Delta planer eating belts
I have a Delta 15″ planer that seems to have an appetite for the drive belts. The seem to wear at a rapid pace, filling the drive belt chamber with lots of black dust. Since I had inherited it from my father, I assumed that the first set was just badly worn when I got it and I finished it off (although I really didn’t think the planer had gotten much use when he had it, and it is fairly new). I just installed a new set of belts (ordered directly from Delta, so they are the right size), and they are still wearing very fast (dust appears with just 5-10 minutes of planing).
The belt tension is per spec (1/4″ deflection with light finger pressure), the sheaves are in perfect alignment, and there aren’t any rough spots or bends in the sheaves. I am out of ideas. Is there something I am missing, or does this planer just eat belts as a matter of course and I should order them by the gross?
—Andrew
Replies
Andrew,
How much tissue do you normally remove per pass when planing? If the depth-of-cut is excessive, a lunch box planer won't perform terribly well or last very long.
Have you checked the drive pulleys and their bearings?
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask youself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
A little confusion I think, my planer isn't a lunchbox, it is an earlier version of the DC-380, with a 240V 2HP motor, and weighs about 350lbs. Not something I want to move other than around the shop on its base :-)
But I still don't take really big bites out of the boards anyway.---Andrew
Sorry, I misread 15" as 13".
Have you checked the rest of the running gear - pulleys, bearings, etc.?-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask youself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
No problem on the misunderstanding, appreciate all the comments and help. I haven't actually removed the bearings or pulleys, but without the belts, they spin freely and easily, pulleys are nice and smooth and have no apparent bends. I am going to try lessening the tension on the belts and see what happens.....---Andrew
Andrew,
I had the same problem with my DC-380 just recently, and it was caused by the motor being tilted forward toward the infeed table - Doh. I loosened the bolts and reset the tension with everything pointed in the right direction and it seemed to fix the problem
Good Luck
Steve
It is possible that the belts from Delta are inferior due to age or "set" from long term storage. When all other possible problems have been checked/adjusted, try a new set of belts.
Delta planer belts should give years of trouble free service. If they're warm or hot after the machine is running but w/o planing, tension is too high or alignment wrong. There is a slight possibilty the motor is worn , at this age, and overheating and transmitting that, via shaft, to the belt.
Edited 7/15/2005 1:49 pm ET by jackplane
Well since I'm on a new set of belts, I guess I'll try reducing the belt tension. I think I have it right according to the manual, 1/4" deflection with light finger pressure, but maybe my "light" finger pressure is too strong. My other hobby is playing the piano, so maybe my fingers are stronger than I think :-) The belts are definitely getting warm even hot. I don't think the motor is the problem it is reasonably cool (and has hardly any hours on it), everything spins really easily when the belts are off. I just wish it was easier to adjust the tension on this planer, it is really a pain.And to answer the other poster about too deep cuts, the only thing I am guilty of is too shallow. I am usually taking off only 1/64" to 1/32" at time, because of my paranoia of cutting too much off on expensive wood :-) Of course my current wood is Brazilian Cherry so I have to take very shallow cuts. But I was having the problem even taking shallow cuts off of something like pine.Thanks every one for the suggestions!---Andrew
Well I appreciate everyone's suggestions. I went out to the shop last night, cleaned up all the belt dust, checked the pulleys for alighment errors again, checked them for play, checked the motor to make sure it was tilted, looked for any rubbing and didn't find any problems. So I did as jackplane had suggested, ran it for 10 minutes with no load. After doing that I had belt dust in the chamber, and the belts were quite warm. So I loosened the tension on the belts quite a bit (changing my interpretation of what "light" finger pressure means). They are now quite loose, but I figured I would hear problems if it slipped. Ran it for 10 minutes again, but this time also planed some of my Brazillian Cherry. Didn't get any belt slippage (so its tight enough) and it didn't appear to generate any belt dust. So at least with the short test, looks like I found my problem! Certainly a lot looser than my old alternator belts had to be, but thinking about it, probably close to what my lawn tractor is.Proof will be later this week when I do a good 1-2 hours of planing on the rest of the wood I have.Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!---Andrew
that was a team effort. diagnosis like this is good, 'cause it keeps me on my toes...
I purchased the delta 15" planer back in may and I have been experiencing the same problem . I will try easing up on the belt tension . This has been very frusterating. If this solves this problem I will bee very happy with this planer. It has planed over 1200 ft on cherry and 2000 ft of maple very little snip . This is no toy. Thank you for posting your problem , by following the threads I have found an answer to a problem I thought I would have to live with. The manual should be a little more specific on belt tension. . Thanks again
Sounds to me like something is digging into the belts.
I bought a John Deere riding lawnmower once and the factory belt broke at the start of the 2nd season while running in short grass. I got a replacement of the correct length at an automotive parts store and it has lasted 16 years.
Oh, yeah, the two belts on my Parks planer have lasted 40 years. I have never adjusted the tension on them. They have never slipped even when doing mean hoggin of rough boards.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Edited 7/15/2005 10:30 pm ET by PlaneWood
Mike,
Don'tcha just love your Parks? Mine is going on 30 yrs old (I'm the original owner) and other than a bearing siezing up and scoring the shaft, no problems. (The bearing was my fault, I let it run dry.) Still on the original belt, and the two sets of knives I bought with the machine. Those knives are getting narrow tho, I'll have to buy a couple new sets before too long.
Cheers,
Ray
Yep, that was one of my better investments. I bought mine used about 30 years ago. It was about 40 years old then.
The 1.5 HP motor is as large and heavy as a new 5 hp motor. It has a tremendous amount of torque for such a small rating. It has never bogged down. I've ran 1000's of BF through it, mostly hardwoods.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Mike,
I went all out and got the 3hp motor.
Too bad they went out of business.
Regards,
Ray
Your belts are rubbing on something. The adjustment area under the should is cramped and it's easy to have them rub on the cover. If you look things over, I'm sure you will see where they are making contact. If they don't rub, they should last a long time. I had a similar issue with my Delta planer, it just took a little extra care with the adjustment clearance.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
After reading all your information, it would appear that they may be seeing some shock loads due to loose parts. Have you checked to see if there is any play of the pullies on the shafts? Even if the set screws/keys/bolts are tight, if there is play in the pully to shaft, you might get the type of problem you are seeing.
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