Gene E Miller
04-26-2013, 10:57 PM
Greetings & Salutations, About a year ago I had a slight accident with my 16-32 drum sander that left the feed conveyor rubber drive shaft bent. I had the sander stored against a wall of my shop right under the spot that I stored the jig that I use to hold warped and twisted stock and run thru my planer. That jig is made out of MDF and is pretty heavy and after a very bad storm one night it was knocked off the wall and bingo fell right down on top of the 16-32. I did not have much need for the sander for a long time so I neglected to order the parts to repair but I am about to start a new project for my nephews wedding gift and will need it. I ordered the new drive shaft and discovered that the rubber shaft is no longer available but now they have a solid steel shaft that has a knurl over the entire length. While I was at it I also ordered a new feed conveyor belt to replace the old one and upgraded to a rubber belt. I got the new shaft installed wondering how it would work driving the feed conveyor then I installed the new conveyor. While I was at it I aligned the drum and got it within .004" which I feel is not too bad over a 16" length. I fired up the feed conveyor and tried to put pressure on the belt to see if I could get it to slip on the new drive shaft and after applying quite of bit of force could not. I also have the new belt tracking perfectly which is something the OEM one never would do. All in all I am happy with the outcome and am ready to make sanding dust again.