Shopsmith Forums

dgreen810 wrote:jsburger

John I didn't install the carriage nor the main table. Didn't have enough
room on the way tubes. I don't think I can use the lower saw guard. Will need to check it out. My thoughts on dust control for the disc sander is push it out on the driveway. Unfortunately that's hard to do if its in the basement.

Don G

You don't need the carriage or table for the lower saw guard. It attaches to the quill. The only thing with the MK VII table is the drop down vertical side. That will not let you get the disk up to the table. If you turn the table 180° it should work.

another "Friggijng problem. I got this belt sander with a Mark VII I bought about a year or so ago and it has been setting on a self ever since. I just got to checking it out and was going to put a new ceramic belt on. For the life of me I can't get the tension released on the old belt. I am depressing the little latch and attempting to turn it counter clockwise per the manual, but it will not turn to release the tension. I guess my hand isn't big enough or strong enough Somebody give me asuggestion. I squirted WD 40 Silicone in the mechanism to try to loosen it up but the idler roller will not budge.

Don G

That does not sound familiar.

When the belt is under tension, the little latch should be 'in'(outer surface flush with the rest of the knob).

When turned in the direction of the 'arrow' the latch should pop out when rotated. Stop at that point and the belt should be slack.(you do NOT push in on the latch while turning)

Did I understand the idler pulley will not rotate with the belt?

JPG

After further examination the following. The latch is "Out" indicating the belt is not under tension. After working a while, I was able to slip the belt off and slip the new belt on. Thus, I was incorrect saying the belt was under tension when in fact it apparently was just the opposite. The reason I assumed this was because I was unable to turn the knob in either direction and still can't. This leads me to believe there is something wrong inside the roller maybe? According to the manual, the knob should turn clockwise to increase the tension. I took a 3/8" punch and gently tapped the roller mounts on both sides and the belt loosened indicating the tension mechanism is fouled up or maybe the spring is broke. After installing the new belt, I took a pair of channel locks and was able to turn the knob in a clockwise direction about a 1/4 turn which tightened the belt. I have the band saw on now so can't install the belt sander to run it under power.

Your question, the idler roller does turn with the belt.

Don G

I suggest you remove the belt, relieve the tension(push in the latch and slowly allow the internal spring to unwind). The latch should 'catch' once each revolution of the knob.

With the tension relieved, make sure the entire idler assembly will slide in/out freely(that is what I think you are missing due to it being crudded up).

Once that is done, I think it will operate normally. Setting the tension is sorta counter intuitive.

update: I think I have pretty well completed what I intended to accomplish today which was a band saw sanding station. I could also swap out the band saw with the jointer. I need to work on the shelf a little but other than that, pretty much done!

Don G

Band saw, jig saw, scroll saw - all would be usable.

Oh and a strip sander, air compressor - just about any thing else(doubt a planer would work).

dgreen810 wrote:...band saw with the belt sander combined with the disc sander.

Does the bandsaw and belt sander fit onto the 25 5/8" top tube length with factory couplers? I've got it mocked up and it looks a little tight or not fitting by ~1/2". Looking at your picture confirms my concern that it's tight.