Depth Stepping

[Timmyo8]

I hope someone has seen the same problem I have seen at least 3 times. When cutting through the board I have run into an incremental stepping problem where the pattern being cut in 1/8" increments steps away from the preceeding line by about 1/16" particularly with curved patterns. Six cuts later through a 3/4" board I get six steps. This has happened once with board under rollers selected. Every other time it was not selected. I always lock the rollers with the red handle but it still can have this problem.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Timmyo8

[JOHNB]

yeah, i had it before. totally sucks...mine kinda fixed itself. even happens while under rollers.... hasen't happen to me lately.... may have something to do with the o-ring and or the brass board tracker??? check them out.. all i can suggest is stop it on the first step. may clear up on its own, if not, naturally call lhr but seems they didn't have a sure fix for me? please post your fix...

[Jeff_Birt]

Do a search for 'stair stepping'. It's caused by the board tracking sensor loosing track of the board, could be bad board edge, sawdust jammed between board and rollers etc.

[Digitalwoodshop]

A carrier board the same width and 2 strips of masking tape to give the brass roller something to bit into. Hard woods or smooth woods can cause slipping of the brass roller. Stepping is all about the brass roller. The computer moves the sand paper belt until the brass roller is happy... If it slips then the board will be out of position. Had the same problem when my sand paper belts were worn smooth. Watch the board at the end of the project and if it moves AWAY from the left or brass roller RAIL then you have a sand paper belt problem. The board should track along the left guide, moving away is caused by warn stretched belts.

AL

[Timmyo8]

Thanks JohnB, Jeff B., and Al. I will check the brass roller for proper tracking and make sure it is clean. I often use red oak (a hardwood) and every time this has happened it was with red oak. I have used masking tape to "fool" the sensor because of a darker wood I used in the past. Should come in handy for the bottom of the board on this roller. GREAT SUGGESTION !

I may try a carrier board as well.

The opportunity to get good information in this forum from experts such as yourselves (and so fast) really helps us amatuers.

Thanks again,

Tim

[oldjoe]

Another cause for the same reason if the board is warped or has a small nick or something in the edge that rolls along the brass encoder wheel will cause the same thing. Just something else to watch for.

[JOHNB]

Right On Joe...if The Corner Of The Board (that Comes In Contact) With The Brass Roller Isn't Damn Near Perfect, Then Your Just Asking For Trouble...but Then I Guess The Other Side Is Just As Critical So As Nothing Catches In The Indentation Of The Sliding Bar. Bottom Line Is You Need A Damn Near Perfect Board Unless Your Using A Sled.

[rmacke]

This happened to me when my sandpaper started to roll and I cut off about an inch. I had left it about an inch away from the brass roller side. My fix was to scoot the sandpaper closer toward the brass roller side.
rmacke

[JOHNB]

Come To Think Of It Rmacke, About The Same Time Mine Was Stair Stepping I Noticed That The Belt Was Folding Under At The Brass Roller Side, Which I Adjusted And Haven't Had Stepping For A Long Time. Now I'm Always Checking The Belt And At First Sign Of It Slipping To One Side Or The Other, I Simply Adjust It...