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

[Bill]

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

http://www.carvewright.com/downloads...t%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

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.