Wandering belt on hand held belt sander
pghdan
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’ve been having a problem with my handheld belt sander and a wandering belt. The problem is the belt wanders toward the inside of the sander until it eventually begins to shred itself against the sanders housing. I’ve tried using a new belt and it doesn’t seem to help. The wandering takes place both when in use and when the sander is run but not actually sanding anything. The sander in question is a Dewalt 21 inch and though it is several years old it has had relatively little use. If anyone can offer some suggestions to fix the problem I would really appreciate it. It is getting expensive buying new belts. Thanks in advance!
Replies
New belts often have to wear in a bit before they settle down and track right. If that's the case, just keep adjusting the tracking until it quits wandering.
It's pretty easy to distort a belt by not having equal pressure across the width of the belt. Some belt sanders have horrible balance and tend to ride on one side of the belt. This can cause the belt to continually distort and mis-track. Check this out by putting some cross grain pencil marks on a piece of wood and run the sander over it slowly one time. If the pencil marks aren't reduced evenly across the width of the belt, then the sander riding to one side. Adjust your grip and your technique until it does sand evenly. It helps to grip as low as possible, and keep a relaxed grip.
Michael R.
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll try fiddling with the tracking a little more and see if that solves the problem. I've really only used the front tracking mechanism to get the belt centered to start never really tried to fine tune it while the belt was running to see if it would stop the belt from wandering.
Dan
Is the belt responding to adjustments of the tracking control?
John W.
I've tried to adjust the front tracking mechanism somewhat but maybe not to the extent I need to. I didn't have this problem the first couple of dozen of times I used the sander and now it is pretty pronounced ... a couple of seconds after turning the sander on the belt is already off track. I've misplaced my instructions for the sander so that is why I'm looking for some direction here. Tomorrow I'll try to more radically adjust the tracking and see what happens. Thanks.
By the way just as a thought, are the belts for a belt sander reversible as far as how they are installed. I don't see anything on them that says they need to go a certain way but I was just wondering.
Dan
Dan
The join on sanding belts can be of (at least) two different types.
The first & in my experience the most common is the lapped join cut at an angle to the length of the belt. This belt should be mounted so that the overlap trails when the belt sander is used, sometimes these belts will have arrows indicating the direction of rotation but not always. The arrows usually disapear after a bit of use anyway so if you change grits or re-use belts it is good to know which way to run the belt by looking at the join.
The second is a comb or finger join which can be run in either direction.
Don
The belts I am using do in fact have the angled lap joint but as far as a can tell never had arrows indicating which direction they should run. I'll definitely pay attention to this in the future. Thanks
Dan
Here's a 'fix' that has worked for me. Take some ordinary friction tape (or electricians tape), and make several laps around the idler pulley on the belt sander. Put more thicknesses near the center of the idler, than the outside. This effectively builds a small crown on the pulley and makes the belt stay centered. Also, always relieve the tension on the belt when not using the sander. The belt can stretch and tracks poorly if this happens.
Thanks gov for the suggestion about the tape and relieving tension on the belt. I'm embarrased to say I didn't know you should relieve the tension on the belt when not in use. If I could only find my manual maybe I should actually read it this time.
Dan
Some belts can go on either way, some can't. They should be marked with arrows on the inside if it matters.
I think you're not doing the tracking right. It's sensitive. Before you turn it on, adjust the roller square by eye. Then turn the belt on. You have to get it close quick enough to not tear up the belt, then adjust it with very small adjustments when the belt is running. It takes tiny movements to get it just right.
Dan,
Here is the (PDF file) instruction manual for the Dewalt 433. It's a 21" sander - if you have a different model number, the instructions will be virtually the same.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
I know this problem well, and it could have several causes. Make sure all sanding dust is cleared from the tracking mechanism, I blow it out with compressed air and make sure the mechanism can respond easily to the adjustment knob, if need be lubricate it with a dry lube. Are you using good quality belts? I've had problems with so called bargain belts not tracking properly. Take off the belt and check the freewheeling roller,it needs to rotate freely. Lastly, I had a problem with a Bosch sander when the shaft bearing froze causing the belt to wander no matter what I did. I ended up buying a new sander because of the damage to the shaft. Hope this helps. Good luck, Buck
I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. Hopefully I'll have some time today to try some of your advice. It sounds like maybe I just need to clean the tool up and pay more attention to its tracking mechanism. I must confess tool maintenance is not one of my strong suits. It just seems to be the last thing I have time to do and then I do it only when something stops working. Thanks again.
Dan
Hey Dan, To avoid shredding your new sander belts when the motor is running, you might try connecting it to a speed control so that the belt runs much slower. As you get the tracking responding to your satisfaction, increase the control's speed if neccessary and fine tune at full speed. I like Guv's idea of adding electrical tape to create a 'Crown' on the idler pulley. If you do recrown, be sure to wrap the tape in the anti- unwind direction Stein.
Edited 4/23/2004 3:43 pm ET by steinmetz
Edited 4/23/2004 3:45 pm ET by steinmetz
This is why it's a good idea to learn something about tools before buying them. You didn't adjust the tracking like you have to whenever you put a new belt on the sander. The MANUAL would have told you this and how and when to do it. Manuals are not totally comprehensive and more likely are rudimentary and incomplete, but you really should read them!
To understand more about what's important with each tool, search the archives for that tool and read for a while. This forum has lots of accumulated experience.
I have the 4x24 Craftsman, 20+ years old and running like a champ.
I second the keeping it clean ideas and the other ideas. I use the shop vac and a small brush that looks like a chemistry test tube brush (smaller than a baby bottle brush) to clean in the tight areas. Steelwool the bottom plate and idler wheel. Also check the drive wheel to see if its too slick, you can scuff it up with sandpaper while its running to get better traction. Carefully!
Enjoy, Roy
There should be a tracking adjustment on the sander. Do you have your owners manual?
I’m having a huge problem with my belt slipping off my mini belt sander. Does anyone have any advice or a better sander I could use that doesn’t wander and pop off? I used the Chicago electric one from harbor freight. I’m sanding in between slats on a wood table and literally every time the belt touches the wood it pops off. So irritating. https://www.harborfreight.com/53-Amp-12-in-Heavy-Duty-Bandfile-Belt-Sander-62863.html Help!
Just return that POS machine. While you are there doing the return buy a couple of belts for a larger machine (4"-6" wide) and cross cut them so you have wide strips. Wrap the ends around dowels and do the work by hand. You'll get better results much faster.
🤣🤣. Thanks MJ. It’s been in my car to return. I’ll do that and pick up the belt and try what you said. I’m a newbie to woodworking so I’m still learning. That machine was making me craaazy. Janice
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