Getting Zapped from a 1" x 30" beltsander?

[steven c newman]

And, can't figure out why all the static build up.

I'd have to go and look up the model number, if one wants it.

Trying to sand anything, wood or metal, and I get zapped. Either from the machine's table, or even a clothes washer sitting behind me ( if a foot should get close enough to the washer)

Do I need a "grounding" wire of some sort?

Where is all this static electricity coming from?

Haven't found any wires that are bare, or touching the case of the sander.

Mystery to me....:confused:

Ah, found a few numbers...it is an OAV SB-1030. Has a Reliant No.NN25 motor on-board. Table will tilt towards the operator up to 45 degrees. Yard sale find, actually:rolleyes:

Not a bad little sander, just likes to put a "charge" into things....

[Larry Wilson]

Your wiring might be backwards. I can remember leaning up against a cigarette machine back in the 70's and feeling an odd tingle. Turns out that it was wired up backwards. Just a possibility.

[Ken Krawford]

Touching a flex duct leading from my sander to cyclone dust collector does the same thing. I keep meaning to ground it. The problem seems worse in the winter probably due to a decrease in humidity.

[Rod Sheridan]

All sanders produce static electricity through friction.

It sounds like you're becoming charged with static and then touch the washer and discharge it.

Is the sander table metal?

If so try running a ground wire to it..........Rod.

[Lee Schierer]

If you have rubber anti fatigue mats on the floor they can contribute to your static problem by insulating you above ground. Try removing the mats.

Or, you can try the wrist grounding straps used in the electronics industry or place a piece of sheet metal on the floor in front of the sander and run a wire from it to ground. Put grounding straps on your shoes (http://www.alliedelec.com/grounding/shoe-straps/)and you should have no more problems.

[glenn bradley]

Something in motion near something that will hold the charge is where "it" comes from. Certainly more prevalent in the proper conditions. You just need to supply a path to ground that is more attractive than you are. My large PVC duct work has a piece of insulated wire wrapped along it at about a turn per foot terminating in an alligator clip that clips onto some foil tape stuck to the concrete. Hardly scientific but, it does provide a better path to ground than I do and I haven't been shocked since, even in winter. If the machine has a grounded power cord, an additional piece of wire near the offending area and connected to earth ground would provide a path. You may have to get inventive.

[Jim Matthews]

All sanders produce static electricity through friction.

It sounds like you're becoming charged with static and then touch the washer and discharge it.

Is the sander table metal?

If so try running a ground wire to it..........Rod.

+1 this is the same principle behind the Van der Graff generator.
Get a grounding strap to wear, during the drier months.

http://www.directfix.com/product/XX2643.html?gclid=CKGYksmgw8ICFfPm7AodBCgAmA

[Jim Matthews]

Does the plug have a grounding pin?

Two or three prongs?

[steven c newman]

Plug HAD a ground lug, now has a hole. Yard sale person must have removed it to run it on HIS old style outlets.


May have to change out the plug. This is also the only item in the shop where I get zapped at.

Table is metal, just not a steel/iron one.

[Frederick Skelly]

Plug HAD a ground lug, now has a hole. Yard sale person must have removed it to run it on HIS old style outlets.


May have to change out the plug. This is also the only item in the shop where I get zapped at.

Table is metal, just not a steel/iron one.

Yeah, you ought to have a grounding pin on there regardless, so Id start there. Please let us know if that solves it, just for the archives. (Im guessing it will.)

Fred

[Ole Anderson]

Hopefully it is just a static charge, not a 110 v continuous mis-wiring. Either way, you need to replace the cord with a grounded plug. And it wouldn't hurt to get one of those $4 plug in testers that lights up with two green if all is well with your wall receptacle wiring. Indispensable.

[steven c newman]

Need to go pick up a new plug

Plug goes into a breaker controlled power strip. Have about six items running through the strip. Since there is just one operator, me, usually not a problem. Power strip has it's own internal breaker, then the cicuit it is plugged into has it's own 20A one.

[Charles Lent]

Replacing the plug with a 3 pin should fix your problem. I once had a mostly plastic shop vac that produced awesome static charges. It came with a 2 wire cord and plug (double insulated rating). I changed the power cord/plug to 3 wire and wired the ground wire to the frame of the motor, then also put some metal in the air stream, also connected to the ground. It never bit me again.

Charley