I’ve go a couple of PC 333 random orbit sanders, and the latest seems to be ill. When it turn it on it behaves very much like me first thing in the morning…starts very slow and then works up to speed. Once in action it stays in action for the day. This morning, all it would do is quiver, groan, and never got going. (Had to break out one of my older ones whose base rotates quite freely despite all sorts of dramatic treatments.)
I’ve blown it out with lots of compressed air, disassembled the lower unit to make sure nothing is clogging it up, but to no avail. Are my bearings shot? Need new brushes? It still looks new so I hate to toss it without a little effort at resucitation.
Ideas?
Replies
I had EXACTLY the same problem with one of mine and the problem turned out to be bearings that had overtime gotten gunked up and stuck. Took apart and replaced and works like a champ again. I dug out an older modle that did the same thing to me a couple of years back in the middle of a project (so I ran out to get a new one and stuck it in the back of a cabinet)replaced it's bearings and now I have two like new.
Good luck, Brian
I love (live) the line about "starting up like me in the morning"
Edited 9/30/2004 8:45 am ET by BrianF
Thank you Brian. I'm relieved. The question becomes, where do I get new bearings? Lofton
Me, again, Brian.
Since I didn't feel like jumping right in to running 22 cabinet doors through the drum sander, I disassembled ("tore apart?") my sander and found the middle bearing was indeed virtually frozen up.
The culprit, I believe, is the extremely fine dust generated from sanding out sprayed lacquer finish on cabinets using 320 grit paper.
I removed the offending bearing, flooded it with bearing lubricant, and then mounted it in a way I could spin it in my hand drill while applying more lubricant to flush it out. This worked beautifully. Lots of yucky black stuff (that's a technical term) flowed out. I let the bearing dry out and applied a generous blast of Boeshied lubricant.
Upon reassembly, the sander works fine.
I don't know how long this fix will last, but it seems having a few new bearings on hand is advised. Can you (or someone else) tell me where you've gotten good bearings for the PC 333? Thanks again for your help.
Sorry I didn't get back sooner. I've been busy taking advantage of the last of the good weather here in Wisconsin to get in some salmon trolling. I went to the woodworking store here and they had some in stock. I guess that it is a pretty common occurance with them and the repair guy sees alot of them. He said to try to remember to blow it out more often, but like you said the real fine dust gets in there. Be carefull with the lube it can attract and hold the dust and cause it to sieze again. Good luck with it.
had the same problem with my pc sander. freed up the one bearing anly to have another start to sieze. got frustrated and went to a local bearing shop. the man there said that the only good that the steel slinger on the bearing was good for was to keep rocks out. sold me 3 new sealed bearings for approx $22.00 canadian and away we went. that was a year ago and still ticking. seemed a little slow at first I can only guess because of seals, but ok now. look in your phone book for one near you. seemed to be a common bearing.
Thanks, All. Looks like new bearings are in order. My fix was probably temporary at best.
Off to Acme Bearing Emporium!
"Acme Bearing Emporium" -- is that a real place?! :-))forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Of course. I'm in Philly, remember? It's right next to the Ace Arbor Palace.
I'll keep that in mind when one of them starts to tank again. Thanks for the info!
Being from Seattle, my first suggest is a Starbuck's Venti (triple-shot) mocha, LOL, but sounds like the bearings idea is a better one.
What's the closes city to you? In the Seattle phone book, there are 10 different companies listed under "bearings" in the yellow pages.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Yo, FG. I hail from Philadelphia. Not originally, but that's another story.
I seem to recall seeing a thread where someone said they'd found a better source for bearings than PC. Aside from that, I'm not sure what I'd tell the person at the Acme Bearing Emporium in terms of specifications, other than the bearing I need is round and "spinny".
Obviously, I'm a very lazy person.
Philadelphia -- welllll, that's a big enough city, eh? Too funny, lazy person. You could get the spec from the parts list I s'pose. Sorry to be so resourceful, it's just part of my nature, LOL!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
close inspection of the bearing will show manufacturer and designation typically on the inner ring side. If it is a standard industrial bearing you'll be able to get a replacement bearing either open, shielded or sealed all with the same dimensions from all major bearing suppliers. The sealed version is best for woodworking tools.
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