I'm hoping for some tips on the Delta X5 drum sander. I'm having trouble keeping the belts from slipping. When I wrap the belts onto the drum - they are good and tight. I know they stretch a bit when you first start out. So I usually let it run a minute or two then check the belt for tightness, I check often (about every 5-10 minutes) after that. Regardless I end up with belts ripping off and not only make a racket but this last time it actually bent the front roller. I generally don't take more than a 1/32" off at a time, so I'm pretty sure I'm not stressing the belts. The last time this happened I was sanding pine, so its not like I'm using a very hard wood. I'm also pretty sure that the problem is not in the clips that hold the ends of the paper as whenever the belt breaks it's never at the clips, rather it generally breaks 5 or 6 inches from the ends.
I'm going to have to replace my roller - and hoping you can give me some advise on how to avoid this trouble again.
I'd also like to know if anyone else has frustration when wrapping the belts. Seems like the belts are just barely long enough. I dread changing belts, but because mine break so often, I do it a lot. I must be missing a technique somewhere - your help would be appreciated.
thanks in advance for your help.