Drum sander off-center

[John Huber]

I have used a Powermax 10-20 Plus drum sander for several years and was very satisfied. Even though I cleaned it carefully, sawdust accumulated around the spring clamps that grip the sandpaper so much that they slipped.

I removed the dust cover and dust hood, loosened the setscrews on the main coupler and removed the hex socket round head screws holding the outboard plate to the arm. I cleaned the drum, shafts and coupler, applied a little oil, and reassembled all.

The drum runs true on the outboard end. But it is off-center on the inboard end about 3 mils. This causes sawdust to accoumulate on the high spot and quickly clog a stripe on the durm. I've disassembled twice to try to find the problem. The maufacturer's tech service only told me to realign it. I KNOW THAT!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jason Beam]

Sounds more like a dust collection or belt cleaning problem, to me. My 16-32 doesn't have any sawdust buildup anywhere as long as I keep my DC running on it. I do have to be sure to clean the sanding belt with one of those rubber eraser thingies once in awhile.

Does your 10-20 have the spring loaded catch on the motor-side for taking up any slack that may come along?

[John Huber]

The outboard bearing has about 1/4" of travel. If the drum is shifted outboard and the main coupler is not centered on the shaft joint, the coupler may not grip both shafts enough to bring them into alignment.