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I also have the Performax 16-32 drum sander.  I purchased a replacement conveyor belt from Woodcraft and I have never been able to get this belt to track correctly.  I have tried adjusting the tracking bolts every which way but with no success.  Has anyone had this problem?  Maybe it is just a bad belt but I hesitate to go buy a new one because they are not cheap.

TM

Have you tried reversing it? Have you called Woodcraft?

I have tried reversing it and that didn't help.  The belt tracks toward the closed end of the machine no matter how I adjust the tracking bolts or which direction I put the belt on.  I have also made sure that the rollers are level and that the rollers are not bend or out of alignment. 

Woodcraft informed me when I bought the belt that it was a "new" belt, whatever that means.  I assumed that it was made for this particular drum sander but that may not be true.





 

On the original sandpaper-type belt that I got with my Performax, I had the same problems.  It never did track quite right--not as bad as it sounds like yours is, but it wasn't right.

I recently replaced it with a non-Performax brand poly belt that I bought from Amazon (about half the price of the Performax poly belt), and it tracks perfectly.  It also works quite a bit better than the sandpaper style belt--a huge improvement to the machine.

What kind of belt does Woodcraft sell--is it the sandpaper type or a poly belt?

Dave

Troy, If it were the belt, when you reversed it, the thing would move in the opposite direction.

My bet is the machine needs more adjustment.

Question: What happened to the old conveyor belt?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

In general, the belt moves toward the side that is the tightest (backwards to what seems right). If it is traveling toward the closed side, loosen the bolts on that side and then tighten the bolts on the other side.

from my experience, when you get it close to tracking right, it takes quite some time to fine tune it so that it remains straight.

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Reguards,

Ken H

I meant to add that when it gets close to traqcking right, very small turns ont he bolts makes a big change. think of turning them one flat on the nut at a time, then running it for 30 mins or so and if needed another flat of turn.

where is that dang edit button when you need it?

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Reguards,

Ken H

This is a very common problem with the Performax sanders. I have never been able to get mine to track right. It is very annoying to have to move the belt over every few minutes.

The belt that Woodcraft sells is a Polyester Cloth belt.  I do have the belt guides with my machine and they have been very helpful in the past.
I actually talked with a Customer Service Rep. from Performax/Jet and they are sending me a new belt free of charge.  I have to take my hat off to their Customer Service so far.  I didn't expect a free belt.

I will keep you posted on what happens.  Thanks for the help.

Troy

Congrats, on that,

I was just gonna say to call performax directly.

I have a 16-32 and was missing a handle and a bolt and they offered to replace them for free, luckily i was able to get them from the Rockler store i bought it at. There service dept is top notch.

I wonder if some turns of masking tape in the center 3" or so of the rollers might not help. That would kind of fake in a crown on the rollers.   It would be easy enough to try it.

I must have lucked out - the feed belt on my 16/32 tracks perfectly!

On the other hand, , I do have some trouble keeping the drum parallel to the feed table.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Check to see if the table is perfectly flat. (corner to corner test with a straight edge) I went through 8 feed belts and nobody could tell me what was wrong. I finally figured it out and shimmed one of the corners. Worked like a charm.

I took off the wrench-bolt adjuster system and put on a knob and I can micro adjust on the fly. Saves lots of headaches.

Dean

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Dean

I guess I lucked out with my 16/32. When I first ran it I snugged the belt a tiny bit, and have never touched it since. I don't think the belt is very tight, but never drags while feeding. On the off chance you are tightening the belt pretty tight. Maybe backing it off and not running too tight would help(just a though).

Good Luck,
Rich

Both my 10-22s have worked fine and had no big problem with the tracking. One thing though when loosening the bolts to slacken off the belt when adjusting the tracking, just give the roller a small wack with a block of wood or something at the end you're loosening as often all that happens is the bolt loosens but the roller doesn't move, so you think your adjusting it, but in fact nothing has moved.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Dave,

I also have a 16-32 with belt tracking problems. I checked Amazon for the poly conveyor belt you mentioned with no luck. Is there a brand indicator on the belt?

Thanks,
Max
Brighton, MI

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Max and Dave. I actually had a poly belt made for me by a company in PHX that makes conveyor belts. But trust me, you don't want to watch the edge of a VERY expensive belt get chewed up. Check your feed table for flatness first.