Jet Supersaw Timing Belt Failures - helpful information from Jet

[Bob Davis]

Upfront - I own a Jet supersaw and I like it a lot.

Now one of the most troubling things about this saw is the apparent number of people who have had problems with the timing belt breaking. Its an 8 groove "Poly V-belt". I spoke to a Jet tech rep today. He readily acknowledge that they had had problems, mostly in the early model deliveries. "We had a rash of belts breaking, but it was sporadic". He said there were two things contributing to failures

1. Someone at the factory was setting the belt too tight and they would fail when the blade was raised up high.
2. Sawdust may get into the belt and cause premature failure.

He recommended inspection of the belt periodically to see if there is any sawdust buildup. If so, use a toothbrush to clean it out. He also recommended the use of a dust collector.

Bob

[mttt]

Thanks Bob...

#2 is kind'a ironic - as I can guarantee that sawdust sure as heck will get into the belt.... :) And I do use a DC.

My nickel says - SuperSaw owners should heed the Ounce of Prevention. As I found replacement very difficult. Those set screws are awful to loosen. All in all, the replacement process is intrusive, lengthy and traumatic for a newbie.

[Jim Giblin]

I also have a SuperSaw and have it connected to a Delta 50-850 duct collector. I question the efficiency of the dust collection design. When I do a large project, considerable saw dust accumulates inside the saw's enclosure. It is as if the holes in the bottom of the enclosure are too few or too small to allow the dust to get sucked into the lower compartment that connects to the dust collector. I estimate that only about half of the dust that gets created, gets sucked directly into the dust collector. The good news is that the dust is at least contained and it is a simple process to whisk broom the accumulated dust onto the area that has the holes. Do cabinet saws have a similar dust collection design? Do cabinet saw require much manual clean-up effort?

[RWM]

I think that I get only about 30% - 40% of the dust from my Unisaw. I use a Penn State dust collector, that they claim has a 2.5 Hp. motor, and a 4" line running directly to the saw. I had better luck when I had additional dust collection from my Biesmeyer overhead blade guard but still not anywhere near 100%.

Bob McBreen

[Bob Davis]

I believe all table saws have a resident layer of dust build up, no matter who good the dust collection.

On mine, the level of the dust stabililzes and does not go any higher. Right now I've a 2 hp Jet collector hooked to the cabinet through a 3 1/2 foot hose.

What is much more intriguing to me is getting the dust above the table. If you've followed any of my posts on this, you know that I'm after it with a vengeance. I recently came up with a blade guard design that I am pretty excited about. Its got an "articulating front piece" that drops down just before the blade exits the wood when ripping or cross cutting. This helps close in the guard at the point where a gob of dust breaks loose. My tests show this extra little piece almost totally eliminates dust above the saw, if you have a decent blade guard/hose setup. This design will be adaptable to all over-the-table blade guards and I believe can help them do a much better job. I have not seen anything like it on any commercial or shop made guard.

I've been prototyping in plywood and will soon build the final product in Lexan. I'll post pictures in alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking.

Bob

[Jim Giblin]

I will look forward to your post.

[Bob G]

====================== Yes they do.... I pull the motor cover off my saw at least every 6 months and vaccum the inside out...

HOWEVER

I do think that my Dust Collector does catch a pretty high percentage of the SMALL particles that my screw up my luings etc...the stuff in the bottom of the Saw IS LARGE STUFF...that was never suspended in the air in the first place..

Bob