Power cord coil

[Ed Edwards]

About a month ago I bought a used 8" R/O Fein sander. The sander works fine, but I have a concern with the cord, when I picked it up the previous owner had coiled the cord around the handle/body of the sander. It has now taken a "set". I've tried heating by the wood stove and then streching it out with tension on it, but to no avail. Short of replacing the cord, does anyone have any tricks that work? I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks, Ed

[Mike Heidrick]

What is the concern? Does it not work?

[Kent A Bathurst]

FWIW....I've always been annoyed with the cords on power hand-held power tools. So, for the ones that most always get used at the bench [ROS, routers] I cut 'em off at 8" - 10" and put on a new male end. I often used an extension cord with them anyway, so no big loss there. Plus - I don't have to fool with the cord when I put them into a drawer or on a shelf.

I also have a hose to my auto-on Fein vac. I made an extension cord that I zip-tied to the hose. Easy to plug in the ROS . And - I have a couple Betterly dust collection bases for the routers, so they work the same way with the vac hose. Next time I pull out the belt sander, it's getting the same treatment.

I guess my point is: From my perspective, no big loss on the sander cord. Chop it off.

[Chris Tsutsui]

If the outer jacket is hard then you can try leaving the cord out in the sun while saturating it with an armorall type of product. Might be better to leave just the cord out in the sun so nobody takes your nice sander.

[Larry Browning]

So if wrapping the cord around the body of the tool is not the way to go, how do you store the cord so that it doesn't get that annoying "set"?

[Andrew Joiner]

So if wrapping the cord around the body of the tool is not the way to go, how do you store the cord so that it doesn't get that annoying "set"?

I keep several corded tools under my bench. They're on a shelf 3'' off the floor. I keep them plugged in all the time. I kick the cords under the open toe space when I'm done using that tool.

[Erik France]

So if wrapping the cord around the body of the tool is not the way to go, how do you store the cord so that it doesn't get that annoying "set"?

My sanders and circular saw go on a shelf in a corner. I'll place the tool on the shelf and drape the cord over it once or twice, making a large coil. My medium and short extension cords hand on big hooks in 3-4' coils too.

For the OPs sander cord: I straighten new tool cords and ones with similar problems by stretching out the short side (inside curve). I'll d it by pulling it through my hands under tension. I'll pull it so one of my thumbs will always be on the long side (outside curve) with my hand oriented so the cord is being pulled comes out of that hand in the opposite angle of the problem coil. It's basically just bending the cord the opposite direction of the tight coil. I don't know if it's stretching the plastic shielding, or wires or what. Sometimes it will take a few passes to get it straight enough.

[Matt Meiser]

Armorall is an invitation for a future finishing disaster!

From Wikipedia:

ArmorAll typically contains water, PDMS, diethylene glycol, glycerin, and various other chemical compounds.

And:

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds that are commonly referred to as silicones.[

[Neil Brooks]

If I got really bored, and were facing this issue ... I MIGHT consider hanging the tool from the plug end of the cord .... very gently ... and leaving it there for a few days.

The weight would be "static" (vs. dynamic), and the cord would almost certainly be none the worse for wear. It SHOULD take the kinks out, too.

Coiling those cords loosely tends NOT to put the set in them, but ... particularly with legacy tools ... sometimes you gets what you gets.

[Phil Thien]

I'm w/ Neil, I'd hang the tool by the cord. But sometimes there is too much damage to undo.

[Neil Brooks]

I'm w/ Neil, I'd hang the tool by the cord. But sometimes there is too much damage to undo.

In which case, you leave it hanging there ... as a reminder to OTHER powered hand tools ... of the fate that awaits them should THEIR cords get kinked

[Ed Edwards]

Thank you all for the responses, I don't think I'll cut it 10" short. I don't like the thought of the plug banging into a finished surface. Neil, as long as this cord is I'll have to throw it over a tree branch and let it hang. I do like your second response maybe the other ones will take heed!
Eric, I'm going to try your idea, really makes sense. And yes, I too like the large coils in wire as well as with rope.
Again thanks, Ed

[Kevin Presutti]

If the cord has a vinyl jacket it will most likely always be stiff. If you want a nice pliable cord with no "memory" go to the borg and get SOJ cord and replace the original. You can leave it in minus 30 temps and will still be nice and soft.