Slatmill Belt rebuild tips

I need a bit of help rebuilding a belt , seems like it could move a lot smoother like its out of square just a bit , Its 3/8" pine on a pvc belt . i was figuring i could set up a jig to keep it square , its also bunching up so maybe i could use those tiling spacers between slats if anyone has any ideas id appreciate it thanks

 

Ask Triple J, I think he can help you.

 

How much spacing do you have right now? What thickness is your belt and are you going to buy new belting.
I am about to replace my belting and slats soon. My mill is working great but, I am always improving. My dogs wear the hell out of it.

Can you post some pics of you main wheels and belts?

 

Its Done here are few pics

 

I have a slatmill that i want to redue the slat & belt. Where did you get the PVC belt? This would be a big help to me!

 

It looks pretty good , But I think your boards may be a bit wide, When I use wide slats you need to think about the hub, I build 9" custom hubs for the wide slate, if not they jump out of sq and the mil will start to bind. if it starts that again take the whole thing apart(yea it is a pain) split your slats tightin up your spacing and try it again. I bet you have a whole diff turning mill.after that. its all a learning exp. I built 5 mills befor I knew how to build one you are doing good, I bet it is an eye opener with the cost it takes to build one, they dont belive me when I tell them its harder than it looks and it cost 3 times what it should to build one ( thanks obummer tax)

 

Thanks Triple J , Oh its a learning experience for sure , In building this the key is in the right adjustments and other small things . If you're off by a little you will know lol The slats are 2 1/4 " wide and 13 1/2 " long . The cutting , welding ,drilling , placement of the wheels , making slats . Its hard work but rewarding seeing something you made work smoothly and thanks to a member here MistaBonz who helped me fix my belt issue. The good part of building one is The next time you get the urge to build one you will have new/better ideas on materials and design , i already have a couple things i would change on the next one

 

Oh I forgott if your belt keeps getting out of sq , it happens alot when you only have one attatchment per side. You (Now this trick was passed to me so I will pass it to you) Sq your slat and screw a screw threw the belt in to the slat a small bugle type screw the pvc is tuff shit it will hold fine that will stop it from coming out of sq if you like you can do it on every one or everyother one, just make sure you place it along side the bolt it is very important to make sure it is Right along the inside and it should not jump sq, another thing if I use anything larger than a 2"wide slat its 9" hubs. I bet if you cut 1/4 Off and space it 1/4and do like I said sq the belt at least every other one screw the belt and you will be fine. If yo have any more truble hit me up. Every problem you are having Ive allready been threw You are on the right track, you got this shit.

 

Just found out the hard way on my first mill binded like crazy.lol well have taken it apart agen will use your tip trip j.thanks

 

could anyone private message me if they could help me out .. im in need of the bearings axles and rollers and belt to make my frae complete im in the uk so if anyone could help me or on these things or could point in the right direction to buy them be appreciated

 

what belt did you use on this one? thanks!

 

That belt is too short... It needs to be longer and it will free up... Probably about 6 inches or so by the pic. Look at the second pic....see how its covering over half the main wheel? Its too short...add some length to it so that its touching about half of the wheel. You can always cut off belt easier than adding it....Make it longer than you think when you build it.

 

StepUp Dodong I used PVC flat hose cut down the sides for the belt .

TopBox Once i added more space between the slats it turns much better and doesn't bunch up . I cant add 6" to the belt because it would drag the ground as i made the Bed height lower for ease of getting a dog on and off the mill . One thing i would change if making another one would be to Make the width 2" instead of 2 1/4" I think it would move better

 

Still having trouble with mine going to take apart and start again.lol

 

what trouble are you having ?

 

If your serious in your attempts at building a mill for your own personal use, then i suggest that you put a little more effort into your `parts` department lol.

Ive built a mill, and its was brilliant. I sold it, and now im buying one instead. For someone like myself, who isnt looking to get into the `mill business`the effort to make one for personal use is too time consuming. Thats the reason im going to buy one from one of the big boys.

Now, a little knowledge that i may pass on, particularly, regarding the belt. I was told this by randy ciruos, before or just about the time he retired.

He advised me to use what is called a C x FS PVC belt, three ply ( thickness ). I bought this belt in a long roll, which the following company will cut to size, in any length you would like. The company i got this from is called Ammeraal Beltech, Innovation & Service in Belting, conveyor belt, process belt , they are worldwide, and more than likely, you will locate one of their branches in your country.

Give them this info, and they will get you a proper belt to use, instead of garbage like fire hose material.
As for slats and attaching them to a belt, randy advised me pretty much what triple just said. That was to use an L sqaure or rule, as some call it, and place the slat onto the belt, and drill right through both, then do the opposite, until you complete the belt.

I built a massive template type device, where it was easy and quick, but for those who are just trying to get the job done, with minimum of fuss, randy and triple are bang on the money, although its a bitch time wise lol.

LASTLY, and most importantly. No matter how shiny and high tech your parts or belt, one thing is for sure. Your mill will not turn right UNLESS you absolutely guarantee, that the frame is built STRAIGHT !!!!!!!!! Thats the key, and was advised to me from randy C aswell. However you build it, yourself, a machine shop, fabricator, make sure after the job is done, take a spirit level and measure EVERY BAR on that damn thing, and make sure its 100 percent straight.

If your belt and frame are straight, youve knocked it off. There you go. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE !!!!!!!! Good luck.

 

Just to add to the above post. The C x FS stands for C= cover AND FS = Friction Surface.

 

I was wondering what you use for the belt and that was answered but does anybody have any close up pics of a mill without the belt on it yet so I can see how the rollers are attached. I'd like to try to build one but I know I'd mess it up especially since everything has to be square. It looks like a lot of work but definately something to be proud of if it turned out nice and helped keep my dogs in shape.

 

JLusk Slatmills | Information and Resources for the Independent Slatmill Builder Also just do a search on here for mill builds so you can see other pics and discussions on what people went through building mills

 

Thank you. I appreciate your reply and posting that link. Its exactly what I was looking for.