I got the Oscillating Spindle Sander blues...

[Kerry Krishna]

 Well, I am getting into template sanding small and eventually, large parts , and needed a non oscillating spindle sander. Starting about two weeks ago, I went looking online for a new non oscillating spindle sanders. I actually had it in my head that I could easily afford $500 for a REALLY great industrial one too....

 The problem was, that no one seems to make them anymore! Up till two years ago, there were companies still making them....

So the search continued... the brand name list was under 10 companies, and the Stores that may have been able to help was short (and incredibly confusing.... Canadian and US tool chain stores of the same franchise name do NOT mix!).

 

        So  I have two of these sanders already. An older KING sander that I bought at a pawn shop a few years ago, (underpowered, but does a good job a bit slower,) and a newer RIDGID spindle/ belt sander combo. 

  My KING sander is dedicated to a non removable jig that turned it into a small parts thickness sander, and was super accurate to the point of being able to even make bindings.

 The RIDGED is powerful enough at 5 amps, and does not slow down much, even under a load.

So after several shout outs on Forums and Facebook for help on this, I saw  a post on the RIDGED website that changed my little mind about how I was thinking about all of this.....

  It was from a new RIDGED owner that had unpackaged the machine, plugged it in, and the belt sander rotated up to speed, but no oscillating...,

Well, THAT was what I wanted to hear! I decided to sacrifice the RIDGED and take it apart and figure out how to stop the oscillating feature.  

(It comes into play at this point that I should be telling you all that I will be buying a industrial large belt Oscillating Sander in the next few weeks and I decided I could sacrifice the RIDGED if I could figure out how to stop the oscillating part.)

 I asked my  buddy Mike Heim if he would come down and help me do all this. We took the RIDGED apart, and after a really good1/2 hour look-see, Mike said that the integrated motor would never work for disabling the one section.

SO the KING came under scrutiny, and, Low and Behold, after another hour and a half in my shop,( and quite a few off colour jokes) I have a Non Oscillating spindle sander!

  I will either be ordering all the different ROBO Sanding  sander  things from Stew mac, or I will try my hand at making a few myself with some  bearings and other parts. I am absolutely thrilled at this point.  I  have bought a 4 by 4 foot sheet of acrylic  for making the templates for the stuff I will be building too.

 

[Robbie Collins]

I need to rig something like this up to replace my unusable Delta Shopmaster SM500 bench sander. If anyone has run across this piece of junk and has a fix for the slipping pulley please let me know.

[Kerry Krishna]

Robbie,I just found this as a review.... 

By 

ztiger (Weirton, WV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DELTA SM500 Shopmaster 5.2 Amp 4- by 6-Inch Benchtop Belt/Disc Sander (Tools & Home Improvement)

I got this sander from a major retailer and paid the same price as listed here. Good thing I got the extra warranty.

I do a lot of small wood working and only have to use light preasure, so this size was actually about right for my use.

"The sander lasted just about one hour of use before there were problems. The drive pully behind the sanding disk was slipping out off of the shaft teeth that hold it. I found myself constantly pulling this thing apart to push the pully back in place. After about 3 hours of use the drive pully teeth were stripped out being plastic. Just the belt tension would cause the drive shaft to spin inside the pully.

This is a poorly designed sander and I do not recommend it.

I took it back and got the larger model 31-695. We will see how this one goes."

[Robbie Collins]

Thanks, Kerry...I've read these reviews and they are numerous. Unfortunately, I was building out my shop and didn't take it out of the box until it was out of warranty.

I've tried tapping the pulley and using a set screw into the shaft. Two v-pulleys and a new belt might solve the problem but I have no idea where to source them.

[Murray MacLeod]

I am ever so slightly puzzled by why you wouldn't want the spindle sander to oscillate ...the oscillation prevents any build up of resin etc on one narrow band, and enables  the use of the whole length of the sanding sleeve.

I have never encountered a sanding situation where I felt that the oscillation was detrimental to the efficiency of the machine , even when using it as a miniature thickness sander ( ad hoc  featherboards are easily fabricated to prevent the oscillation from lifting the workpiece off the table) .

 

But as always ...YYMV.

[Kerry Krishna]

I am template sanding Murray. The template itself goes against  a slice of the roller at the bottom that has a bearing and spins freely. None of it works if it is oscillating. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_GFCkUy28s

[Murray MacLeod]

I get it. I didn't realise you were working off a bearing.

Would a table mounted router not be a quicker and more efficient way to do template work like this ?

You could always freehand sand on the spindle sander afterwards if necessary.   

[William F.Eden]

 Kerry I have a 14'' stone Setup for grinding M.O.P down it is mounted on a table.I bought the hardware off a guy that repairs lawn equipment . The motor stans up and down Maybe you could use something like that.Bill...........