Ever have a ROS turn itself on?

[Doug Ladendorf]

On my way to the car this morning I heard this odd raspy machine noise emanating from my garage/shop. I open the door and head in, it sounds really loud. Glance at the heater - no. Bandsaw - no. Drill press, lathe, grinder - no, no, no. Look down, there at the end of a clean swath through the shavings on the floor lies my DeWalt ROS buzzing away and leaning it's backside against the mobile base of my drill press. What the...?

I was working out there yesterday and used it for some minor operation that I would need again. Took a break, planning to come out again and work some more but LOML suggested I watch some of the game and I didn't make it back out.

Have you had this happen? The switch is a bit squishy but I was pretty sure it was off. What would cause it to jump on?

[Bill Orbine]

Casper, the ghost???

[Bradley Gray]

I had the same thing happen a few years ago - I blamed the big black snake that leaves his old skin in my shop. The sander was running against a bench when I came to work one morning. I guess I should unplug everything....

[Peter Aeschliman]

Poor little guy was probably trying to escape!

[Matt Day]

Never had it happen to me.

If I had to guess I'd say that the switch wasn't turned off all the way and maybe was hung up in mid-switch, and very slowly moved toward the on position.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I had the same thing happen a few years ago - I blamed the big black snake that leaves his old skin in my shop. The sander was running against a bench when I came to work one morning. I guess I should unplug everything....

Wait, what? Back up to the part about a big black snake that leaves his skin in your shop?? haha, what? Is this a euphemism, or do you literally mean you ahve a big black snake that slithers around in your shop, leaving its skin in there, and turning on your machinery? haha

[CPeter James]

I have one that does it. Always unplug it before leaving the shop. It is also a Dewalt ROS. I have had it for 15 years or so and it has always done it.

CPeter

[Matt Day]

I guess I should unplug everything....

Ha! If I had to do that I think is spend more time unplugging and plugging in than making sawdust!

[Pat Barry]

On my way to the car this morning I heard this odd raspy machine noise emanating from my garage/shop. I open the door and head in, it sounds really loud. Glance at the heater - no. Bandsaw - no. Drill press, lathe, grinder - no, no, no. Look down, there at the end of a clean swath through the shavings on the floor lies my DeWalt ROS buzzing away and leaning it's backside against the mobile base of my drill press. What the...?

I was working out there yesterday and used it for some minor operation that I would need again. Took a break, planning to come out again and work some more but LOML suggested I watch some of the game and I didn't make it back out.

Have you had this happen? The switch is a bit squishy but I was pretty sure it was off. What would cause it to jump on?
Yes as a matter of fact. Just last week my wife says to me that there is something making noise in my shop (garage). I go out there and my Dewalt ROS is sanding the cement floor. It must have started up, roamed off the workbench, fell to the floor and itt must have been there a while because the sandpaper was pretty worn down. Ever since then I try to remember to unplug it.

[Brian Henderson]

While I've never had anything go on by itself, I've had things refuse to go off. My stationary sanding station had a switch that went bad while I was using it, leaving me flipping the switch back and forth and the machine continuing to run. I had to unplug it, it still works, just with a dead switch. I need to disassemble it and replace the switch one of these days. Maybe you have a faulty switch that doesn't quite turn off?

[Roy Turbett]

My wife is having the same problem with the clothes dryer. Must be Casper making the rounds.

[John Coloccia]

Probably just fell off the bench and turned on when it hit the floor.

[Dave Zellers]

While I've never had anything go on by itself, I've had things refuse to go off. My stationary sanding station had a switch that went bad while I was using it, leaving me flipping the switch back and forth and the machine continuing to run. I had to unplug it, it still works, just with a dead switch. I need to disassemble it and replace the switch one of these days. Maybe you have a faulty switch that doesn't quite turn off?
Ditto. My 1973 Delta/Rockwell contractor table saw started doing that 4-5 years ago and I was worried that if it was hard to turn off (mine would eventually turn off after 6-7 on-off cycles) it might turn on by itself. So after 3-4 years of worrying about that I replaced the switch with a paddle switch right in line with my right knee. I'm pretty sure my problem was 40 years of accumulated fine sawdust.

I have to admit tho when I first saw this thread I read it as RAS not ROS and thought we were talking about radial arm saws. :o

[Julie Moriarty]

Ever have a ROS turn itself on? (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?225839-Ever-have-a-ROS-turn-itself-on)
No, but I've always wanted to and find it doing all my sanding for me.

[Mike Cutler]

I also have a DeWalt that does that. I don't leave it plugged in. I think they have an issue with their switches.

[Joe Kaufman]

Had it happen on a Stanley 3/8" variable speed drill that was 30+ years old. Got so hot that most of the grease leaked out of the gear case and the variable speed module was toast. Couldn't figure what started the drill initially as the trigger switch was still working. It was setting on the top of the workbench running with nothing within 18" of it.

[Matt Day]

Ever have a ROS turn itself on? (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?225839-Ever-have-a-ROS-turn-itself-on)
No, but I've always wanted to and find it doing all my sanding for me.

lol, me too!

[Brian Henderson]

Ditto. My 1973 Delta/Rockwell contractor table saw started doing that 4-5 years ago and I was worried that if it was hard to turn off (mine would eventually turn off after 6-7 on-off cycles) it might turn on by itself. So after 3-4 years of worrying about that I replaced the switch with a paddle switch right in line with my right knee. I'm pretty sure my problem was 40 years of accumulated fine sawdust.

It might be the same problem here, although certainly not 40 years since it's only about 4-5 years old. Either way, I'm going to yank out the switch and replace it, I just haven't had a chance to tear the whole thing down yet.


I have to admit tho when I first saw this thread I read it as RAS not ROS and thought we were talking about radial arm saws. :o

You would not have been the first one to have thought that. :)

[Ernie Miller]

Happens to me all the time. I'm on my second DeWalt ROS, and they both have the same tendency to turn themselves on. The On/Off switch is so squishy that it's hard to tell if the machine is really turned off. This wouldn't happen if the switch had a definite click like most other tools do.

[Ole Anderson]

OK, I am going down to my shop RIGHT NOW and unplugging both of my DeWalt ROS. Don't want them turning on in the middle of the night.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Wait, what? Back up to the part about a big black snake that leaves his skin in your shop?? haha, what? Is this a euphemism, or do you literally mean you ahve a big black snake that slithers around in your shop, leaving its skin in there, and turning on your machinery? haha


Ummm, I'm with Peter, that would be a bit startling!

[Justin Ludwig]

Have you had your shop fumigated for gnomes? I have an infestation. They like to move tools around on me.

[Bradley Gray]

Not sure about the turning on machinery part but the snake is real - life in the country!

[Bill Orbine]

I'm surprised there hasn't been a recall notice on this Dewalt ROS! I don't have one, but there should be a recall. I'd consider this a serious safety issue!

[Doug Ladendorf]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one to whom this has happened. The switch doesn't give much feedback and I probably didn't get it completely off. It's a disconcerting feeling when something is going on in your shop and you don't know what it is!

A black snake will help with the mice. :-)

[Bill Huber]

My Dewalt has a plastic cover on the switch and if you don't really push it off you kind of get it in the middle and it will come back on. I have never had it do this after I left the shop but I have had it come back on after setting it down to do something else.

Now I really make sure I have pushed it off with a good positive push on the off side and have never had the problem again.

[Prashun Patel]

ROS = "Randomly On Sometimes"

[Charles Lent]

I too have had problems with my DeWalt ROS power switch. It has turned itself On two times, once when I wasn't there, but fortunately I got there before it sanded itself all the way through my shop floor, and a second time when I had used it about 10 minutes before and it was sitting on the bench next to where I was working. This time I caught it as it tried to leave the bench. It now gets unplugged as soon as I stop using it. The switch on these is a very poor design. I think it's more the plastic dust seal over the switch than the switch itself, but I'm not sure. I even sometimes have trouble turning it On.

Charley

[John Coloccia]

I have to admit tho when I first saw this thread I read it as RAS not ROS and thought we were talking about radial arm saws. :o

My radio alarm saw goes off every morning at 5:30 by itself (that's 05:30 in metric).

[ken masoumi]

I'm just waiting for the "hand tools only" supporters to chime in and say,there's another good reason to use hand tools instead of power tools,you don't have to worry about them going on on their own.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Have you had your shop fumigated for gnomes? I have an infestation. They like to move tools around on me.

By "gnomes", do you mean "wife" or "children"? Just checking.

I watched a wee bit of some old subtitled movie (Probably Japanese, but perhaps Chinese) and this old may said something like "My wife, she hides things from me" as to the reason that he cannot find anything.

My wife is always moving stuff around, but almost never in my shop and usually not in my office. Luckily I live with my wife and so I can ask.

[John Sanford]

Poor little guy was probably trying to escape!

nope. The little guy is in training for the sander races. I don't know if I'd have the heart to tell him that those are usually for belt sanders only.

:D

[Justin Ludwig]

By "gnomes", do you mean "wife" or "children"? Just checking.

Certified gnomes. Because I would swear up and down that I've never misplaced a tool or forgot where I laid something. A Gnome infestation is the only logical conclusion.

[Peter Aeschliman]

ROS = "Randomly On Sometimes"

LOL! this is my favorite response so far.

[Bob Davenport]

I also have a DeWalt ROS and it has happened to me twice. I think it because I failed to completely seat the rocker switch in the off position. Both times I was still in the shop so no harm done. I am very careful with it now tho. kyfarmer

[Peter Quinn]

No...but I did have one of those Ryobi detail sanders turn itself on once. LOML had gone out to the garage to "help" with a door restoration project that was ongoing. I had painstakingly stripped 50 years of paint of some 100 year old chestnut doors...was almost done...very close. She decided to do some tune ups in the corners of the panels...I was shot from doing it all day and as I left the only thing I said was "Hey babe...make sure you unplug everything...especially that cheepo hand me down sander...I don't trust that thing...." I guess thats like poking old Murphy square in the chest. And I guess to a women...or at least my partner...that translates to "Hey Honey, leave that sander plugged in right on top of the door panel there."


Later that evening....I was out on the back porch and heard this weird humming around the garage...walked around looking for a bee's nest...got near the old garage....saw smoke coming out of the back window. That silly sander had turned itself back on, and had sanded a triangular hole nearly half way through a 1/2" panel. There were some tense moments....a few kurt words perhaps.....she wanted to know how I would fix the booboo....? Fix it? Nah....hundred year old door, things happen, I finished it with the sander marks in it, it hangs in my sons room on the closet, defects on the show face. Constant reminder to unplug hand tools at days end like dad taught me. A reminder to her...I don't need one, he beat it into me.

[Bill McNiel]

Maybe the DeWalt ROS isn't the best choice for a sander?

[Charles Lent]

It's a good sander....just don't leave it plugged in when you finish using it. Maybe we can get together and demand a new switch from DeWalt or at least get them to study the problem..

Charley

[Doug Ladendorf]

I am surprised at how common this is. I've been happy with the sander. Maybe there is a better choice I don't know. When using it you are focused on the job and when done can't always have both hands free to make sure you get the switch just right. It's kind of crazy that this small detail causes such uniform trouble. I noticed there was sawdust being pulled into the air vent which worried me. Seems like a real fire hazard and potential lawsuit for Dewalt.

[Edward Oleen]

Haven't had by DeWalt ROS self-start yet, but I find the damned switches a pain in a body part. What I have done is to mount a switch and an ILLUMINATED switch in a box: actually a double outlet and a double switch in a 4" electrical box, with about 12ft of 12-3 heavy rubber covered power cord. I have a nice big three pin plug on the other end, of course. I also have it screwed to a block of wood I can clamp to the bench or whatever. I plug the ROS or trim router (DeWalt DWP611) or whatever into the box, and use the power switch in the box instead of the switch on the tool.

Two advantages. The switch on the tool is a pluperfect female canid to replace. The switch in the box is available almost anywhere. The switch on the tool is a pain to operate and to determine which position it is in... The switch in the box is a lead pipe cinch - for both.

[Richard Wagner]

I had the same thing happen a few years ago - I blamed the big black snake that leaves his old skin in my shop. The sander was running against a bench when I came to work one morning. I guess I should unplug everything....

Be thankful that your reptile friend is a black snake. I remain on the lookout for rattle snakes here. I have not had one in the shop yet but I have discovered several that were a bit too close for comfort.

[Bob Grier]

Yes, my Dewalt ROS turns itself on when I don't get the switch turned all the way off. Mostly it just startles me because it usually happens when still in my hand. Hadn't thought much about it or connected the dots to a safety issue but now that I think about it, maybe it is a safety issue. I once had an electric DC motor turn on (corroded switch) that was not designed to run continuous and it melted down almost causing a boat fire. I don't think the ROS would overheat but maybe it would eventually. I don't know.

[Jim Finn]

I too have had problems with my DeWalt ROS power switch. It has turned itself On two times, once when I wasn't there, but fortunately I got there before it sanded itself all the way through my shop floor, and a second time when I had used it about 10 minutes before and it was sitting on the bench next to where I was working. This time I caught it as it tried to leave the bench. It now gets unplugged as soon as I stop using it. The switch on these is a very poor design. I think it's more the plastic dust seal over the switch than the switch itself, but I'm not sure. I even sometimes have trouble turning it On.


Charley
I have had the same experience with this sander

[Brian Henderson]

Haven't had by DeWalt ROS self-start yet, but I find the damned switches a pain in a body part. What I have done is to mount a switch and an ILLUMINATED switch in a box: actually a double outlet and a double switch in a 4" electrical box, with about 12ft of 12-3 heavy rubber covered power cord. I have a nice big three pin plug on the other end, of course. I also have it screwed to a block of wood I can clamp to the bench or whatever. I plug the ROS or trim router (DeWalt DWP611) or whatever into the box, and use the power switch in the box instead of the switch on the tool.

Two advantages. The switch on the tool is a pluperfect female canid to replace. The switch in the box is available almost anywhere. The switch on the tool is a pain to operate and to determine which position it is in... The switch in the box is a lead pipe cinch - for both.

I do agree with you on the switches for the DeWalt ROS, I'm not at all happy with them. I had one sander where the switch went out finally but it had been a little squirrely beforehand. I went out and bought a brand new DeWalt ROS, came home and suddenly the old one started working again and has never given me any more trouble. Oh well, probably needed another ROS anyhow, right?

[Lee Reep]

I saw this on one of the Festool forums, as I recall. Return of power after power failure caused the sander to sand thru the MFT workbench.

I gotta say that was one stable sander, not to mention really great wear from the sanding disc. :)

303658

[Dave Zellers]

That sander was not very well balanced. :cool:

[Brian Henderson]

That sander was not very well balanced. :cool:

While I really don't buy it, the cut is too clean, there is a rail on the lower edge that the dust bag would have rested on, resulting in that off-center cut.

[Rod Sheridan]

On my way to the car this morning I heard this odd raspy machine noise emanating from my garage/shop. I open the door and head in, it sounds really loud. Glance at the heater - no. Bandsaw - no. Drill press, lathe, grinder - no, no, no. Look down, there at the end of a clean swath through the shavings on the floor lies my DeWalt ROS buzzing away and leaning it's backside against the mobile base of my drill press. What the...?

I was working out there yesterday and used it for some minor operation that I would need again. Took a break, planning to come out again and work some more but LOML suggested I watch some of the game and I didn't make it back out.

Have you had this happen? The switch is a bit squishy but I was pretty sure it was off. What would cause it to jump on?

I've had the exact thing happen with my DeWalt sander.

It seems to be caused by the flexible dust membrane not allowing the switch to be in a definite off position sometimes...........Rod

[Jim Finn]

I also took the rubber boot off of the switch and have had no problem for over a month now.

[Cody Colston]

My Dewalt ROS has a problem staying on. The switch will vibrate to the off position when sanding. After several re-starts it will eventually stay in the "on" position. It's that plastic dust cover that causes the problem. Good sander but horrible switch.

[glenn bradley]

Funny story and glad there was a happy ending. For safety, all tailed hand tools are unplugged and put away when I'm done with them. Otherwise I'd be working around them all the time. This will certainly vary with how you wood-work. I can count the number of times I use a ROS per year on one hand. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I use my router table per year but, that's a bad example since it almost always gets unplugged too (safety). Here's a few; I can't begin to count the number of times I use my bandsaw, jointer, planer or drill press per year . . . those are always plugged in.

[Mike Delyster]

I've had the exact thing happen with my DeWalt sander.

It seems to be caused by the flexible dust membrane not allowing the switch to be in a definite off position sometimes...........Rod

After reading the title before opening this thread, I thought I bet it's a Dewalt sander.
I've had the same thing happen my Dewalt sander, but never after I was out of the shop.
I agree with Rod about the membrane messing with the switch.

[Marion Smith]

I own a DeWalt 1/4 sheet sander that does the same thing. Its a combination of the clear plastic dust boot over that tiny rocker switch and my gorilla fingers. I just unplug. Its a habit, I unplug everything.

[Harry Niemann]

My Dewalt ROS had a rubber shield covering the switch. This shield often interfered with the switch action preventing it from going completely off, and sometimes made it hard to turn on. I cut out the center of the shield, no further problems.