Wandering Belts

[Steve]

OK, let's say that 'm grinding away and my 50-60x belt is driving me nuts, because it will not stay centered on the serrated grinding wheel. (Of course "centered" is a relative term, as I personally move it back and forth, getting the correct overlap on the edge of the wheel, to allow correct cutting at the "stop" or end of the grind at the choil). This phenomenon seems to sometimes get worse, as the size of the wheel increases up to 14", in my case - and sometimes even as it gets smaller, say down into the 2" range. There are a few things that can cause this, one, and possibly the most obvious of which, is too little tension on the belt. It's gotta be tight enough to stay put and not vibrate, but not so dang tight it breaks on you, half-way through grinding of a blade.

What are some other solutions that you have found to this problem. I'll hold my couple more ideas back and let you forum viewers inform us, if you'd be so kind.....