Powermatic 14" Bandsaw rant: drive belt blues

[Peter Quinn]

Spent 1/2 of yesterday giving my PM 14" bandsaw a little much needed attention...new cobra coil spring, leveled the extension table, cleaned and crowned the tires, lube/clean all guide bearings, new timberwolf resaw blade, reworked the dust collection, even made a new resaw fence. To test the setup I cut some veneer 3/32" X 8" X 36" from a blank of 8/4 cherry. Perfect, two light passes on the sander and its ready to go.

I did all this because I had to re-tension the drive belt....which I was putting off till last...what were they thinking when they designed that?

I love this machine for a 14" BS, plenty of power, fairly quiet, came with quick release and a riser. But the motor mount system is a joke. An after thought at best. I've had this machine 4 years and I get a chill in my bones every time I have to tension the drive belt. It is the single biggest piece of C**P I own in that respect.

The directions make me chuckle...Adjust the drive pulleys so they are in the same XY plane, then loosen the four motor mount bolts and simply press down on the motor to adjust belt tension. Problem is this is a multi-V single belt drive which requires the two pulleys to plane quite accurately, and when you "Loosen the four motor mount bolts" even slightly the motor shifts, the drive pulleys no longer plane, and the drive belt flies of the bottom pulley the first time you spin the bottom wheel.

I have set up countless woodworking machines at this point and without exception this is the worst belt tensioning design I have ever seen. The multi-v drive belt is beautiful, the machined pulleys are a work of art nearing perfection, But I am certain the engineering department knocked of early and left orangoutangs to design the motor mount tensioning system. Seriously, four bolts through light gauge steel that allow the motor to float around aimlessly..getting it right is mostly a matter of luck, which means you have to do it 100 times in a row to push the odds in your favor.

The fact that the dust collection is an absurd joke I quickly came to terms with. That 4" hole 12" below the table does nothing. My shop made lexan box catches 90% of the dust, and I would gladly discuss its design with anybody at WMH that cares to listen. They actually installed a mini 'blower' on this machine with a cute hose and an adjustable brass nozzle that is meant to "Blow the cut line clean". Seriously? You want me to add wind velocity to what is already the biggest dust polluter in my shop? Blowing the dust around is not a substitute for dust collection, and they could have spent half the time and money designing a proper dust collection system that they did on that silly motor driven mini blower. I cut that thing out quick.

With every other machine I own belt tensioning is perfunctory, quick and painless. Not the BS...its two hours on my knees with a custom made wooden pry-bar, a deadblow hammer and a slew of expurlitives.

Does anybody else have this problem? Is the jet the same setup? I thought they had forgotten to include some essential part in my box but the parts list and assembly manual indicate otherwise. Do the new ones use this same stupidity? I would gladly pay $150 for a proper retrofit, and would have made one already if I had more time, which I don't because I spent all my extra time trying to get the belt tensioned without knocking the motor out of plane

If you guys at WMH are listening, one day I'm going to get you back for this! I got Laguna on speed dial now! You've seen your last dollar from me!

Thanks for listening.

[Jason Beam]

Sadly, a friend and I can relate to your woes. His PM was the same problem.

My jet does not have a serpentine belt, just a regular ole' v-belt. Same mounting system, though, four asinine bolts - not even carraige bolts, but hex bolts with hex nuts. Please try to imagine two grown men trying to stick their hands in a narrow door. Two hands to hold the motor in place, and two hands to tighten ONE nut/bolt. I didn't say tension the belt - because there's no room for a third set of hands to pull down on the held motor (it's heavy enough to hold still, nevermind trying to pull a little tension).

It's hard. It's two grown men laying on their bellies beside one another, elbow-deep in a sheet metal can, cursing in rapid succession.





i guess in the grand scheme of things, it's a good problem to have: A well built saw who's flaws are merely occasional nuisances. Beats the heck out of the horror storries i've heard of guys with severe blade drift, uncrowned tires, vibration and bent blades. We have it good that we only have to adjust a belt with a hydraulic jack.

[Ben Cadotte]

Maybe you should send a picture of the HF bandsaw I have. That has the same mount. And maybe ask them why their saw is so much more, why couldn't they put a better mount system on it!! Also the DC for the HF is just under the table. Only 2 1/2" but works pretty good.

[David Parker]

Hi Peter,

On the video for the FWW review of bandsaws last September, they commented on how difficult is was to mount and correctly tension the belt on most of the saws, describing problems similar to what you report.

I'm planning on getting the Rikon 10-325. It has a wheel out front that you simply crank to adjust tension on the drive belt via an idler pulley. Nice .

Other than the drive belt issues, it sounds like you really like your saw. I hope mine will bring as much satisfaction to this newbie woodworker. I can't believe how many neat toys there are to buy and play with in this hobby.

Dave

[Peter Quinn]

Jason...If laughter is good medicine than I'm on the road to recovery. I can completely picture that scene.

To add insult to injury in my case, they truly don't make em like they use to at PM. A couple of years ago I bought the base for a PM bandsaw (an old one in the old color gold) from the bargain section of a local discount machinery vendor. $25...they had 4 of them for sale...scratched but brand new...don't know why...the one I took had a Furnas magnetic switch and a brand new Baldor 2HP motor in the cabinet! I figure I got a $300 motor and a real nice stand for my dewalt 735.

That old PM stand has to be twice as heavy as my new one, and the motor (gave it to my dad for his shop) hung off a beautiful, heavy welded steel frame from a hinged pivot plate...allows for quick easy belt tensioning. I'm thinking about trying to modify that mounting plate to work on my saw, and the engineers at WMH should be too!

[Scott Seigmund]

I'm thinking about trying to modify that mounting plate to work on my saw, and the engineers at WMH should be too!

WMH engineers? That must be an oxymoron! I wonder if any of the importers that resell woodworking machinery actually employ engineers. Does it really take an engineer to place an order for a “delta design” 14-inch bandsaw, and speck the paint, labels and accessories? Any “engineering” done to these classic American designs is focused on reducing the costs, and too often that means compromising on something important like the motor mount system. Maybe if we were willing to pay more we could actually get more, even if it was made in America. I think the majority of woodworkers today want it cheep more than anything else. It makes me sad.

Peter. Maybe with some luck you can find the upper half of a PM141 to set on that awesome base you have.