Picked this Ryobi SL-250 super surfacer for $100 a few months back. Motor and gear reduction seem to be in good shape. It came with 3 blade/chip breaker combos which was nice.
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Had a bunch of rust so I took it apart, removed most if the rust with citric acid, and polished up the columns on my MIDI lathe.
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Now the $64,000 question - what are the options for a new drive belt? This one is pretty hard and I remember Mark mentioning a new belt was around $1K. Are there any options available for these smaller units? Does Marunaka make a appropriate sized version? Looks like www.rivarenzo.it might have some replacement options.
I don't think there is any effective reconditioning that can be done. Another option might be some kind of rubber coating but that wouldn't solve the hardened belt problem. Any suggestions would be helpful.