I Give Up !

[Marty Rose]

I have been wrestling with replacing a sanding sleeve on my General Spindle sander,long enough. Now I turn to the PRO'S. I cannot find replacement sleeves made for the General,so I substuted the Jet sleeves. Measureed out to the same Dia. I.D. and O.D.. They will not just slip on, with out hitting the sleeve. This causes the sleeve to change shapes dramatically. Thus causing more frustration,and the sleeve changing shape even more,when thrown up against the wall. So what is the answer? How is this done with the least amount of damage to the sleeve and the cylinder.

[Bob Vallaster]

I do not know your machine, but will presume this does not involve an inflatable sleeve.
The rest of the sleeve setups I have seen are solid rubber on a central rod (stem) which has threads to permit compressing the rubber, forcing it to belly out and take up clearance on the ID of the sanding sleeve. The sleeve is retained by friction---plenty of it.
Take a look at the ends of the drum to see if there is a nut&washer, perhaps a central allen key...anything that allows you to release compression on the rubber and let it relax to a smaller diameter.
Brute force should not be required.
Good luck.
BobV

[Phil Harding]

I haven't tried this myself, but I've seen others recommend putting the spindle into the freezer and letting it cool before trying to slip the sleeve on. It's logical that the cold temperature will cause the rubber spindle to shrink enough that the sleeve should slip on easily.

-- Phil

[Ted Calver]

I dust the inside of the sleeve with talcum powder and that seems to help slipping over the cylinder. Give it a shot.