Bader contact wheel help

[mikea]

Steve,I just put a new 3" contact on my Bader and can't get it to track straight and when I apply pressure on the wheel the belt moves all over the place. I have tried to increase/decrease the tension and nothing has helped. Any thoughts.Thanks for the help Mike

[Brad Johnson]

You might want to put a few turns of tape around the middle of the drive and idler wheel. This seems to help

[cliff fendley]

Don't know how much tension you've tried but generally you need more belt tension. Same if your machine tracks different with different weight belts. I will have trouble sometimes with mine on the 1/2 inch wheel and fork tip because I don't like a lot of tension on those little bearings.

More crown or the tape trick on the top idler helps a bunch, I have one machine with a lot of hours on it that likes to wonder a little because the top arm has wear at the pivot. Tape on the middle of the top idler will help. A worn drive pulley or a contact wheel that is cupped in the middle will make the belts jump around also. I wear those little fork tip wheels in the middle after a while and have to redress them or the belt will jump from one side to the other when trying to track it.

Always remember the belt will run to the high spots and it will help you find your problem.

[mikea]

Thanks guys I will try the tips and see what happens.

[Steve]

Merry Christmas, everyone. I'm sure those tips helped. Let us know, OK, Mike?

[mikea]

Hey Guys, I hope everyone had a great christmas, I sure did. I talked with Bader and they told me that sometimes the edges of the wheels will expand when the grinder is running and that the edges need to be feathered with sandpaper while the machine is running. So alittle feathering and the problem is solved. Thanks to everyone for the help. Mike

[Steve]

Glad you got the problem solved, Mike. these forums are so great!
Thanks for the help, everyone and Happy New Year!

[mikea]

It worked fine, so now on to the sub-hilt. I'm just going to jump in and hope for the best. After watching your sub-hilt video for the 10th time I feel pretty good about it. Grinding the clip has me a little worried but I guess I will just do it and see what happens. Again thanks for all the advice and have a Happy New Year.

[Steve]

I like to grind the clip first, that is a straight line grind, that continues back into the back 2/3 of the blade area, then start at the back of the blade, near the guard and work toward the clip. Don't know if this will help. Good luck!

[mikea]

It all helps. There is no way I would have attempted a sub-hilt without your video. Everything went fine. I will try to get some pictures on here.

[Steve]

I am glad that it worked out for you. I cannot wait to see it! Thanks and Happy New Year.