Delta 18-36 Drum Sander...What!!! Part not Available!!!

[Jim Tabor]

I have a Delta 18-36 drum sander model 31-250 (uses the same parts as 31-252, 31-252, 31-255X, and 31-260X). The Gearshaft Assembly PN 406-13-406-0001 which raises or lowers the table and is nothing more than a steel rod with a plastic gear on one end and the elevation wheel on the other, has some broken teeth and needs replacing. As it turns out, this an obsolete part that is no longer available, and there is no replacement.
How is it possible that a sander which is still being sold with a plastic gear does not have a replacement part?
At my age I don’t get upset at much of anything but I have to say that anyone who would buy a Delta product needs their head examined. In fact. I have a Unisaw for sale and I have to say that I think a person would be crazy to buy it.
It's hard to believe that you could buy a new Delta 31-260X today, strip the plastic gear tomorrow, and it would become a $1100 piece of junk.
Okay, I have calmed down a little, so, does anyone have a spare gearshaft assembly lying around? Or an idea on how to repair this thing?

[Kevin Bourque]

I have a Delta 13" thickness planer. They no longer make the knife setting jig or the wrench to remove the knives.

[Jeff Strebel]

Sorry for your dilemma! Perhaps a local machine shop could fab you up a gear??

[Chris Padilla]

How did you determine that this part is no longer available or obsolete? Delta?

I did some quick online searching for the part number and one place shows the plastic gear as obsolete.

However, it does show the whole gear assembly, which includes the steel rod and plastic gear and roll pin but it has a note next to it saying "available in 30 days".

I clipped a pic of the relevant section of the web site and attached it.

The site is toolpartsdirect.com

[Matt Meiser]

30 days....then another 30 days...then months...then a year.

[Jim Andrew]

Grizzly machines are just looking better and better.

[Ryan Baker]

That's disappointing, and seems to be getting all too common with Delta parts these days. I have one of those machines too. I remember there being a thread here on the Creek years ago fromsomeone who had rebuilt their mechanism with metal gears and a chain to replace the rubber cog belt. The point being that you may be able to find some suitable replacement gears to rig in instead. I don't think there were a lot of details in that thread, but you might be able to dig it up with a little searching. Can't remember who it was that did the work. I wonder if it might have been George Wilson.

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations: Have you looked at "ereplacementparts.com" I have found a lot of parts for many things on that site. From appliances to yard equipment to woodworking machines. Just a thought hope it helps.

[Cary Falk]

It is sad that Delta has come to this. I have sold off all of my delta tools and mostly have Grizzly now.

[Phil Thien]

Grizzly machines are just looking better and better.

Speaking of that... Some of the Grizzly machines look like they come from the same factory as the Delta.

That Delta looks remarkably similar to a Grizzly GO458.

Page for the GO458:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/18-1-1-2-HP-Single-Phase-Open-End-Drum-Sander/G0458

Parts for the GO458:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/g0458/parts

Maybe the OP could come at it from that angle?

[Doug Ladendorf]

To Phil's point I think it's a Delta issue and parts may be available from another vendor. I replaced a switch on my Delta lathe with one from Grizzly. Sad that they seem to be evaporating before our eyes. Whomever owns the brand now seems to be completely clueless. Perhaps Baileigh senses the opening...

[Jim Falsetti]

Jim - I own the Delta 18-36 drum sander, and that gear has failed (only twice so far). You have discovered an unhappy truth - that part is not available; no supplier has one and Delta is not going to make any more. I hope you did not buy the machine recently, or buy it new.

The last time the gear failed, we called Delta and a bunch of other suppliers - no one has the part. Eventually, I called Delta, they gave me the drawings of the gear, and I purchased a replacement plastic miter gear from Boston Gear. Then I had a local machinist install it on the end of the shaft. Have not installed the assembly in the sander yet, but pretty sure it will work.

PM me with your email address and I will send you the drawings of the gear that Delta gave me.

Good luck.

Jim

[Chris Padilla]

Jim,

I have this sander as well...I'll PM you, too. Mine is fine but now that I KNOW I can't replace this part, it'll break tomorrow.

[Curt Harms]

Jim,

I have this sander as well...I'll PM you, too. Mine is fine but now that I KNOW I can't replace this part, it'll break tomorrow.

You have that kind of luck too, huh?:p It was good of someone at what remains of Delta to send the drawing.

[Jim Tabor]

Guys, thanks for the words of support. I have checked with everyone I can think of for a part and no luck so far. I have also looked at the parts diagram for the Grizzly 18-36 and it would appear their parts for the table elevation is a metal worm gear, cogs and a chain.
Ryan, these may be the parts you’re referring too.
At this point I’m not sure what’s the best thing to do. My first thought is to dump the Delta and get something better.
I do know that the word should go out to all woodworkers that you can buy a new Delta sander and it will have at least one obsolete part that can’t be replaced and if it fails, will render the sander useless. And if dealers that sell Delta equipment care about their customers, they would immediately stop selling it. At the very least, all new Delta 31-260X sanders in stores should have warning labels that say:
Warning!
If the table elevation gear fails,
It cannot be repaired or replaced. You
should consider this machine expendable
Purchase at your own risk!

[Phil Thien]

it. At the very least, all new Delta 31-260X sanders in stores should have warning labels that say...


Based on many of the threads about Delta in the last couple of years, it is very hard not to agree.

It is amazing to me that Grizzly appears to be able to undercut all on prices, while still maintaining parts and service/support.

I think this all boils down to management. Grizzly's is pretty outstanding, Delta not so much.

[Andrew Joiner]

Before I bought my new Grizzly bandsaw I wanted to quiz them on parts.
I looked up an old bandsaw that they no longer sell. It was a saw from years ago when some of the Grizzly stuff had a bad reputation. I was surprised when the girl on the phone said they stock every part I asked about . Tiny wear parts to new major castings for 20 year old saw in stock ready to ship.

[Chuck Wintle]

Sorry for your dilemma! Perhaps a local machine shop could fab you up a gear??

that would be my thought too.

[John TenEyck]

I have the exact same model as the OP. No problems yet with the elevation control, but if I ever do and I can't find replacement parts I would look at replacing the bevel gear set with a direct drive approach via a flexible shaft. If that was a no go, I would look at fabricating a handwheel to fit over one of the captive nuts at the base of each of the four jack screws and forget about the OE handwheel.

John

[Rick Fisher]

If you find the part, buy 2 .. lol

I would look at getting one made ... Is the machine made in China or Taiwan ? Its not that hard to find out who made it in Asia and get the part from them if possible ..

Hmm...

Get an electronic manual for a Grizzly GO458 Drum sander ... wondering if you stripped away all the bling if it wouldn't be the same machine underneath ..

************************

Hmm.. I should have read the whole thread.. lol

I am astonished that they don't have parts for a new machine .... Especially when the part is plastic and a gear.. Um.. Wow.. Typically when bronze or plastic is used on a gear, I assume its so it wears out rather than something else which is harder to fix.. Of course I wonder if its just crap now..

I would email Delta for an explanation.. Ask them who makes the sander, tell them you will contact them for parts yourself .. That is crazy ..

[Jim Tabor]

John,
What you say about a flexible shaft or a new handwheel location makes a lot of sense. I’m in the middle of a chair project now, but as soon as I get it completed I’m going to disassemble the sander and take it to a machinist I know. He’s an “ole timer” that can repair about anything with nothing. My first thought was to just junk this piece of....junk, but I've cooled down now and maybe it can be repaired.

[John TenEyck]

John,
What you say about a flexible shaft or a new handwheel location makes a lot of sense. I’m in the middle of a chair project now, but as soon as I get it completed I’m going to disassemble the sander and take it to a machinist I know. He’s an “ole timer” that can repair about anything with nothing. My first thought was to just junk this piece of....junk, but I've cooled down now and maybe it can be repaired.

Jim, I would definitely find a way to have it repaired, one way or the other. The height adjustment system is a weak point on an otherwise excellent machine. But I'm sure there's a way to make it very serviceable again, whether it's with OE parts or another approach. I love my made in USA Delta 18x36 and would not want to be w/o out.

John

[Myk Rian]

Whomever owns the brand now seems to be completely clueless. Perhaps Baileigh senses the opening...
It was taken over by a Chinese concern.
Does that tell you anything?

[Rick Fisher]

It was taken over by a Taiwanese company called Chang Type ..

http://www.toty.com.tw/english/index.php

They make tools for Ryobi, Craftsman, DeWalt and Black & Decker. Which all share something in common..

[John TenEyck]

OK, and maybe that explains the poor customer service these days, but the OP's machine was made in USA, or at least mine with the same model number was. So whatever poor choices or, at the least, approvals Delta made relative to the plastic gears that control the bed height were made by our fellow citizens. Regardless, it's still an overall fine machine and worth finding a fix for.

John

[Andy Pratt]

I have not bought any new delta tools due to their rapidly declining reputation, and after reading this post I will never buy one, regardless of what "line" they say it is in. It tells you a lot about how a company does business when they do something like this to their customers. In my view their new products really have no niche left in the woodworking market. If they are going to offer machines of questionable quality and not be the lowest price in town, they had better have the best service/support network, and this makes it pretty clear they don't have that either. Their offering is about like telling a customer "You can have it good, fast, or cheap, pick none."

[Andrew Duncan]

I was very disheartened by what happened to Jim. Also owning one of these units, I was doubly distressed. Checking around the web for answers mostly proved a bust as reported earlier. Emailing Delta proved futile. However, an email from me to renovoparts.com asking about a listing for the correct replacement part on their website elicited the following response:

This part was unavailable from Delta or anywhere else on the internet so
Renovo solved the availability problem for this and many other unavailable
Delta parts by sourcing it directly back to the overseas manufacturing
Company that made it originally for Delta. It is ordered, paid for, shipped
via ocean freighter and we will receive it shortly.

Based on this reply, a solution may be at hand.

[Doug Ladendorf]

Thanks for posting Andrew. I may have to check with Renovo about the part for my lathe. I'm sure they can't handle all requests but glad to hear about someone stepping up for Delta owners.

[Jim Tabor]

Andrew,
You may have missed this thread. With the help of Jim Falsetti, this is the fix that I came up with.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?203150-Delta-18-36-Sander-Owners-A-Must-Read

[Chris Padilla]

Be sure to update this thread and even Jim's if the replacement part is suddenly available.

[Adam Aronson]

I have ordered and received metal replacement gears from Renovo. I ordered the gears on Monday, they arrived on Friday. They were $160 but considering I bought the sander (the 31-255X) used on CL for $350 I think its a steal.

And yes, I realize that this thread is 2 years old but I thought someone might be interested in an update.

[Joe Tuminello]

The part is not available anywhere now. We need it for our community college wood shop. Has anyone had any success with the Grizzly part? If you have the drawings Jim that might help us.

Thank you.

[Jim Falsetti]

333642333643333644

Joe - Here is the drawing. It was sent in three parts. Good luck! Jim

[Jim Tabor]

Joe,
This is the fix I came up with a couple of years ago using Jim's drawing. Good luck, Jim Tabor
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?203150-Delta-18-36-Sander-Owners-A-Must-Read