can identify the underlying issue through some process of elimination or process of logical induction.

Of course, I'd settle for dumb luck, too, but reason sure would be reasurring! :wink:

[EveningSide]

How much do replacement belts cost and how do I order them? I do not see them listed on the site.

[pkunk]

How much do replacement belts cost and how do I order them? I do not see them listed on the site.
You need to call CW-713-473-6545

[EveningSide]

Thanks boss "pkunk"
They should have someone in the office on the weekends for belt shipping. haha
Peace

[CallNeg151]

Thanks boss "pkunk"
They should have someone in the office on the weekends for belt shipping. haha
Peace

I believe the quote The Bard gave a while back was $9.99 for a set of two. But don't hold me to that.

[usnavybm]

KarmaJon,

I have had problems with the board mis-measuring such as I scale a project say 22"L x 12"W but I cut the board 24"x14". Then I have it the CW place the project centered on board and when the machine is done carving, it has placed the carving more to one end instead of centering it. I was doing a Super Bowl sign for my father-in-law and when it did that, it ran out of room to the end and could not fit it on the board. The CW glitched on me and has wasted a lot of my money. African Mahoghany is not cheap!

To Everyone else who helped me out with my problem, thank you (especially BILL, for hooking me up with the belt repair PDF)!!! I have a couple belts on the way but they need to get here quick. I am in the Navy and I deploy next week, so I need to get the belt taken care of so my wife can use the machine while I am gone.

Thanks again, and let's keep on carvin',
Delmar

[Hawg_man]

I've had my machine 1 week today.......have done about 8 projects with no problems. Today I had a project and I told the machine to center it on the length.............it put it about 2 inches from the center on the length. I need to flip the board to carve a pocket for a clock and put a hole through but am leary of doing so now (Cherry ain't cheap). I noticed the left side of the left traction belt is starting to tear in several places......I clean my machine after each project and didn't see anything that caused this.......help! I gues I will be ordering new belts.

[Charles M]

Is your board 2" longer than needed? IIRC, that would cause it to be off center because it centers to the middle of the needed length, not the actual length. My belt tore on the left side (adjacent to the LCD) as well. In fact, the whole left half disintegrated. I was able to tear off the scraps and move the remaining half over to use until my replacement belt arrived.

[Hawg_man]

My board is the length of my project......I only use longer boards when I want it kept under the rollers and add the lenfth required by the machine to do the carving. Still can't explain the tear on the belt.

[EveningSide]

Man ordered belts...still waiting...freaking chinese new year...It was my own fault but come on I have learned my lesson :(

[Skyhawk]

I'm waiting for belts too...although I did find a temporary replacement at http://customsandingbelts.com. I will replace these with the CW belts as soon as they come in.

Turnaround for special orders was 2 days, plus shipping. I custom ordered these, and had them in a week, not bad considering they came across the country.


Here's what I ordered...
15-13AO120X Aluminum Oxide Open Coat W-15" x L-13" Grit-120 Dry

[CallNeg151]

I'm waiting for belts too...although I did find a temporary replacement at http://customsandingbelts.com. I will replace these with the CW belts as soon as they come in.

Turnaround for special orders was 2 days, plus shipping. I custom ordered these, and had them in a week, not bad considering they came across the country.


Here's what I ordered...
15-13AO120X Aluminum Oxide Open Coat W-15" x L-13" Grit-120 Dry

Wow. That's really useful. In the spirit of The Bard, wherever he is, I figured I should just stick the caveat in (based on one of his posts) that the belts the CW uses are designed to tear if they become bound in order to prevent damage to the machine, so that the use of other belts is at your own risk.

In any event, I'll definately bookmark them in case I need them.

[Hawg_man]

One thing I observed after my belt tore or frayed on the left side was that during measuring cycle the board goes back and clears the front belt and as it travels back the botton edge of my board was digging into the front belt. I now lightly bevel the front bottom and back of my boards befrore placing into machine and no more tearing. I am waiting on new belts but meantime took the front belt off and cut the bad section off (about 1 inch) and have carved 4 projects with it with no problem. Also check your flip down supports and make sure your rollers aren't higher or lower causing your board to rise or fall on the measurement cycle. (They are adjustable with the 2 screws they rest on when in the down position)

[SpiffyDog]

After a brief discussion with Skyhawk (Thanks again, Skyhawk), I ordered belts from www.customsandingbelts.com (http://www.customsandingbelts.com) and was quite pleased with the same day turnaround on my order. I expect that the belts should arrive within the next few days as it is shipped UPS ground. I also have belts on order from CW. This was place over a week ago with still no expected ship date. I know that CW is having growing pains but I have a hard time watching a nice piece of equipment sit idle, gathering no sawdust.