Peter Quinn
02-22-2008, 7:08 PM
Spent 1/2 of yesterday giving my PM 14" bandsaw a little much needed attention...new cobra coil spring, leveled the extension table, cleaned and crowned the tires, lube/clean all guide bearings, new timberwolf resaw blade, reworked the dust collection, even made a new resaw fence. To test the setup I cut some veneer 3/32" X 8" X 36" from a blank of 8/4 cherry. Perfect, two light passes on the sander and its ready to go.
I did all this because I had to re-tension the drive belt....which I was putting off till last...what were they thinking when they designed that?
I love this machine for a 14" BS, plenty of power, fairly quiet, came with quick release and a riser. But the motor mount system is a joke. An after thought at best. I've had this machine 4 years and I get a chill in my bones every time I have to tension the drive belt. It is the single biggest piece of C**P I own in that respect.
The directions make me chuckle...Adjust the drive pulleys so they are in the same XY plane, then loosen the four motor mount bolts and simply press down on the motor to adjust belt tension. Problem is this is a multi-V single belt drive which requires the two pulleys to plane quite accurately, and when you "Loosen the four motor mount bolts" even slightly the motor shifts, the drive pulleys no longer plane, and the drive belt flies of the bottom pulley the first time you spin the bottom wheel.
I have set up countless woodworking machines at this point and without exception this is the worst belt tensioning design I have ever seen. The multi-v drive belt is beautiful, the machined pulleys are a work of art nearing perfection, But I am certain the engineering department knocked of early and left orangoutangs to design the motor mount tensioning system. Seriously, four bolts through light gauge steel that allow the motor to float around aimlessly..getting it right is mostly a matter of luck, which means you have to do it 100 times in a row to push the odds in your favor.
The fact that the dust collection is an absurd joke I quickly came to terms with. That 4" hole 12" below the table does nothing. My shop made lexan box catches 90% of the dust, and I would gladly discuss its design with anybody at WMH that cares to listen. They actually installed a mini 'blower' on this machine with a cute hose and an adjustable brass nozzle that is meant to "Blow the cut line clean". Seriously? You want me to add wind velocity to what is already the biggest dust polluter in my shop? Blowing the dust around is not a substitute for dust collection, and they could have spent half the time and money designing a proper dust collection system that they did on that silly motor driven mini blower. I cut that thing out quick.
With every other machine I own belt tensioning is perfunctory, quick and painless. Not the BS...its two hours on my knees with a custom made wooden pry-bar, a deadblow hammer and a slew of expurlitives.
Does anybody else have this problem? Is the jet the same setup? I thought they had forgotten to include some essential part in my box but the parts list and assembly manual indicate otherwise. Do the new ones use this same stupidity? I would gladly pay $150 for a proper retrofit, and would have made one already if I had more time, which I don't because I spent all my extra time trying to get the belt tensioned without knocking the motor out of plane
If you guys at WMH are listening, one day I'm going to get you back for this! I got Laguna on speed dial now! You've seen your last dollar from me!
Thanks for listening.
I did all this because I had to re-tension the drive belt....which I was putting off till last...what were they thinking when they designed that?
I love this machine for a 14" BS, plenty of power, fairly quiet, came with quick release and a riser. But the motor mount system is a joke. An after thought at best. I've had this machine 4 years and I get a chill in my bones every time I have to tension the drive belt. It is the single biggest piece of C**P I own in that respect.
The directions make me chuckle...Adjust the drive pulleys so they are in the same XY plane, then loosen the four motor mount bolts and simply press down on the motor to adjust belt tension. Problem is this is a multi-V single belt drive which requires the two pulleys to plane quite accurately, and when you "Loosen the four motor mount bolts" even slightly the motor shifts, the drive pulleys no longer plane, and the drive belt flies of the bottom pulley the first time you spin the bottom wheel.
I have set up countless woodworking machines at this point and without exception this is the worst belt tensioning design I have ever seen. The multi-v drive belt is beautiful, the machined pulleys are a work of art nearing perfection, But I am certain the engineering department knocked of early and left orangoutangs to design the motor mount tensioning system. Seriously, four bolts through light gauge steel that allow the motor to float around aimlessly..getting it right is mostly a matter of luck, which means you have to do it 100 times in a row to push the odds in your favor.
The fact that the dust collection is an absurd joke I quickly came to terms with. That 4" hole 12" below the table does nothing. My shop made lexan box catches 90% of the dust, and I would gladly discuss its design with anybody at WMH that cares to listen. They actually installed a mini 'blower' on this machine with a cute hose and an adjustable brass nozzle that is meant to "Blow the cut line clean". Seriously? You want me to add wind velocity to what is already the biggest dust polluter in my shop? Blowing the dust around is not a substitute for dust collection, and they could have spent half the time and money designing a proper dust collection system that they did on that silly motor driven mini blower. I cut that thing out quick.
With every other machine I own belt tensioning is perfunctory, quick and painless. Not the BS...its two hours on my knees with a custom made wooden pry-bar, a deadblow hammer and a slew of expurlitives.
Does anybody else have this problem? Is the jet the same setup? I thought they had forgotten to include some essential part in my box but the parts list and assembly manual indicate otherwise. Do the new ones use this same stupidity? I would gladly pay $150 for a proper retrofit, and would have made one already if I had more time, which I don't because I spent all my extra time trying to get the belt tensioned without knocking the motor out of plane
If you guys at WMH are listening, one day I'm going to get you back for this! I got Laguna on speed dial now! You've seen your last dollar from me!
Thanks for listening.