[Stonehenge]

We've been burning up belts in the last day or so with our Partner K950 saw, and aren't too sure how it's happening. I took the saw apart this morning, and didn't really see anything that would cause the belt to wear out. No sharp edges where the belt is rubbing, but something weird is certainly going on. We've burned 2 belts within about 3 hours of use (one old belt, one new belt).

Any ideas as to what could be going on?

It shouldn't have anything to do with running water with the saw, but we've done that on this project (we usually don't), thanks to a neighbor calling the health dept on us yesterday.

[Paul]

Too much water can cause belts to slip. Are you using a tank sprayer? Or just a garden hose? On this project you might want to switch to a tub saw.

[Stonehenge]

We're cutting out concrete, so no dice of the tub saw. It's a garden hose attached to the spray hookup that now comes stock on Partners.

[PSUscaper]

Is the guy running the saw pushing hard on the saw into the concrete? One of my mason's will not buy partner saws because he claims the plastic houseing that surrounds the belt is too easily bent into the belt. I really can't say I ever had that experience, but hey, that's what I heard.

Also, I had noticed that after you broke the first factory belt on the partner, all the others seemed to not last anywher near as long. Kind of like a car and transmissions. Once you break the first, the replacements never last as long.

[site]

Was the old belt worn out? Did you tighten the new belt too tight when putting it on? Or maybe the new belt was faulty?
Those are my three guesses.

[Stonehenge]

The old belt could well have been worn out. The new belt - we just tightened it enough to get the adjustment nut within those two markers (if you don't have a Partner, that might not make sense).

I'm also wondering if they could have dropped the saw at some point and put one of the pulleys out of aligment.

[site]

That sounds like something an employee might do. Would they have the guts to tell you about it? I am now a partner owner. I put my stihl back together with its scored cylander to keep as a spare (it runs better now that we cleaned the carb too) And I bought a new partner. We have a few more weeks of planting before we get to any hardscape jobs, so it's just sitting there looking new and waiting to work.

[Paul]

Ok the adjustments are right, but it sounds like something got bent. Put a straight edge on the pulleys to see if the arm is bent. Also run the saw a few minutes with a new belt no load and then check it to see if its still fraying.

[Bill Schwab]

The guy who services our Partner saws is telling me that they changed the casing that the arm connects to the saw body. He has seen a myriad of warped cases, broken cases, all kinds of things that the older saws did not have. Since I have not had a chance to see this for myself, I am not sure what he might be talking about, but, I have noticed our Partner is squeeling when they cut through the Country Manor blocks. The Husqvarna just keeps working on and on.

I am changing the table saw I made over to hydraulic drive in hopes of being able to add an auto feed feature.

[BJR]

I am looking at buying a new saw.

Bill

I gather from your reply that you would go for a Husqvarna?

Has anyone used the Makita saw?

[dan deutekom]

I have used the Makita from the rental shop. It is relatively quiet and the power is good but I found it awkward to use and it was not very reliable as far as starting is concerned. This shop has 4 Makita saws and all are for sale cheap because they have had nothing but trouble with them.

[Bill Schwab]

BJR:

Partner aws are great...It is just that support around our area is bad. Husky makes great hand tools. Everything I ever owned from them starts, runs, runs well, and keeps running. Lots more power from the Husqvarna over the Partner, but, the 650 partner is smaller displacement, so, what would anyone expect?

For hand tools I look for parts distribution and servicability right along with dependability. Look for who has it and use them!

[BJR]

thanks for the info.