M
MakenaTile
I went and visited the Gemini factory in Torrance California last week. Finally got to meet their main
go to guy Melvin who was totally cool. Got a tour of the factory!(Thanks guys!)
I took with me a drive belt that snapped after a month of use- Asked him about there no longer being a cable inside the belt- He informed me that the company that had been making their belts for more than 8 years
had to stop making them. They are now being made by someone else.
The new belts are very different then the old ones.
These ones cannot be kinked or pinched whatsoever or it creates a weak spot that breaks.
Currently- They have not found another source for the drive belts. As customers- there are a few measures
we can take to help prevent early breakage:
When you receive a new belt- remove from shipping bag and store away from direct sunlight or excess dry heat. Do not allow anything to be stacked on top of it. Twisting it and folding it back on it's self will cause
the material the belts made out of to separate within the belt- ruining it. Basically- the material used to give it it's shape (within or mixed in with the black rubber) is very brittle.
Prevention of damage is vital-
Damage occurs most often from bits of tile falling thru the cutting hole- down into the wheels and belt.
Even a small piece getting between the wheels and belt at the wrong moment can cause the piece to be pressed between the blade and the belt-crushing that spot on the belt.
What to do:
You need to make the cutting side hole as small as possible- reducing the amount of bits that can drop in. Melvin suggested using metal with a magnet that's placed between the body of the saw and the removable cutting surface- like a "u" shape but the middle is only a slit.
I wasn't sure how to do this without issues of the blade rubbing it when cutting-
My solution was to use a piece of sorta stiff pond pre-filter pad- similar to a course grout removing pad-
Pretty much any type of thick non-absorbent scrubbing pad-open cell enough to allow water to pass thru- preventing build up of tile muck in it-while still preventing chips of tile to pass thru.
It needs to be thin enough to fit between the 2 layers of saw surface- but thick enough to be held in place by pressure (I glued mine as well) about 1" thick. I cut a 2"x2" square-cut a slit 3/4th of the way thru it- I trimmed the top surface to allow the material to pop up thru the saw-level with the cutting surface- to reduce bits from collecting.
I took the cutting surface off-placed the pad around the blade- used a little hot glue to help hold in place- then put the cutting surface back on over the top of it. Be sure to check if the thickness is correct before using the saw. You know its too thick if it causes the cutting surface to have a bump in it. Too thin- wont stay in place.
So far-it works great! I don't hear bits falling in anymore.
In addition- Today I'm going to add in a 2"x9" strip down the center to prevent bits from getting pushed in from the surface of the saw AND to prevent the build up of scraps between the cutting surface and the body of the saw (a current known issue) Because its placed over the middle- no slit should be made. The right side of the
blade hole has the metal plate between the layers.This pad should press firmly up against this- and or cut out a 1/2" wide notch- leaving a thin strip that fits over the top of the metal plate- such that it perfectly traps the pad -without compromising the cutting surface (too thick will raise metal cutting surface)
Hope this will help save a few belts!
Please note my website has a new address- makenatile.com no longer links to my website.(it was stolen)
PLEASE CHANGE ANY LINKS TO MY WEB SITE TO: makenatilemurals.com Thank you!
go to guy Melvin who was totally cool. Got a tour of the factory!(Thanks guys!)
I took with me a drive belt that snapped after a month of use- Asked him about there no longer being a cable inside the belt- He informed me that the company that had been making their belts for more than 8 years
had to stop making them. They are now being made by someone else.
The new belts are very different then the old ones.
These ones cannot be kinked or pinched whatsoever or it creates a weak spot that breaks.
Currently- They have not found another source for the drive belts. As customers- there are a few measures
we can take to help prevent early breakage:
When you receive a new belt- remove from shipping bag and store away from direct sunlight or excess dry heat. Do not allow anything to be stacked on top of it. Twisting it and folding it back on it's self will cause
the material the belts made out of to separate within the belt- ruining it. Basically- the material used to give it it's shape (within or mixed in with the black rubber) is very brittle.
Prevention of damage is vital-
Damage occurs most often from bits of tile falling thru the cutting hole- down into the wheels and belt.
Even a small piece getting between the wheels and belt at the wrong moment can cause the piece to be pressed between the blade and the belt-crushing that spot on the belt.
What to do:
You need to make the cutting side hole as small as possible- reducing the amount of bits that can drop in. Melvin suggested using metal with a magnet that's placed between the body of the saw and the removable cutting surface- like a "u" shape but the middle is only a slit.
I wasn't sure how to do this without issues of the blade rubbing it when cutting-
My solution was to use a piece of sorta stiff pond pre-filter pad- similar to a course grout removing pad-
Pretty much any type of thick non-absorbent scrubbing pad-open cell enough to allow water to pass thru- preventing build up of tile muck in it-while still preventing chips of tile to pass thru.
It needs to be thin enough to fit between the 2 layers of saw surface- but thick enough to be held in place by pressure (I glued mine as well) about 1" thick. I cut a 2"x2" square-cut a slit 3/4th of the way thru it- I trimmed the top surface to allow the material to pop up thru the saw-level with the cutting surface- to reduce bits from collecting.
I took the cutting surface off-placed the pad around the blade- used a little hot glue to help hold in place- then put the cutting surface back on over the top of it. Be sure to check if the thickness is correct before using the saw. You know its too thick if it causes the cutting surface to have a bump in it. Too thin- wont stay in place.
So far-it works great! I don't hear bits falling in anymore.
In addition- Today I'm going to add in a 2"x9" strip down the center to prevent bits from getting pushed in from the surface of the saw AND to prevent the build up of scraps between the cutting surface and the body of the saw (a current known issue) Because its placed over the middle- no slit should be made. The right side of the
blade hole has the metal plate between the layers.This pad should press firmly up against this- and or cut out a 1/2" wide notch- leaving a thin strip that fits over the top of the metal plate- such that it perfectly traps the pad -without compromising the cutting surface (too thick will raise metal cutting surface)
Hope this will help save a few belts!
Please note my website has a new address- makenatile.com no longer links to my website.(it was stolen)
PLEASE CHANGE ANY LINKS TO MY WEB SITE TO: makenatilemurals.com Thank you!
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