Belt Twist Issue

RAYAR · December 29, 2019, 01:08:04 PM

Make sure it's the center of the pulley groove that is lined up, not the surfaces as different pulleys may have a different distance from edge to center of belt groove. This distance must be compensated for if it differs when aligning pulleys.

ladylake · December 29, 2019, 03:42:43 PM

What brand of v belts are you running, seems like some machine run a full twist and stay on so slight miss alignment shouldn't bother much. Steve

ladylake · December 29, 2019, 03:47:11 PM

Also that belt stands way above the wheel, is it the right belt or wheel. Steve

YellowHammer · December 29, 2019, 04:31:51 PM

If the band is tight, I could see it compressing the belt on the wheel and causing a wave like on WM mills. Since the belt is used for both power transfer and blade mounting, it could just build on itself. Generally belt twist is due to misalignment and the shoulder of the belt climbing the V of the pulley and then rolling over. So as all have said, I would think alignment would be critical, as well as high belt tension to keep from getting a slack wave from the band. Lots of things going on in that particular design.

Ljohnsaw · December 29, 2019, 06:59:27 PM

Quote from: ladylake on December 29, 2019, 03:47:11 PM

Also that belt stands way above the wheel, is it the right belt or wheel. Steve

His picture is after it rolled over.

Rod Shoemaker · December 29, 2019, 07:00:19 PM

Quote from: ladylake on December 29, 2019, 03:47:11 PM

Also that belt stands way above the wheel, is it the right belt or wheel. Steve

The belt in the picture is the one that came with the mill... I've since replaced with a B82 from NAPA. I think I may need more tension in the belt along with alignment. I couldn't really find any information on how much tension the belt should have.

Rod Shoemaker · December 29, 2019, 07:05:19 PM

Quote from: YellowHammer on December 29, 2019, 04:31:51 PM
If the band is tight, I could see it compressing the belt on the wheel and causing a wave like on WM mills. Since the belt is used for both power transfer and blade mounting, it could just build on itself. Generally belt twist is due to misalignment and the shoulder of the belt climbing the V of the pulley and then rolling over. So as all have said, I would think alignment would be critical, as well as high belt tension to keep from getting a slack wave from the band. Lots of things going on in that particular design.

I think it is alignment and it is climbing the side... so I just need to figure out of to get it aligned correctly. I thought I had it... ran it up to full speed a couple of times and turned it off checked all looked good. Then getting ready to go to to log and it did it again. So this is getting a little expensive in blades and belts! I hope I can talk to there support tomorrow.

Jstier · December 30, 2019, 10:55:39 AM

Just called into support and they gave me some info on aligning the band wheels. Have you called in yet?? If you get it fixed , you have to keep me posted!

Rod Shoemaker · December 30, 2019, 12:02:03 PM

Quote from: Jstier on December 30, 2019, 10:55:39 AM
Just called into support and they gave me some info on aligning the band wheels. Have you called in yet?? If you get it fixed , you have to keep me posted!

Not yet... haven't had time yet, might be tomorrow before I can do it. Can you share the information? I'll definitely keep you updated!

luap · December 30, 2019, 12:24:52 PM

Quote from: Rod Shoemaker on December 29, 2019, 07:00:19 PM
Quote from: ladylake on December 29, 2019, 03:47:11 PM

Also that belt stands way above the wheel, is it the right belt or wheel. Steve
The belt in the picture is the one that came with the mill... I've since replaced with a B82 from NAPA. I think I may need more tension in the belt along with alignment. I couldn't really find any information on how much tension the belt should have.

Google v belt tension specs. Each belt manufacturer provides a chart that gives the amount of deflection measured in lbs. that a properly tensioned belt should have with a range of pulley diameters for the driving pulley for each size of belt. The tool to measure the lbs. of force is available on amazon and from other sources .

Jstier · December 30, 2019, 06:54:44 PM

Well mine is finally working. The alignment sheet they sent was no help. I took the vbelt off and put a new one on. It rides on the idler in the middle and not right at the front like the old one did??? Tightened it all up and ran it for 5 min. Then little more tension. Ran it for about an hour and cut up about 15 boards. Everything looks good so far.

FYI Spoke with Dave in support, he was very helpful sending me pics of how everything looked on the demo unit.

Rod Shoemaker · April 05, 2020, 08:29:38 AM

I want to thank everyone again for the input. I finally have had time to work on the sawmill and got issue resolved! 8)

Just in case someone in the future has the same issue - I'll state what I did.

First as everyone stated - everything has to be aligned. I took the belt and blade off the saw grabbed the longest straight edge I had and started at it. I took the blade and the belt off the mill. Then I loosened the engine and slid it back so the drive pulley was out of the way. I then made sure both the wheels were aligned. Don't forget to pull the outside edge of the wheels when doing this since there is no tension on them. When that was done, I had someone hold the straight edge across the two wheels and I slid the engine forward until the drive pulley was in line with the two wheels. The tensioner pulley is a different story... it isn't the same width as the others... so I just kept taking it off and putting it back on with different washers until the belt was riding in the center of that pulley. After all that, I fired it up without a blade to see if the belt twist... and it did. But I remembered someone stating that once a belt twist you may continue to have issues with it... so I went to Tractor Supply and bought one of the blue drive belts for mowers... wasn't sure how it would work, but had limited options. Put it on the saw and no belt twist! Then nervously did the same test with the blade on - perfect - no twist. Don't forget to check everything with the blade tension on... there will still need to be some adjustments to correct the blade tracking before you fire it up. Ended up cutting 3 oak logs yesterday and I'm very happy!

So... moral to the story - alignment! Thanks again everyone for the valuable input!

-Rod

YellowHammer · April 05, 2020, 01:00:14 PM

luap · April 05, 2020, 02:00:18 PM

Very happy for you that not only have you resolved your issue but you have gained some very valuable knowledge and experience. In the big picture your cost was nominal. Sometimes its the opposite.

KenMac · April 05, 2020, 03:26:56 PM

Another moral of the story might be that you should replace the belt if it rolls or twists to take that out of the equation! Not expensive insurance IMHO. Glad you have the issue resolved.