# Jet 1632 Drum Sander Belt tracking



## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

I bought this Jet 1632 Drum Sander new in 2012. The original belt lasted about 5 years and the seam split. I ordered a new belt from Kingsspor and installed. The belt always tracked to the outside and would rub on the support for the platen. I tried every adjustment position but it always tracked to the outside. I reversed the belt and it still tracked to the outside. About a year ago I bought a new Jet branded belt at wood craft. That belt tracks to the inside and eventually rubs on the platen support. I tried adjusting the belt tracking screws tight on bothsides, tight on one side or the other and it still tracks to the inside. I loosened the platen support bolts and tried to move the platen left and right but the same problem exists. After adjusting the platen I tried adjusting the belt tension so that the belt just drives without slipping when I put my hands on the belt. Then adjusted the tracking bolts a little at a time on each side. The same result of the belt tracks to the inside. I am a very good mechanic and think I understand what makes the belt track but this one defies logic. 

Any help of adjusting the belt on this sander would be of great help.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

clean the rollers..


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

I have already cleaned the rollers, checked bearings, polished the idler roller shaft with 1500 grit paper and put a tiny dab of grease on the oillite bearings. I think it has be an alignment issue with the platen but I have tried repositioning the platen within the limits of the 4 bolts that hold it to the chassis. The drive shaft is knurled and is clean as a pin. The opposite end is the idler and it is clean as well as the platen surface. The original belt tracked perfectly. When I put the new belt (1st) I only took out the two outside bolts so the platen would not move. The second replacement I have tried the platen bolts in every position and belt tension as well. I do not want to over tighten the belt and split the 30 degree seam. That is why I adjusted the tension to the belt will drive but not so tight that I break the belt.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

take the belt off...
run the adjustment all the way in out multiple times to to the point of extreme boredom...
reinstall the belt..
adjust the platen to suit...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I have had 1 performax 10/20,( now JET) and 2 performax 16/32 drum sanders and now have the supermax 16/32. The last performax did the same thing so I sold it and got the Supermax. I did the same as you and tore my hair out trying to get the feed belt to feed properly with out running out. I sold the Performax 16/32 to a guild member and when I saw him at the lastmeeting he said that it was running fine for him, no problem.
So I had an idea, since the floor in my garage shop slopes 3" from back to front (Roll up Door) , I then leveled up my sander all directions and now my problem is solved. It is on castors so I can move it around and I just put a wedge under it before to keep it from rolling and not leveling up the machine.
I hope this helps for you.
Herb


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## woodworker47 (Dec 19, 2008)

I have the Performax 16/32. My belt runs toward the inside. I made every adjustment possible and the belt still goes to the inside. I have been using for years now and the belt is not cutting any metal so I leave it alone. It work fine.

Frank


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

My King 16-32 tracks to the inside and I`ve made adjustments according to the manual. It`s not rubbing and it did move slightly towards center after an unbelievably long time. I installed castors on the bottoms of the legs so I could move it around easily and the concrete floor of my shop does have humps and bumps in it so I`ll have to see it it changes according to where I`m using it like Herb suggested it might.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I have a Ryobi version.... Same issues. I have adjusted, researched, adjusted... It gets better, but I still have issues.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

Well like most unsolveable problems I started over today. I removed the platen from the machine and found that there were two magnetic devices that are called a tracking kit. The pieces are ceramic with magnets inbeded that hold them to the sides of the platen supports. I had the belt going over the top of them and put them on with the belt in the track of the ceramic tracking kit piece. This helped but it still tracked slowly to the inside. So I backed off the belt tension bolts all the way and slowly adjusted until the belt would not stop with my hand on the belt. The tracking is stable and I will see if this fixed my problem.

The original belt tracked perfectly but eventually split at the seam. I replaced it with a Kingspor belt and it always tracked to the outside. I am wondering if the tracking aids may have been the problem with that belt. I bought a new Jet branded belt at Woodcraft and that one always tracked to the inside.

The tracker kit is on page 22 of the manual attached

Well maybe the belt will stay put for a while. I looked at a ports list on ereplacement.com and the tracking kit parts were shown. I never knew they were under there.

The tracking kit consists of two pieces, one for each side. Mine has two slits so you could turn it over if it was excessively worn. A magnet holds the tracking part to the platen on the side supports. After looking around on the internet I guess the tracking kit has been on Jet and Performax drum sanders for quite some time.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Hmmm. If the belts were slightly different length from one side to the other that would do it too and that would be very hard to fix. The difference wouldn`t have to be very much either. That could explain why one belt would track to one side and the next one would track the other.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

gdonham1 said:


> Well like most unsolveable problems I started over today. I removed the platen from the machine and found that there were two magnetic devices that are called a tracking kit. The pieces are ceramic with magnets inbeded that hold them to the sides of the platen supports. I had the belt going over the top of them and put them on with the belt in the track of the ceramic tracking kit piece. This helped but it still tracked slowly to the inside. So I backed off the belt tension bolts all the way and slowly adjusted until the belt would not stop with my hand on the belt. The tracking is stable and I will see if this fixed my problem.
> 
> The original belt tracked perfectly but eventually split at the seam. I replaced it with a Kingspor belt and it always tracked to the outside. I am wondering if the tracking aids may have been the problem with that belt. I bought a new Jet branded belt at Woodcraft and that one always tracked to the inside.
> 
> ...


I am glad you got the tracker blocks to work correctly. Mine are in the drawer, they ruined 2 belts for me so I removed them. they caused the edges of the belts to break and get ragged.
At present mine is tracking fine without them, so I am not going to mess things up by putting them on. I hope you continue to have success with it.
Herb


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

Well the trackers improved but did not completely fix my problem. So I kept changing the belt tension on one side or the other. Finally the seam on the belt broke. I ordered two belts from Kingspor and got them in. I put one on and it tracked pretty good.

I think if the belt tracks to the inside then you tighten the inside making it longer and cause the belt to track to the outside. 

The new belt seems to be tracking pretty good. Only time will tell. 

One thing I did change was on the drive roller. The outboard side was closer to the platen than on the motor side. I loosened the bolts and moved that roller further out to match the gap on the motor side. That may have helped. I had never adjusted the feed roller and the original belt tracked very well until the seam finally split. The second belt always tracked to the inside. The third belt always tracked to the outside. Now on the 4th belt and it seems to be tracking well. 

I am so tired of this belt and have made a lot of adjustments and nothing worked until the new belt. (Well 3rd new belt, one more in reserve)


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Here is where I get my conveyor belts:
https://www.supergrit.com/view.php?pg=ConveyorBelts

It says that Jet 16/32 has 2 different length conveyor belts. I didn't know that. learned something new today. They also have them for the other brand machines. 

HErb


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

Herb,

Thanks for the info I have the 16-32 Plus. I dont think there were ever made very many of the plain 16-32 models. My Kingspor belts were $16.00 apiece and since I have gone through quite a few of them I went with cheap until I get this problem worked. The Jet belts are $60.00. The Kingspor are made differently from the Jet. The Kingspor seems to have a plastic belt on the inside of the belt where the Jet had a thick cloth resin belt. f
IF the belt keeps tracking correctly and they last I wont replace them but I did order 2 because the shipping was the same for 2 as it was for 1. Plus when the belt is broke the sander is useless.


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