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I don't think you're that far off alignment if the straight edge is flat on the motor pulley. You should be able to see the spacing between the belt and the edge of the pulley and how that would line up on the idler shaft. The belts are close but not touching and you should be able to get a straight edge between then and see if they are parallel.

edma194 wrote:I don't think you're that far off alignment if the straight edge is flat on the motor pulley. You should be able to see the spacing between the belt and the edge of the pulley and how that would line up on the idler shaft. The belts are close but not touching and you should be able to get a straight edge between then and see if they are parallel.

I agree with you, it is not very far off and might be fine where it is. My question - I don't think the 'Belt Alignment' adjustment guarantees us parallel belts. But what does one 'adjust' (or do) if the belts are not parallel? I need to study this some more...

- David

DLB wrote:I agree with you, it is not very far off and might be fine where it is. My question - I don't think the 'Belt Alignment' adjustment guarantees us parallel belts. But what does one 'adjust' (or do) if the belts are not parallel? I need to study this some more...

- David

The mounting blocks allow adjustment of the orientation of the motor and pulley. I'm not sure if you'd see the belts out of alignment with each other if that alighment is off, but the tension should be off one side of the belt or the other in that case. But I don't know what you could do if the motor pulley and idler shaft aren't lined up. I have assumed that hfmann has a factory made Powerpro headstock so probably ought to line up very well unless the idler is not seated well in the elliptical.

"I have assumed that hfmann has a factory made Powerpro headstock so probably ought to line up very well unless the idler is not seated well in the elliptical."
Yes edma - it is factory built headstock. This is the first time I've ever had the covers off or quill removed. So interesting.

hal

hfmann, initially you had an irregular piece of wood mounted for turning. After your changes is that still on there? Do you have anything mounted? I think I had the sanding disk mounted when I was finishing up the balancing.

I'm gonna guess the motor is too 'low' and creating excessive motor belt tension which would account for the dearth of adjustment range on the eccentric.

JPG wrote:I'm gonna guess the motor is too 'low' and creating excessive motor belt tension which would account for the dearth of adjustment range on the eccentric.

I noticed in the manual today, first time I saw this (Balancing section): "With a little force, you should be able to turn the eccentric 10 - 15 degrees..." This is with the headstock running, but I don't think that would matter. Net time I tension mine I'm going to use this rotational range as an objective (-ish) representation of correct tension. Cuz I'm tired of not having one. I'd estimate this is slightly less tension than when I first assembled mine and considerably more than it has now, after I loosened it based on that belt temp post I referenced earlier. So if it won't adjust at all, for sure it's too tight.

Up to this point I've followed the Install Video method of Belt Alignment (no straightedge check) rather than the manual. Mine is off about the same as the OPs last pic when I put the straightedge to it but don't adjust. The belts look parallel to my eye, looking straight down from the top.

- David

edma194 wrote:hfmann, initially you had an irregular piece of wood mounted for turning. After your changes is that still on there? Do you have anything mounted? I think I had the sanding disk mounted when I was finishing up the balancing.

Hi Edman - I haven't tried to do any woodwork on it yet. Just trying to get everything aligned, tensioned, and balanced at this point. After I finalize the motor pulley alignment tomorrow or maybe the next day, I'll put it all back together and give it a go.

Stay tuned....

fyi - temps today measured while running at 3,450 after about 30 seconds: Room temp 65 F, belt 85, and face of pulley 105 degrees.

hal

I tried the straightedge method from the manual for setting the Belt Alignment screws and now have no confidence in it whatsoever. What I'll call the 'equal and opposite' method from the install video worked much better for my headstock. The straightedge method resulted in the plane of the motor pulley being non-parallel to the plane of the upper drive by ~ 1.1 degrees.

To measure that angle I put a small turning disc (4"?) on the upper aux spindle and used a Wixey digital angle gauge zeroed on that disc. I put the Wixey on the flat part of the motor pulley, avoiding the snap ring. I also measured the Idler as a confidence check, it was parallel to the upper as expected.

Tentative conclusion: The straightedge could be indicating either an offset error, angular error, or combo. The Belt Alignment screws only change the angle. Changing the angle to 'correct' offset is not for me. Thus, no confidence in the method.

Can the position of the pulley on the motor shaft (one source of offset) be changed by loosening the setscrew and moving the pulley in or out on the shaft? I know such movement would be limited by the snap ring.

- David

hfmann wrote:
Hi Edman - I haven't tried to do any woodwork on it yet. Just trying to get everything aligned, tensioned, and balanced at this point. After I finalize the motor pulley alignment tomorrow or maybe the next day, I'll put it all back together and give it a go.

When I was balancing mine after installation at first I had nothing mounted on the spindle and still noticed more vibration than I was comfortable with at some speeds. The last time through I had the disk sander attached, I was just using it to make the spindle easy to turn by hand. The idler shaft set into the eccentric, I was worried it wasn't all the way in, and the notch turned all the way to the 9 o'clock position. Without some load the motor tends to be a little jerky and I think you'll see that as noise and vibration when balancing.

But all of my advice here is based on just installing my PowerPro upgrade a couple of months ago, I have nothing else to compare it to.