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Urethane V Belts

Started by Junior437t, April 08, 2005, 10:06:49 PM

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Junior437t

Has anyone tried theHeavy Duty Grooved Urethane V Belts that Suffolk Machinery has, on their Woodmizer mill? Suffolk claims they do a better job than the regular V belts. SWhat experience has anyone had? Do they do a good job?


Kirk_Allen

I thought for sure I had spoken on this subject but after reading through all the posts Tom pointed out I guess I kept my mouth shut during that time.

I have tried the Urethane belts and WAS NOT IMPRESSED.  On MY mill they seemed to work great for the first 5 minutes of cutting and then the vibration was so bad I had to stop cutting.  Every time I would take them off and put them back on I got the same results.  Suffolk insisted I was not putting them on right. 

Being a mechanic practically my whole life I could only laugh.  When they were first put on I WAS IMPRESSED, but like I said, after 5 minutes of cutting the vibration would start.

Went back to the B-57 belts and chalk it up to another sales pitch that didnt work FOR ME. 

I understand a few folks have been very please with them.  Had they continued to run all day as they did in the first 5 minutes I would have been a supporter because they did make things smoother, initially.


Quartlow

They have done all right by me but I don't cut near the amount  most every one else on here does.

For what its worth I lube with diesel fuel since its real handy, and I've had no problem with slipage.
In my case vibration was reduced
Breezewood 24 inch mill
Have a wooderful day!!

ARKANSAWYER

   I run B-57's all the time but did try B-56 one time.  A million bdft later I still use B-57's and they have done a good job.  One thing that would concern me about the urethane tires is when a blade breaks.  More then once I have broken a blade and cut the belt so that it had to be replaced before I could saw any more.  I do go through a set of belts about every 100,000 bdft.   KISS is the way I try to keep things and when something works well I do not mess with it.
      Keep It Simple Stupid.
ARKANSAWYER

Junior437t

I am using B56 belts right now. I think I will not try the urethane belts. Seems like the opinions are about evenly split.  I didn't see any real compelling reason to switch. I figured if there was some outstanding resons, I would maybe try them. I think I might get a set B57 and try them. We switched to the 56 not long after we got the mill. I don't know that that fixed any problems we were having, or if most of the problems were "operator error".

sparks

They tried to advertise those belts on ebay as Woodmizer belts and that they cut down on mill vibration. After I had a long conversation with them about how they tested their theory they said they did not. They were going by word of mouth. I explained that he cannot testify to vibration on our mills and that the ad needed to be reworded that they were belts to fit a Woodmizer and to take out the vibration statement. They complied without a problem. We've teated every belt imaginable and found the B57 to work very well. I don't mind folks making parts for our mills but when they exagerate facts is what sticks in my crawl.
\"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.\" Abraham Lincoln

flip

I just got my band head assembled and used the B 57 belts on my 19" pulleys.  Excuse the lack of experience but how in the heck can you get a B 56 on?  I tried to see if one would work but it is way short.  Please help me understand.
Flip ???
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

Tom

There's been talk of the B56's cutting down on the sawdust pack that gets under a B57.  I've experienced this problem regularly because it seems to  happen with Cypress regularly.  Sometimes in SYP but Cypress is a wood that will cause me to look at this for vibration problems first.

What happens is that the sawdust gets under the belt and compacted.  It forms lumps of sawdust that looks and acts, for all the world, like "Beaver Board".  The sound is what you notice first.  The mill will begin to ROAR.  If the lumps get large enough, the whole mill will shake.

Now, this can't be good on a blade, not to mention the bearings of the blade wheels as the band gets tensioned and re-tensioned with every revolution. 

Using tighter belts seemed to curtail the problem from starting some, but didn't stop it.  The good thing about the B57 belts is that you can reach under them with a tool and scrape the wads of homemade "beaver board" out of the V groove.  The tighter belts will either have you down for a longer period of time or require that you cut the belt. 

This is one of those kinds of deals where you spend extra money and time trying to fix "what ain't broke".  Sometimes you run into marketing ploys where the people are just trying to sell product.  Sometimes they might have a pretty good idea.  If it is a good idea, best believe that the manufacturer of your mill will pick up on it before long and offer it as an accessory or "fix".  The best person to go to first when confronted with something that is touted to make your mill better, is your mill manufacturer. We are in an industry where most of the 'high end' manufacturers are straight up with customers and will seldom lead you down a rosy path just to sell you parts.  I was given part numbers to a part, just the other day, so that I could shop it locally. You don't find that kind of cooperation in the auto industry usually and that is what we've become accustomed.

Cook's went through a time where they produced their mills with the urethane molded into the the band wheel.  I don't know if they are still doing that but it seems that they are leaning toward all steel wheels now.  Baker uses all steel wheels and so does Wood Mizer, on the bigger production machines.  That doesn't mean that "all steel" is the right way to go though.  When you are operating in one environment the solutions aren't what they are in other environments.  We are the test bed for a lot of this stuff but you have to be leary of someone coming in from outside who tries to get you to modify your mill so that they can sell you items that will make it "work better".

Russ

I had to have my bandwheels machined for the sulfolk tires to fit.
The advantage of the being that I like to use keosene instead of water for lubrication. It doesn't take alot of lube to cut pitch on the blade. A gallon lubes at least  2,000 bf maybe double that, and the blade doesn't get rusty over night any more. I couldn't comment about vibration , I changed mine because keosene destroyed the originals on my hudson. I would have had to machine the bandwheels for a b56 or b57 to fit right also. I've cut at least 15,000 bf and  the're the only choice I've been happy with  on my mill. 

DR_Buck

I'm using the recommended B57s without any problems.   

QuoteThe mill will begin to ROAR

When the roar begins I just engage the blade with no forward motion on the head (not in a log) and turn the lubmizer on continuous for a minute or so.  I use water and pine-sol in the lubmizer.

This works fine for me even on good ole sticky white pine!
Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Tom

It will clean itself unless the sawdust is under the v-belt.  Then you have to get out a screwdriver or file and sometimes a solvent. :)

chevymetal

I notice most here are using a 'B' section belt which has a flat back to it.  I know when I used to run my manual mill that I benefited from running a 'BP' (BP56) section belt because of the rounded back it had compared to the b section belts.  The rounded back acted just like a crown.  I know a local guy who has run a Woodmizer for years and he has told me in the past about having problems with his blades not tracking well, and it finally occured to me to ask him the type of belt he was running.  Well to make this short, he changed over to a bp style belt and that solved his problems.
I was just curious more than anything if anyone else was having a similar problem they could always try a bp type belt for the heck of it.  ;)
2003 Cook's Accu-trac AC-36
51hp Perkins Diesel
Cuttin' for a Livin'

coyotebait

what I found on "seekbelts.com" was  not what you say. as far as a crown on the back of the belt.

coyotebait

Quote from: chevymetal on April 18, 2005, 05:37:00 PM
I notice most here are using a 'B' section belt which has a flat back to it.  I know when I used to run my manual mill that I benefited from running a 'BP' (BP56) section belt because of the rounded back it had compared to the b section belts.  The rounded back acted just like a crown.  I know a local guy who has run a Woodmizer for years and he has told me in the past about having problems with his blades not tracking well, and it finally occured to me to ask him the type of belt he was running.  Well to make this short, he changed over to a bp style belt and that solved his problems.
I was just curious more than anything if anyone else was having a similar problem they could always try a bp type belt for the heck of it.  ;)
what I found on "seekbelts.com" was  not what you say. as far as a crown on the back of the belt.

Woodpecker52

Small brushes solved problem of sawdust buildup between blade and belt.

 
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