Shopsmith Forums

That is where the platen attaches.

Ed

cincinnati wrote:Look at this photo. What is the screw for just to the five o'clock position of the upper wheel.

I am not talking about the hole where you move one of the small wheels to. The one in question has a screw in it.

charlese wrote:Don't know what it is for! I see your machine is different than my newer model. My tracking wheel spring is located behind the wheel with a bent metal bracket to hold it in place. Your spring is below the tracking wheel.

Looks like there are more differences than plastic idler wheels.

Interesting about the spring. That is how the old one was in but it was broken. Maybe I have it installed wrong????
Any other owners care to comment on the spring placement? My wheel is very hard to push down with the new spring.

Mine looks just like yours except the spring in yours looks extra heavy...

Have you played with the tracking? With a platen in place you will want to try and get the sanding belt to center on the platen. While under power for just a few seconds you would adjust the tracking knob clockwise to bring the belt from far left which it looks like it is per the photo's you have posted.

Ed

cincinnati wrote:Interesting about the spring. That is how the old one was in but it was broken. Maybe I have it installed wrong????
Any other owners care to comment on the spring placement? My wheel is very hard to push down with the new spring.

reible wrote:Mine looks just like yours except the spring in yours looks extra heavy...

Have you played with the tracking? With a platen in place you will want to try and get the sanding belt to center on the platen. While under power for just a few seconds you would adjust the tracking knob clockwise to bring the belt from far left which it looks like it is per the photo's you have posted.

Ed

The belt does track centered on the large wheels but not on the back small wheel as shown. I think because I do not have part 18 (belt guard) If that were mounted the wheel would be out a little more. I placed a washer behind the wheel and it is centered now.

The sping is a little heavy. I also purchased the next gage spring down available and it was not quite strong enough. It causes the wheel to bounce up and down just enough to vibrate and make things to shake.

My old/new, steel/plastic idler wheels statement was based on the online info that states it is accurate for pre 1993 only. That does not have bearings and metal wheels. The August 1993 manual that I have shows ball bearings and metal wheels.

The platens attach with two more screws under the table in addition to the upper one you questioned.

If the tension spring was broken, I do not know how it tracked at all! No wonder the cover rubbing!

The 'missing' guard would cause the rear idler to be out of position.

The bearings(red sealed ones) are probably not original.

Interesting positioning of the 'belt guard'. Mine(purchased used) is mounted forward of the idler and does not get in the way of threading the belt. I assume a previous owner moved it! The online view shows it as Ed pictured it(on the rear).

JPG40504 wrote:My old/new, steel/plastic idler wheels statement was based on the online info that states it is accurate for pre 1993 only. That does not have bearings and metal wheels. The August 1993 manual that I have shows ball bearings and metal wheels.

The platens attach with two more screws under the table in addition to the upper one you questioned.

If the tension spring was broken, I do not know how it tracked at all! No wonder the cover rubbing!

The 'missing' guard would cause the rear idler to be out of position.

The bearings(red sealed ones) are probably not original.

Interesting positioning of the 'belt guard'. Mine(purchased used) is mounted forward of the idler and does not get in the way of threading the belt. I assume a previous owner moved it! The online view shows it as Ed pictured it(on the rear).

Interesting about the bearings. Times like this is when we need Nick or someone inside Shopsmith that could tell us what was OEM for the time and what is a replacement. Not that it matters in the end.

cincinnati wrote:Interesting about the bearings. Times like this is when we need Nick or someone inside Shopsmith that could tell us what was OEM for the time and what is a replacement. Not that it matters in the end.

Tell Charlese it doesn't 'matter'. Maybe CA has a law against metal idler wheels!

JPG40504 wrote:Tell Charlese it doesn't 'matter'. Maybe CA has a law against metal idler wheels!

Maybe so! But now I wish I had bought mine prior to 1993!

I'll Repeat The correction to my erroneous post - The Tracking wheel spring on my unit is in the same place as on Cincinnati's unit.

I bought my strip sander at the end of 2006 and before a year was up (still in warranty), one of the plastic idler wheels melted. The book for my sander is labeled Rev A and dated 04/03. The parts breakdown shows the ball bearings for the idler wheels. However, there was an insert with a different epxloded view and parts list showing the plastic idler wheels and no bearings. When I talked to Shopsmith Customer Service, they told me that the bearings and aluminum wheels were the old style and the plastic wheels with bushings were new and that I could not order the old bearings.

I have since worn out two plastic idler wheels. There was another insert stating that the wheels need to be oiled every 10 hours. I have found with the last wheel that this is even insufficient.

Does anyone know where I can get the bearings and aluminum wheels?

This change to plastic wheels is uncharacteristic of Shopsmith quality and renders the strip sander very annoying to use if you have to keep taking the idlers out and oiling them after every few uses.

Thanks

Just an old post from 2009 I reread again. A lot of good info and thought I would bump back to the top again for anyone new to the forum.