Inc.Performance of 16/32 Performax Modifying Ideals

[Carroll Courtney]

Guys I have an older 16/32 Performax drum sander and I would like to try and peak it out on performance.One of things that I did was replace the conveyor sanding belt w/a vinyl heavy duty(only time will tell on this) one which is thick and has as much friction on the surface as the sanding belt.I have also purchase the Tuftool to make changing the sanding paper alittle easier.Now I'm out of ideals!
What I would like to do w/help from here is to find out if I can and where to purchase off the net is the Fine-Tune Adj. Knob to aid in getting the drum parallel w/the table.Another area is a way to modified the outfeed roller from brass bushings to bearings,mine will turn but not so easy.You couldn't spin by hand to the point of free spinning,so if you done this where did you get bearings and if any other ideals then post your thoughts.Lots of good people here that are mechanical engineers, electrical engineers,Kings of Modifying,Hanger 51 workers,lots of ideals here for the posting.Thanks---Carroll

[David Kumm]

There is a place on ebay under the performax listing that rebuilds machines. A call to them might help. Mc Master- Carr has just about everything. Great online catalog. Dave

[Joseph Tarantino]

try this:

http://joewoodworker.com/performax.htm

[david brum]

I also have an ancient Performax 16/32. I think you'll like the poly belt if it's the Accura. I did have to add tension to the infeed/outfeed rollers to keep wood from slipping on the belt as it passes under the drum. No big deal though, and it works great now.

My machine also had sticky brass bushings on the belt rollers. Mine came right back to life with some light petroleum oil, though. I probably used 3 in 1, dripped in from the side. The original lube was either solidified or nonexistent. Either way, a little oil did the trick.

Whereas I haven't considered a micro adjust for the drum, I do have a couple of suggestions to make your machine work better. First, get a Jet dust cover with a 4" port. They are cheap (16 bucks) and make the machine much safer to operate. The OEM hood with the 2 1/2" port just doesn't move enough air to efficiently collect the dust.http://www.ereplacementparts.com/dust-cover-p-449088.html

The other mod that helped me was adding a 20 amp ammeter. These are under ten bucks on ebay, etc. They will help give you and idea of the sander's limits before it stalls. Since these older sanders only have 1hp motors, this really helps.

Other than that, keep in mind that these machines are designed for very light passes and will work better with relatively coarser sandpaper.

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(http://www.ereplacementparts.com/dust-cover-p-449088.html)

[Tony Zaffuto]

Dave,

That machine can't be that ancient as it says "Jet" on it! Mine just says Performax.

T.

I may have to apologize though, if the hood is a replacement, and that's where the "jet" decal came from!

[david brum]

You're right-that's the replacement hood. I would still say it's the best and most important mod on a 16/32. My shop air used to be choked with dust after using the Performax with the original hood. I don't notice any dust (to speak of) in the air now.