Supermax drum sander belt tracking fix..maybe?

[@jeffberg2010]

I have been having the exact same problem. For the first 3 years I owned it it was great now suddenly it’s all over the place. I watched your posting and then adjusted mine as you suggested but without the tape. It tracked perfectly. Adjusting one side out a little more made the difference. Thanks and good luck with yours.

[@rojer9542]

Hopefully this will solve the tracking problem on my 16/32 Plus, waiting for a new belt to arrive, then I’ll give it a try. Thanks for posting.

[@calvincraft2580]

Been watching for ya.Still trapping! Glad to see you back on here.

[@jameswebb9876]

After chewing up 2 new belts from Klingspor, I called Supermax and asked for guidance. They told me it would work right with an OEM belt. So, another $50 and another try. The day started at 8 a.m. and it is now 5:50 pm. Not one other thing has been done today other than trying to make this Performax track. It is a 16/32 from 1988 or 89. It has NEVER tracked correctly. So, I/m at the end of my day and at the end of my wits. Your solution offers a glimmer of hope. I will try it in the morning. Thanks for being so methodical about finding a solution. If it doesn't work, I'll go sit out on the lake on a chunk of ice and wait for Mother Nature to take me. Seriously, though, there are literally thousands of bf to sand for the interior of this house, and then glue-ups to sand after all the face frames are constructed. Wanting to get this house finished before I die of old age, if no success tomorrow, I will vacuum the deep recesses of my wallet and buy a Powermatic 16/32 belt sander. Again, thanks so much for putting your mind to this. Jim

[@friedgizzard]

I had the exact same feelings as you, but i have used mine with this fix for few months now and have been able to finally control the tracking. I really hope this helps you out, its kind of a boat anchor if it can’t track.

[@jameswebb9876]

@@friedgizzard Well, I tried. The darned thing just has a mind of its own. Delivery of the Powermatic 16/32 wide belt is set for the week of April 15. Thanks again for making your solution available.

[@reesejones2357]

I have the same sander and same issue. I put a piece of tape down, about 1/8” away from the edge of the belt. Make a small adjustment on either side to see which direction it tracks to. Once the gap between the tape and the belt stays the same after at least 4-6 rotations…I’d say it’s tracking fine for that belt. Variations in the belt manufacturing aren’t always perfect, so there may/May not be bubbling up of the belt in the middle.

[@friedgizzard]

I am glad you posted. It is definitely hard to measure if the belt is square or not, i know my roller is not a perfect cylinder but coupled with a slightly imperfect belt makes it challenging. Good to know this is how you get yours to work as well for future belts. Thanks again for posting.

[@Hardnox1911]

Thanks for posting this video. I have tried everything to get the belt to track with no success. I trashed a Maveric belt in the process. I will give your technique a try.

[@friedgizzard]

Please let me know if it works. I am pretty sure that the roller being a cone shape is the problem.

[@bobcarolegardner]

My read of the manual is you have to tighten the side you are tracking to and at the same time loosen the other side equally. However, I agree that it is a trial and error kind of thing because half the time I’ve done it, the other side gets too loose. I’ve got a new one, and I’ve been fighting with it constantly. I suppose I’ll figure it out at some point.

[@peterbaehman]

Thanks for sharing this. I have been fighting the same problem

[@friedgizzard]

I have been doing alot of traveling, i retire this year and hopefully next season i will be back at the mink, weasels, rats and anything else i can put a trap on.

[@DEVILFISH1122]

It may be that the belt your using is to wide by an inch or so cause they make lots of different sizes

[@bennettibey9498]

I have a similar but older sander.....same problem. I also have looked at many people on KZbin and seen chewed up belts. Overall I think the engineering on these sanders it's poor. I will try to tape trick..thank you for posting.

[@friedgizzard]

I don’t know if this trick will help you, but for my machine, the outfeed roller is essentially a cone shape since one end is smaller. And i do know, if a wide belt rides on a cone, it will always track to the larger diameter side. I do hope it helps you.

[@peterbaehman]

How do the porcelain guides work? How do you set them?

[@friedgizzard]

They are just a c channel that is held by magnet. The belt runs through the channel. There is nothing to set, it is just supposed to help save the edges of the belt from wear i guess.

[@explodeder]

I have the same sander that I bought used and am having a heck of a time getting a uniform cut with it. I just put a straight edge across the bed and I have a 1/16 dip in the middle of the bed, which has to be why I’m getting crazy uneven sanding. Is your conveyer bed dead flat or am I going crazy?

[@friedgizzard]

I had to level the drum when i got the sander but i get even sanding across my pieces. Make sure that your table lift that is used for wide boards with 2 passes is level and not up.

[@explodeder]

@@friedgizzard I leveled the bed using the process outlined in the manual, and was still getting really wonky cuts. Eventually I took the belt off and measured the flatness of the conveyor bed with a straight edge and it was anything but flat. I went ahead and ordered a new bed from Laguna this weekend.

[@Steve-dr7rr]

Is the conveyor belt straight

[@friedgizzard]

Measured corner to corner on each end, yes it was cut square.

[@tomf10]

So looks like this works like a band saw blade, and the belt climbs to the higher side of the roller.

[@friedgizzard]

Yup thats exactly how it should work. However, since the adjustable roller is a cone shape and not a perfect cylinder, it does not adjust the way it is supposed to.

[@steveb796]

There’s a break in period when a new belt stretches.

[@friedgizzard]

The original belt had the same problem and it was years old. I am assuming that isn’t the problem. Could be though.

[@davemaclay5702]

where did you get the new belt?

[@friedgizzard]

Maverick Abrasives Drum Sander... www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4KRTJ8F?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[@jeffwilson6491]

@@friedgizzard Thought that belt looked familiar! I'm in the process of trying to get a Maverick belt tracking on my PowerMax 22/44 from Jet that I bought 20 years ago. Chewed up the first belt within a year, then the next one lasted 18 years with no problems. Third lasted about a week. On my fourth now, using Maverick w/ fingers crossed. Their other belts are really high quality, so I'm optimistic.

[@JoJo-edge]

Had same problem until I purchased aftermarket from Amazon and problem solved

[@friedgizzard]

The belt that is on it is an aftermarket from amazon. It replaced the original poly belt that had the same problem.

[@JoJo-edge]

@@friedgizzard my apologies- did not know you had already gone that route.