The new belt for the planer came on Friday and I installed it into the machine (see photo in previous post). The good news is that the belt was easy to install. The bad news is that it lasted for under five minutes.
I ran about 3 passes through the planer and I noticed that it was making odd noises as I went. After a couple of minutes, the new belt shredded and the machine sounded like it was going to fly apart.
After removing the cover again, and looking closer at the lower belt pulley, I noticed that the shaft for the pulley was bent. Apparently this is why both the first and second belts blew...the real root of the problem.
It appears that this repair would take replacement of the entire blade assembly...cost prohibitive on a ten year old machine. So, it looks like I am in the market for a replacement.
Normally I would celebrate the need to buy a new tool, but somehow lunchbox planers are just not that exciting. They do what they need to do, and that is about all.
