I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got chewed by
the sander.
It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and guess
what they track just fine. Even the 50.
So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot sideways.
I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen this?
--
Dan
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
> chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
> guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
> sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
> this?
>
You might have been able to track the old bump belts by the trial and
accidental success method. Put a slight bias or just adjust the knob to the
point at which the belt would run opposite the way it does when in use, and
things will often work just fine. It's a dynamic process, with heat and
wear on the belt changing the setting.
The new taped belts are much nicer and more reliable. They don't jump,
either.
Now try one of those LV smoothers, and put the belt sander back against the
bottom of the door where it belongs. Easier on the wood, healthy exercise
for the operator, and, in my experience, faster than a belt sander for
almost anything, including crude leveling, where a jack is a good idea.
On Thu, 8 Sep 2005 09:58:17 -0400, "George" <George@least> wrote:
>Now try one of those LV smoothers, and put the belt sander back against the
>bottom of the door where it belongs. Easier on the wood, healthy exercise
>for the operator, and, in my experience, faster than a belt sander for
>almost anything
Until you hit a nail.:)
I have a 30 year old Craftsman belt sander that tracks like a champ but I
quit using Craftsman belts years ago. Wouldn't even think about buying one
of their sanders or accessories today.
Very slight conical shape to a belt will cause what you describe. I suspect
your first belts were more than slightly out of shape.
RonB
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
> chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
> guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
> sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
> this?
>
> --
> Dan
On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 20:31:40 -0500, "Battleax" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
>> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
>> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
>chewed by
>> the sander.
>> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
>> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
>> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
>guess
>> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
>> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
>sideways.
>>
>> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
>this?
>>
>> --
>> Dan
>
>Absolutly, all belts are not created equal. Norton is a reliable brand.
>Beware of any abrasives from China.
>
I got these good ones from Lee Valley Tools.
They have no direction arrows. The crappy ones I got on sale from Sears have a
direction arrow and they are very stiff.
Yep.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
this?
>
> --
> Dan
Have you ever considered adjusting the wheels on the sander to stop the
tracking problems? I don't have a Sears unit buy my DPC has an adjustment
screw to correct the tracking for belts.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
this?
>
> --
> Dan
[email protected] wrote:
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen this?
>
> --
> Dan
Having learned the hard way, I would avoid Sears belts. I bought a set
of 6" planer knives and my Craftsman planer tried to maim me. The
quality control was truly awful. The thickness varied by .008" from one
end to the other. May not seem like a lot, but the gibs could not hold
the knives in place and keep them parallel to the table at the same
time. Beware.
mahalo,
jo4hn
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
> I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
> The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got
chewed by
> the sander.
> It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
> I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
> I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and
guess
> what they track just fine. Even the 50.
> So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot
sideways.
>
> I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen
this?
>
> --
> Dan
Absolutly, all belts are not created equal. Norton is a reliable brand.
Beware of any abrasives from China.
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:
> I got these good ones from Lee Valley Tools.
> They have no direction arrows.
The ones I buy at the Lee Valley Store are Klingspor belt. Very good
indeed.
A proper belt is worth the extra money many times over.
"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> No doubt about it. Ever been slapped in the face by a 6"x48" belt? Believe
> me, once is enough.
>
Tough way to shave!(R,D & G)
--
Nahmie
The greatest headaches are those we cause ourselves.
I think you may have not learned about belt sanders but instead
learned about Craftsman.
R.C.
On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:03:49 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>
>I bought a 21" Craftsman belt sander and a few belts about a year ago.
>I was very unhappy because the belts didn't track worth a shit.
>The minute you put pressure on the sander the belt dove inside and got chewed by
>the sander.
>It was OK with 100 plus grit but ate the coarser belts.
>I figured the sander was crap but lived with it.
>I just tried it with some high quality belts not bought from Sears and guess
>what they track just fine. Even the 50.
>So I found one of the old Craftsman belts and once again they scoot sideways.
>
>I never thought belts might cause the bad tracking. Has anyone else seen this?
No doubt about it. Ever been slapped in the face by a 6"x48" belt? Believe
me, once is enough.
"Robatoy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] wrote:
>
> > I got these good ones from Lee Valley Tools.
> > They have no direction arrows.
>
> The ones I buy at the Lee Valley Store are Klingspor belt. Very good
> indeed.
> A proper belt is worth the extra money many times over.