Performax 16-32 feed belt replacement - I can’t get it to track !!!

[Justin Pfenning]

The feed belt on my Performax 16-32 broke last week. It split at the seam with no warning. I ordered a replacement belt from Maverick abrasives.

https://www.maverickabrasives.com/products/drum-sander-replacement-conveyor-feed-belt?variant=42295746560240

I checked to make sure the powered roll was flush with the table top, and the gap between the powered roll and the table edge was equal side to side. Everything looked good.

I removed the 2 outer bolts that’s hold the feed table down, then I loosened up the tension screws and slipped the new belt into place. I made sure the belt got on top of the plastic belt guides on the bottom side of the table, then slowly worked the tension screws out, till the belt would not slip under hand pressure.

At this point I checked the tension rollers to make sure they were flush with the table top, and tightened up the bolts on the brackets that slide for tensioning.

I put the feed on max speed, and it slowly worked it’s way to the drive motor side. I assumed I had messed up the feed adjustment, so I loosened everything up and tried again. Same result, walking toward the drive motor side. I reset the tension again, this time making the drive motor side obviously tighter than the idle side. Same result, walking toward the drive motor side. I loosened everything up and tried it one more time before giving up for the night.

At this point I figured I had to flip the belt. So tonight I went back after it, first removing the belt, flipping it, and reinstalling it. I worked the tension up being careful to stay as even as possible side to side, and got the same result, waking toward the drive motor side.

I pulled the belt off again, and measure it side to side to see how different it was side to side. I wrapped a piece of tape around one end marking the seam, then when to the other end with the same piece of tape. It looked very close. It might have been off the width of as pencil mark, but almost no difference.

I put the belt back on, reset the tension being even more careful than before, and the same result. Walking toward the motor. I started to lose my cool, and decided to tighten the drive motor side till the belt was forced the opposite direction. I had so much tension on the drive side it was bending the bracket, and it was still walking toward the drive side. At this point the idle side of the belt was very loose.

Again, I threw in the towel for the night. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, or how to get this belt to track. I’m hoping someone here can help, I’m desperate.

[Ken Krawford]

I went thru this same nightmare with my 16/32 a number of years ago. I tried several different aftermarket belts but couldn't get any of them to track properly. I called Performax (Jett) support and they emphasized that the OEM belt made by 3M was the only one that would work. I reluctantly coughed up the $$$ and the 3M belt tracked perfectly.

[Brian Tymchak]

I went thru this same nightmare with my 16/32 a number of years ago. I tried several different aftermarket belts but couldn't get any of them to track properly. I called Performax (Jett) support and they emphasized that the OEM belt made by 3M was the only one that would work. I reluctantly coughed up the $$$ and the 3M belt tracked perfectly.

I had the same experience several years ago with my Jet 16/32. The original belt never tracked properly. I bought an aftermarket belt and it didn't track right either. I went back to Jet for another replacement belt and it works pretty well. It seems to lose its tracking a little bit every 6 months or so (I'm a light user), but I'm able to find the balance again with just a little fiddling.

It doesn't help that the adjuster brackets are weak on the earlier model that I have. I noticed that the newer sanders (Jet and competitors) have stronger adjusters.

[Justin Pfenning]

I went thru this same nightmare with my 16/32 a number of years ago. I tried several different aftermarket belts but couldn't get any of them to track properly. I called Performax (Jett) support and they emphasized that the OEM belt made by 3M was the only one that would work. I reluctantly coughed up the $$$ and the 3M belt tracked perfectly.

Ken, where did you purchase your OEM 3M belt from? I struggled to find a replacement, and went with the Maverick abrasives because it looked like about the only option. I can't imagine what the difference would be between the Maverick and the 3M.

[Terry Wawro]

As the owner of a PerforMax 16/32 I will attest that they are finicky beasts to get to track correctly. My only recommendation is that the belt needs time to relax a bit before it assumes it final dimensions. I would let the belt sit, installed in a tension-ed state for at least 24 hours. Then run it as fast and as long as needed while constantly adjusting the tracking until it tracks sorta true.
Then wait another day and repeat as needed.

[Russell Hayes]

I have a Performax 22-44 and a 37x2. I have bought the cloth back belts from Maverick and others. They appear more durable but they a prone to stretching. So until they are done stretching you are going to have to fiddle with it. I prefer the thin Klingspor ones. I think they are monofilament backed. But they are thin and prone to tearing. One trick is to do all your adjusting and test runs with the feed table on the workbench (uninstalled). In case you have to flip the belt, one less step.

[Steve Demuth]

In the eight years I've had the thing, I have never been able to get a feed belt to track on my drum sander. The plastic ones from Kllingspor do better than cloth backed ones, but they are still finicky, and they are very easy to tear, so I don't use them. I have given up and hung the necessary tools right on the machine, so I can slide the belt back to starting position in about 15 seconds. It's annoying, but isn't actually costing me any real time.

[John K Jordan]

I have a Performax 22-44. When new I had to adjust the belt several times, perhaps for the reason you mentioned. After that the belt has tracked perfectly, not needing adjustment in 5-6 years.

JKJ


As the owner of a PerforMax 16/32 I will attest that they are finicky beasts to get to track correctly. My only recommendation is that the belt needs time to relax a bit before it assumes it final dimensions. I would let the belt sit, installed in a tension-ed state for at least 24 hours. Then run it as fast and as long as needed while constantly adjusting the tracking until it tracks sorta true.
Then wait another day and repeat as needed.

[Barry Versteegh]

I could not get tracking to work on mine with any belts. I fixed mine my crowning the end rollers by building up the center of the rollers with black tape. I also slotted the the adjusters to get rollers parallel.This fixed mine and made very bad design a working tool.

[Ken Krawford]

I got my belt directly from Jet. I just checked their web site and was shocked to see the cost - $158.85 !!!


Ken, where did you purchase your OEM 3M belt from? I struggled to find a replacement, and went with the Maverick abrasives because it looked like about the only option. I can't imagine what the difference would be between the Maverick and the 3M.

[Curt Harms]

I could not get tracking to work on mine with any belts. I fixed mine my crowning the end rollers by building up the center of the rollers with black tape. I also slotted the the adjusters to get rollers parallel.This fixed mine and made very bad design a working tool.

I'm looking at having to replace the belt on mine. Barry, how many layers of tape did you put on the rollers? I assume both rollers?

[Curt Harms]

I got my belt directly from Jet. I just checked their web site and was shocked to see the cost - $158.85 !!!

Supergrit has conveyor belts for the Jet 16-32 for $33.00 https://www.supergrit.com/jet-16-32.html. I can't say how good or bad they are but Supergrit has a pretty good reputation AFAIK.

[Dwayne Watt]

I recently replaced the belt on my new-to-me Jet 10-20. The cloth backed belt it came with would not track, period. I replaced with a Klingspor belt that is doing well thus far. It is thin as was mentioned earlier, but seems to be OK. At least it tracks well plus it was was not stupid expensive like the OEM part.

[Justin Pfenning]

I could not get tracking to work on mine with any belts. I fixed mine my crowning the end rollers by building up the center of the rollers with black tape. I also slotted the the adjusters to get rollers parallel.This fixed mine and made very bad design a working tool.

Fantastic idea Barry. I'll give this a try. Thanks to everyone that responded. Sounds like the tracking is a pain in the neck overall. I'll just fight through it.

[andy bessette]

Supergrit has conveyor belts for the Jet 16-32 for $33.00 https://www.supergrit.com/jet-16-32.html. I can't say how good or bad they are but Supergrit has a pretty good reputation AFAIK.

It is a piece of crap. Poor tracking and too fine a grit to keep the workpiece moving through the machine.