Strip Sander wheel and bearing

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edma194
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Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

Anyone know how the Strip Sander wheel is attached to the water pump bearing shaft? It looks like a press fit, probably done with dissimilar temperatures. I assume I can put a heat gun on the wheel and rig up a puller to get it off.

I'm working on a sanding shorty and I'd really like the belt sander on the left side and the strip sander on the right. In a couple of ways it would help me reduce the length of this machine. But the Strip Sander only mounts on the right side for normal operation.

Some weeks back there was a thread that mentioned a replacement water pump bearing for the bandsaw. I thought that might be something useful to have around so I ordered one. Now, looking at the Strip Sander I see it uses a very similar water pump bearing as the bandsaw. The retaining clip for it is even called a Bandsaw Retainer Bearing in the parts list, it's the same way the water pump bearing is held in the bandsaw. And it fits snugly in the strip sander casting.

This new bearing has a longer shaft on both sides of the bearing. The existing one has a slightly longer shaft on the right side for the coupler and the shorter end on the left just fits through the main wheel. It looks like I could install the new bearing with its shorter shaft on the right with enough room for a coupler, and the longer shaft on the left so it would extend past the wheel bearing with plenty of room for a coupler, although the coupler on that side might not be completely outside of the case.

So, I'm going to give this a try as soon as I can verify that a new wheel and bearing assembly is available. If anyone has ever tried this please let me know.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
edma194
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

Here's a diagram of the two water pump bearings and how I would orient them. The original is on top, the new on the bottom. There will be plenty of room for a coupler on the right side of the shaft, the original was longer than needed. I have to check but I think the right side of the shaft on the bandsaws I have are of different lengths. They may have used bearings with different length shafts over time. Measurements are only accurate to about 1/8".
water pump bearings.jpg
water pump bearings.jpg (14.67 KiB) Viewed 1169 times
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
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jsburger
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by jsburger »

edma194 wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 1:31 pm Anyone know how the Strip Sander wheel is attached to the water pump bearing shaft? It looks like a press fit, probably done with dissimilar temperatures. I assume I can put a heat gun on the wheel and rig up a puller to get it off.

I'm working on a sanding shorty and I'd really like the belt sander on the left side and the strip sander on the right. In a couple of ways it would help me reduce the length of this machine. But the Strip Sander only mounts on the right side for normal operation.

Some weeks back there was a thread that mentioned a replacement water pump bearing for the bandsaw. I thought that might be something useful to have around so I ordered one. Now, looking at the Strip Sander I see it uses a very similar water pump bearing as the bandsaw. The retaining clip for it is even called a Bandsaw Retainer Bearing in the parts list, it's the same way the water pump bearing is held in the bandsaw. And it fits snugly in the strip sander casting.

This new bearing has a longer shaft on both sides of the bearing. The existing one has a slightly longer shaft on the right side for the coupler and the shorter end on the left just fits through the main wheel. It looks like I could install the new bearing with its shorter shaft on the right with enough room for a coupler, and the longer shaft on the left so it would extend past the wheel bearing with plenty of room for a coupler, although the coupler on that side might not be completely outside of the case.

So, I'm going to give this a try as soon as I can verify that a new wheel and bearing assembly is available. If anyone has ever tried this please let me know.
I assume you mean the left side. So you want a long shaft to protrude through the cover to run it on the right end of the SS. If the shaft protrudes through the cover how are you going to open the cover to change the belts? If the shaft does not protrude through the cover but comes close to it or slightly past you can put a hole in the cover for the power coupler and still open the cover. Is that the idea?
John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
edma194
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

jsburger wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 6:15 pm
I assume you mean the left side. So you want a long shaft to protrude through the cover to run it on the right end of the SS. If the shaft protrudes through the cover how are you going to open the cover to change the belts? If the shaft does not protrude through the cover but comes close to it or slightly past you can put a hole in the cover for the power coupler and still open the cover. Is that the idea?
Yes, it was the left side (Doh!). The shaft won't protrude very far through the cover, a little bit of an oversized hole should allow it open and close without a problem. If it sticks out far enough the hole can be shaped with just enough space to open and close and something to cover up the extra space when in use.

It all looks good at the moment, but that wheel has to come off and fit back on the new bearing shaft for it all to work.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
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jsburger
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by jsburger »

But, the belt sander can sit on the right side and attach either way. Seems like a simpler solution.
John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
DLB
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by DLB »

The exploded parts diagram shows the wheel, shaft, and bearing all as one assembly for $56.16. Not too surprising. These must be in production because the Strip Sander is in production. (Says the guy who recently waited about three months for the cover, so there's that.) It'd be nice to know if the new ones are water pump style before you put your old one at risk, experience suggests that the water pump bearings are relatively robust and always sealed. Could one use an old-style 'idler' shaft with bearing instead? I don't know the dimensions off hand, except that the headstock version has relatively long shafts on both sides. These are frequently available on ebay, but might come with extras. I also thought there was a source for new, but I don't find that where I thought it was and last I checked Jacob's was out.

My guess on how the wheel is put on the shaft is the same as yours. Maybe someone here knows for sure, but likely you are blazing the trail because those bearings are really good.

I presume you know this and have a good reason for the way you want to do it, but the 6" Belt Sander is provisioned to be mounted and driven on either end. Looks like JSB beat me to that one.

- David
edma194
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

The posts for the belt sander are on the right side of it, so it overhangs several inches to the left requiring the tubes to be longer. I'm trying to shorten this as much as I can so I can enclose it over in a corner and try to contain all that sawdust. I'm trying to reduce the length as much as possible to make it easier to move around to where it's useful as well. I'm thinking about the caster upgrades to help with that.

I have a 500 table on this, so with the headstock all the way to the left no coupler, a sanding disk mounted with a couple of inches of quill movement, and the table in horizontal position, this allows it to shorten by only 9 or 10 inches right now with strip sander on the left. Being able to switch sides with the belt and strip sander I could cut off an additional 4 inches. Also, it sounds like something fun to try. I may have a weird idea of what fun is though.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
edma194
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Posts: 1874
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2020 4:08 pm

Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

I have my Strip Sander completely disassembled now. It doesn't seem to be heavily used, it has the metal idler wheels, the bushings turn smoothly, but I have to soak the case and door and maybe run them through the dishwasher because this sander had occupants. Just a reminder to folks, leaving a dust collection port open on a machine is a big blinking VACANCY sign for rodents.

I want to throw out some thanks to JPG for these fantastic re-assembly instructions for the Strip Sander in particular, and all the other machines too. Thanks to everyone else who has provided so much technical info here and the benefits of their experience.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
edma194
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Posts: 1874
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

Tested my Harbor Freight 14 temperature heat gun to day by removing a pair of legs from an extension table bracket. Last time I did something like this I used a torch and it was messy. This worked really well, took only 4 or 5 minutes of heating on it's highest setting, 1160F, and I could start knocking a leg out of the bracket, and that bracket is fairly heavy. I could see the bracket start to separate from the steel tube as it heated, and it was clear the heaviest part of the bracket needed the most heat.

It shouldn't be difficult to remove the wheel from the water pump bearing shaft, but I have to make sure the heat won't wreck the tire. The rim and hub of the wheel are fairly heavy, while the body is fairly thin metal and has two holes in it already, so if I can keep the heat focused on the hub it shouldn't radiate to the rim easily. Maybe I can even wrap a wet rag around the tire. Since everything else is working out I'll give Shopsmith a call tomorrow about availability of replacement assembly, I want to give this a try and get it over with since I have the sander all apart.

There's a snap ring retaining the upper tracking wheel on a shaft. Man, that was hard to get off. It was wrecking the pins on my pliers, I finally managed to use a couple of little screw drivers to pop one side of the ring out of the slot and pull the whole thing out with pliers. Maybe I can get it back on, probably easier to use that one again because it's already stretched out than try to get a brand new one on there.
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
edma194
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Re: Strip Sander wheel and bearing

Post by edma194 »

Called Shopsmith this morning and they said they had 1 wheel and bearing assembly in stock. The very nice service person wasn't all that convinced the part was actually on the shelf but I wanted to strike while the iron was hot, or soon to be in this case, the aluminum was hot. If I in the end I had to wait for a replacement I figured I could live with it.

Turned out not to be a concern. I heated up the wheel and knocked the old bearing right out of it. I was going to try to work out some kind of puller or just get one but I just hammered it out with a big pin punch. I was worried about the tire. I wrapped wet paper towel around it initially, but couldn't find my big rubber bands so tied it down with some string. Very soon that was slipping off so I grabbed a small paint brush and painted the tire with water as I heated it. The water was steaming off the tire but it wasn't melting. When I could see the shaft separating from the hub of the wheel I knocked it out.

Once it was out I could see that the hole had been machined for about 1/4" in to a slightly wider diameter. That probably helped them get the bearing shaft aligned and pressed in, and it would help me too. So I put the new bearing in the freezer for a while, then began to heat the wheel, painting the tire with water as I went. And then found that the tire was hot and expanding and could now slip off the wheel. if I was smart enough to figure that out I could have started out doing that and instead of a heat gun I could just put the wheel in the oven. Since I was already mid-heat I just continued with the heat gun. When it looked plenty hot I took the new bearing and banged it into place. It went pretty easily. I had already worked the spacing between the wheel hub and the bearing side of the bearing itself and had a piece of steel of just the right thickness to use for gapping. I needed to hit it a little harder than was needed to remove the old one, but not so hard I worried about damaging anything. I slipped the tire back on while it was still pliant. It seems to be on tight enough.

As soon as it cooled I fit it in place in the sander casing. It has a tiny amount of play in the casting hole, I'll try a little aluminum foil shim to get it tight. The bearing shaft sticks out at least an inch on the right side, and on the left it will stick out from the door only about 1/2 inch, so the hole will have to be big enough for the end of the coupler to be partially inside the sander, and it will need a little extra notch for the door to swing free.

I still have to grind flats into both ends of the shaft and then re-assemble the whole sander and try it out.

Here's a couple of pictures of the new bearing and shaft installed in the wheel. The bearing is on the right side and fits in the casing, the longer shaft will stick through a hole in the door of the sander on the left.
new bearing 1.jpg
new bearing 1.jpg (44.27 KiB) Viewed 1044 times
new bearing 2.jpg
new bearing 2.jpg (63.83 KiB) Viewed 1044 times
Ed from Rhode Island

510 PowerPro Double Tilt:Greenie PowerPro Drill Press:500 Sanding Shorty w/Belt&Strip Sanders
Super Sawsmith 2000:Scroll Saw w/Stand:Joint-Matic:Power Station:Power Stand:Bandsaw:Joiner:Jigsaw
1961 Goldie:1960 Sawsmith RAS:10ER
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