Lee Schierer
07-31-2013, 2:36 PM
This morning, I was sanding some panels for a cabinet I am making and my Porter Cable belt sander started making strange noises. Intermittently it would make a sort of squealing noise accompanied by a slight vibration. I stopped sanding and oiled the bearings on the front roller. The noise continued. Finally I stopped and removed the belt guard from the side of the saner, it was loaded with sawdust. Cleaning it out didn't solve the noise issue, so I carefully removed the drive belt and large sprocket. Then I opened the cover to the gear box and checked the gears and bearings. The gear box was pretty dry and the bearings looked pretty dry as well. I applied some light machine oil to the shields on the bearing and let it soak in. I also added some grease around the drive gears and put the cover back on. After completing the reassembly I started sanding again and the strange noise was gone. Hopefully this PM will give me many more years of faithful service from my sander.
When was the last time you checked your gear boxes for lubrication?
When was the last time you checked your gear boxes for lubrication?