910 Foley Belsaw

[Gary Petit]

Hello,

I just joined this site, and have a few questions about my foley belsaw. The sprockets that run the feed rollers seems to be slipping. The chain that runs on them does okay, until the board is about half way through and then tends to slip. I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their planer?

Another question is can this belsaw turn into a sander? I know you can get the rip saw attachments for it, but wondering if it can sand also.

Thanks,

Gary​

[Don Jarvie]

Check the sprockets to see if any are loose . If so you can tighten the set screw on them. Also check the belt to see if its slipping.

i haven't seen any parts for a sander.

[Gary Petit]

Thanks for the reply don, I have tightened the set screws on both sprockets. Where it is slipping in the lower mini sprocket on the handle lever? If that makes since. My next option would be to replace that lower sprocket, but I have to figure out a way to get the set pins out. Weird thing is it only slips when I am trying to run a board through. Just idle position it runs fine. The belt is brand knew, so I thought it wouldn't be that.

Although, I could replace the other two belts that drive the motor. Not sure if you where talking about that don?

Gary

[Loren Woirhaye]

Have you run it with the cover up to observe the slippage?

Have you seen the chain skip over the sprocket teeth?

I sold my Belsaw awhile back so I can't go look and think about it.

[Gary Petit]

Loren, I did have the cover up while it was running with a board through it. It didn't slip on the sprockets running the rollers. It slipped on the lower sprocket that is attached to the handle. The sprocket only has about 13 teeth on it. It is very small sprocket that is held in by a slip pin.

[Loren Woirhaye]

As I recall, this sprocket position can be manipulated by the handle?

Aside from locking the cover down, I never quite figured what the handle is for, but I think I may have thought it had to do with stopping the feedworks.

The bed should be polished and waxed. That helps the rubber rollers do their thing. Putting more tension on the roller tension nuts may help.

[Gary Petit]

I use johnson paste wax on my beds, I am not entirely sure why it is slipping, but the rollers are properly adjust, and it feeds really nice, but it cannot hurt to adjust them more.

Thanks for the helpful pointer.

[Kevin Godshall]

Gary, what do the teeth on that sprocket look like? I had a 985 model and had the same issues, came to find out that my sprocket was worn to practically nothing.

You can find replacement parts at www.belsaw.com (only parts in US that I know of), but they are pricey. If you go into the project of replacing that sprocket, you might as well do the entire sprocket/chain replacement, and now you're at the price of another machine.

I was in that dilemma, but some CL and ebay searching turned up a 910 for a real nice price, and it's in mint condition (for it's age). I was planning on buying a "parts machine", but ended up running the replacement and storing the 985.

Hope this helps. Post back if you find out something else and I can help.

[Kevin Godshall]

Oh, and I do know that there is/was a sander attachment for the 985....... not sure if compatible with the 910 as well or not. Pretty sure from working with both machines that if it fit on one, it would fit on the other. You can call the number from www.belsaw.com and he can help you. Spoke with him a few times and he is a decent guy.

[Kevin Godshall]

Sorry for the multiple post Gary, but some things hidden in my aging brain keep working their way to the front.......

When I had this issue with my planer and the worn sprocket, the guy at belsaw.com had a way to "re-construct" the sprocket, if I had a machine shop close by. There was something specific that needed to be done, (that bit of info hasn't worked it's way to the front of my brain yet.......), and I opted to search out another machine anyway.

Hope we're giving you some information you can use. All the best.

[Don Jarvie]

There's a small belt with the sprockets and if its old it can slip causing the issue. If it looks old get a new one. The only down side is you need to take the chains off. It's not hard but a pain.

[Doug Herzberg]

Mine slipped once. The tension on that lower sprocket was wrong. I forget now what I did, but it was a matter of putting things back where they belonged. I think the lower sprocket functions like an idler pulley. Doesn't the handle lift the front roller and the lower sprocket? I thought it had to do with clearing a jam or allowing for a twisted piece of wood to pass without damaging the rollers too much. I guess I should go out and take a look instead of just spouting off from memory.

I checked. The handle doesn't move the rollers, just a couple sprockets affecting chain tension. Mine is a 912, so things might be different.

[Myk Rian]

Pull the set screws out, and look to see if there is another one beneath them.

[Gary Petit]

Well after further investigation, I noticed the spring that holds the tension was severally worn. So I replaced that with a new spring and that has made a huge difference so far. Had to add a another link into my chain though, the chain was extremely tight, but so far it runs good!

So hopefully it will stay this way with no more issues. I also noticed when I purchased the unit, it was missing the set collar that locks the small v-belt in place. I picked up one of those, and so far it is working great!

Thanks for all the input. I noticed taking the chains is not terrible, it is just time consuming.