Delta 18x36 thickness sander problem/setup

[Michael Brose]

Hey folks. Finaly found a thickness sander I could afford. It was pretty new, not used much but something had fallen against the conveyor motor and bent the shaft. I found a replacement (luckily and after 7 months) and that problem is fixed. Sanding drum and conveyor run smoothly.

The problem now is that when I go to raise/lower the conveyor bed, the toothed belt jumps. There are 4 threaded rods that hold the conveyor and raise/lower it. I have taken the motor off so as to have clear view of all 4 corners and there is a toothed gear under each rod where the belt connects. I don't know where to go from here, I've looked for a tutorial for setting this up and cannot find anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have plenty of work to do but require this thing. I have been using my mentor/tormentor's sander and he is fine with that but it's an hour drive and a big hastle to get away. Thanks for any direction or advice.

And as a note, I've got the conveyor off kilter so I guess the big nuts on top of the rods raise/lower the corners for leveling this thing. My frieds sander raises/lowers the drum (which I really like). This sander raises and lowers the bed.

[Bob Hammond]

Did you try to contact Delta's technical support? Or is there a service center near you? They did a complete rebuild on my 12" planer for $100 including all parts and labor.

Otherwise, I would check the belt carefully, to see if it's stretched or worn. Ditto for the corresponding toothed gears. Then I would check to see if each gear is at exactly the same height, or maybe it would be easier to fully raise or lower the conveyor so that all gears are at the same height, and then set the belt.

[Michael Brose]

I'd pay someone $100 to come do it. I'll check the service center ideal, thanks. The gears are all the same height and the belt seems ok, there are two tensioners and they have plenty of room to tighten. I'm starting to think one of the rods are frozen. I'm gonna mess with that a little more.

[Bob Hammond]

Try a bit of Tri-Flow if things are clean, or PB-Blaster if there seems to be some corrosion.

I think it's very important that the belt and gears mesh >perfectly< and that the gears are truly exactly the same height, otherwse I think the belt will jump.

[David King]

I think a lots of the height mechanisms on sanders and planers get boogered up with wood dust and dried grease. You are probably on the right track there.
Boelube is supposed to lubricate nicely without attracting dust and dirt. I got some for my bike chain and it seems to work but you have to reapply fairly often.

[Paul E Buerk]

You didn't mention if you had the manual for it. If not, I know that it's available online. I have that sander, and I've contemplated replacing that drive setup with a chain and sprockets. It occasionally jumps, and I have to re-align the bed to ensure consistent thickness. Not a huge hassle, but it could definitely be improved. Also, getting access to everything underneath is an adventure.