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Step 7Still a Few More Parts to Investigate
The rear roller is what is called the drive roller, and it's spinning on a pair of ball bearings. The front roller is a mystery, so I thought it was worth taking a look to see if there was anything to improve there.
The axle is held in place with a single snap-ring, which was easily removed with a cleverly named tool called snap-ring pliers.
ROAD TRIP!!
I stopped by Harbor Freight and picked-up a set of snap ring pliers. They have a belt sander that's a dead-ringer for my Makita on sale for $20! Why am I going through this learning curve with a $200+ sander? Because that's the way I roll, that's why.
I picked-up a set of the pliers from Harbor Freight for under $7 and it's been surprising how many times they've been called into action. Back to the sander...
Before we dig into the front roller I've got to tell you that I'm surprised by how poorly this roller idles. What I mean is when you have the belt off and you spin the roller it grinds to a stop after about two rotations. I suspect that I know why this is, but we'll know for sure in just a few seconds.
The snap ring was opened and the axle slipped free and landed on the table with a sudden "THUD" that caught me completely off guard! For some reason I expected to have to drive the axle free, but obviously it's just held lightly in place.
The second photo shows the axle slipping easily our of the sander, and the third photo shows the view from the end of the roller.
Beneath the steel washer in the background is a pair of bronze bushings. That explains why the roller idled so poorly. What to do now? I suppose I could polish the axle and do some investigative work to find the best lubricant, or perhaps I should press in a ball bearing. Press it in where? Oh yeah, there's nowhere to press a bearing into.
OK, so do I turn a new roller all together with accommodations for bearings? (Sigh)
One thing that I know from previous tool experience is that until they begin to wear, well-lubricated bushings are low-drag, so I decided to polish the axle on both ends where the bearing rides and add some fresh oil and re-assemble the roller back onto the sander.
The last photo shows the front roller and the axle, as well as the mount on the front of the sander. In this picture you can see the axle has a polished end only . This is because the bushing doesn't run the entire length of the roller and the axle is turned a bit thinner in the center to reduce the area making contact with the bushing. In fact, there are two bushings, one at each end of the roller. I suppose if you must use bushings that this is the way to do it, but if I was going to use this sander for actual sanding I can see how this would become a maintenance nightmare. The axle was quite oily and I'm sure it would be a dust magnet, so I wiped it clean and added a dry lubricant.
The axle is held in place with a single snap-ring, which was easily removed with a cleverly named tool called snap-ring pliers.
ROAD TRIP!!
I stopped by Harbor Freight and picked-up a set of snap ring pliers. They have a belt sander that's a dead-ringer for my Makita on sale for $20! Why am I going through this learning curve with a $200+ sander? Because that's the way I roll, that's why.
I picked-up a set of the pliers from Harbor Freight for under $7 and it's been surprising how many times they've been called into action. Back to the sander...
Before we dig into the front roller I've got to tell you that I'm surprised by how poorly this roller idles. What I mean is when you have the belt off and you spin the roller it grinds to a stop after about two rotations. I suspect that I know why this is, but we'll know for sure in just a few seconds.
The snap ring was opened and the axle slipped free and landed on the table with a sudden "THUD" that caught me completely off guard! For some reason I expected to have to drive the axle free, but obviously it's just held lightly in place.
The second photo shows the axle slipping easily our of the sander, and the third photo shows the view from the end of the roller.
Beneath the steel washer in the background is a pair of bronze bushings. That explains why the roller idled so poorly. What to do now? I suppose I could polish the axle and do some investigative work to find the best lubricant, or perhaps I should press in a ball bearing. Press it in where? Oh yeah, there's nowhere to press a bearing into.
OK, so do I turn a new roller all together with accommodations for bearings? (Sigh)
One thing that I know from previous tool experience is that until they begin to wear, well-lubricated bushings are low-drag, so I decided to polish the axle on both ends where the bearing rides and add some fresh oil and re-assemble the roller back onto the sander.
The last photo shows the front roller and the axle, as well as the mount on the front of the sander. In this picture you can see the axle has a polished end only . This is because the bushing doesn't run the entire length of the roller and the axle is turned a bit thinner in the center to reduce the area making contact with the bushing. In fact, there are two bushings, one at each end of the roller. I suppose if you must use bushings that this is the way to do it, but if I was going to use this sander for actual sanding I can see how this would become a maintenance nightmare. The axle was quite oily and I'm sure it would be a dust magnet, so I wiped it clean and added a dry lubricant.
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