Delta spindle sander 31-780

[Fred Perreault]

I have an older Delta BOSS model 31-780 spindle sander in my shop. It has several different sizes of rubber spindle sleeves, and a bolt on top to squeeze the sleeve to grab the sanding tube. My problem is that there seems to be no way to hold the spindle still, or lock it, while tightening the bolt to squeeze against the sanding tube. Does anyone else have this unit? If so, is there a way to lock the spindle or was this a really poor design "feature"? The original instruction manual seems to not address this at all.
Thanks for your time,
Fred P.

[mickey cassiba]

I have an older Delta BOSS model 31-780 spindle sander in my shop. It has several different sizes of rubber spindle sleeves, and a bolt on top to squeeze the sleeve to grab the sanding tube. My problem is that there seems to be no way to hold the spindle still, or lock it, while tightening the bolt to squeeze against the sanding tube. Does anyone else have this unit? If so, is there a way to lock the spindle or was this a really poor design "feature"? The original instruction manual seems to not address this at all.
Thanks for your time,
Fred P.
Fred, we have one at the shop, and have never had a problem tightening it up, just grip the spindle firmly with one hand and tighten the bolt. If it won't grip the abrasive tube, make sure you have the washer installed. Also make sure that the threaded hole is clean and the bolt is not damaged. I worked on these when I worked at Delta, and rarely had problems. Are you using original or aftermarket sleeves? I do not generally endorse Delta's overpriced parts, but in some cases, I have found only the original will work correctly. We bought some generics at my current job, and never could get them to tighten. Solved that by inserting a paper sleeve inside the abrasive sleeve. When we used up the generics, we returned to the oem sleeves. No more problems.

Mick
Merry Christmas!

[Jerry Brockman]

Fred, I have an old Boss and I found when I looked on the bottom that an allen wrench fit into the drive that I could use to hold the shaft and that allowed me to loosen the bolt on top. I don't know if your unit is older than mine but you might look to see if that will work. If yours allows the use of an allen wrench, you can bolt the entire unit to a top with a hole cut out allow the allen wrench access. I have mine mounted on a top with a henge on one end to allow it to be raised to have easier access. I hope this helps.

[Fred Perreault]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I will be in the shop with my new toys from Santa, and will dub with the spindle sander some. I do believe that most of the problem is with the generic sanding sleeves. Some of my tools are older versions, made when designs were not as sophisticated and users were not as fussy and demanding. In fact, if I did not already own all the tools that I have purchased over the last 5-30 years, I doubt that I would be able to acquire them today... and remain happily married.
I do wish that more of todays' youngsters were more interested in using tools and creating. What will happen to these unfortunate kids when they have to repair their mountain bike, their car, their lawnmower, a new house, etc.
I just dunno, but I sure am glad I watched, listened, tinkered...and made mistakes.
Happy 2010, ya'll