Fixing Belt Sander

[FarmerPete]

When my grandpa died, I inherited a bunch of tools from him. One of the things I got was a Craftsman disc/belt sander, Model 351215420. It's probably from the mid to late 90's. Before I took possession of it, it was broken by the movers. The belt housing has a pretty significant crack in the metal. It throws the belt portion out of whack and causes the belt to rub on the metal at the top of the housing. This causes a ton of sparking. Not good. I believe that I can get the replacement part for ~$35 and have a fully functional tool again.

I'm just curious about two things. First, does anyone think that someone with no experience, a desire to learn, and little to lose could weld this crack with a cheap welder? (<$200 new or from CL). Second, does anyone know how the hell to get the housing off? To get it off, you'd have to remove the belt drive cylinder. I can't get the nut off the dang thing, since any attempt to turn the nut causes the entire assembly to move. There's got to be a way to get this thing apart. Thoughts?

The part I need to replace is #39 on this page.

 

[rsanter]

What's it made of?
Steel, yes you can
Aluminum, not for a novice

For $35 buy a new piece or buy another one of the sanders for parts

I bought mine in great shape for $50 , but that was a good deal on CL

Bob

 

[rancherbill]

The material is probably not weldable.

Turn your belt inside out and use it to hold onto wheel. It should be able to prevent turning. If it was tough, I'd use my cordless impact driver to loosen it, I know that would work with the reversed belt.

 

[Midman914]

I have a welder so that would be my first route, but before I had a welder, I would have went to a metal supplier or even Lowes and bought a piece of metal angle stock. Drill some holes and bolt it up(Garage door hangars have holes pressed into them already). Essentially you are making a stiffener. You could also secure the crack with some JB Weld in conjunction with the stiffener. Maybe not the prettiest repair, but should get you back to sanding without having to weld. Just a side note, a lot of welding shops have a base rate. The last one I used in Sacramento had a base rate of $40, but I bet if you ask around a little you can probably find somebody that will do that for some beer. Oh, by the way, where are you. Maybe somebody here can hook you up. Good luck. Hope you get it back up and operational soon.

 

[pepi]

A quick list,

Start with
Check the back of the disc see if there is a way to put a wrench on a nut. Hang a wrench off that and turn until it stops or jams, then go after the nut # 43
43
41 May need a puller, likely is keyed
9 & 44
loosen 46 remove housing and dissemble as needed

64
62
58

the rest will be common sense

Too build reverse order, remember no left over parts all are needed.

 

[zkling]

Woa, sweet. I think I have the same machine. Can you post a pic of the entire machine? Is it a 2x42" belt and 6" disk machine?

As for the crack IIRC that is a aluminum? Can it be welded? Sure, will it be worth it compared to purchasing a new part for ~$35 shipped? Probably not. Where are you located?

 

[Major Ramifications]

For $35, get the new part. The alignment is somewhat critical.
I'd also like to see a picture of the entire machine.

 

[cnc-me]

Have a TIG welder setting in the shop, but for $35 I would not even try to weld that.

 

[FarmerPete]

It's in pieces right now, but I'll take a picture once it's back together. I was able to get the part off after I took apart the disc sander assembly and saw I could latch on to it with a pair of pliers. I'll order the part and get it put back together probably next week.

 

[FarmerPete]

Part ordered. With shipping, $37.36. It'll take longer to get here than expected, but I'm not in a hurry.

It's a little late, but I live in Lansing MI.

 

[zkling]

Have a TIG welder setting in the shop, but for $35 I would not even try to weld that.

Shoot, I would. Have that thing fixed up in < 10min flat. But unless the OP owns a tig and has the experience to properly do a repair I doubt it would be worth it to get it repaired. Heck I'd do it for free for him, but then there is shipping. ~$12 each way for that somewhat large item --> $24 + gas + tape + time = IMHO not worth it unless you have a machine sitting in your own shop.

 

[FarmerPete]

******. After trying from a few different vendors, looks like the part may be no longer available. Jerks. Now, if only I could find a cheap welder on CL

 

[zkling]

******. After trying from a few different vendors, looks like the part may be no longer available. Jerks. Now, if only I could find a cheap welder on CL

Dang, that blows. Out of curosity where is your machine made? Can you take an overall pic of the machine? I'm pretty sure I have the more modern equivalent of that setup. Or at least the belt assembly looks very similar.

Without a welder I would try bolting a piece of thick flat stock to it in multiple places to increase rigidity given up by the crack. Is it only cracked in one place? What about the back piece, is it cracked at all? Do you know anyone locally that owns a tig welder and knows how to use it on aluminum?

If you can't find anyone local I could do it for you, just pay shipping to and fro. Serious, if you want just shoot me a PM.

 

[FarmerPete]

Sears is trying other suppliers for the part. Doesn't look good. I have it disassembled right now, since I was expecting the part weeks ago. I can look at taking a pic or two later.

 

[Hammer1963]

Have you considered scabbing a plate on the outside that would support the cracked panel? I have the same sander and after looking at mine, there is plenty of area to mount such a piece. I would use 1/8" aluminum of steel plate as either will provide ample strength. You should also have adequate area to also fab a plate for the inside area as well.

Once you have made the overlays, use hex or torx drive flat head screws and a metal bonding agent between the broken casting and the overlay repair plates. I have used this approach many times when other methods are not feasible. This is a strong, economical high strength fix

 

[FarmerPete]

Here's the closest I have to an assembled machine. Obviously, it's very unassembled.

 

[zkling]

Interesting, where was yours made?

 

[FarmerPete]

Looking at the full res picture, I believe it's Taiwan.