Shopsmith Forums

I purchased a used 6" belt sander a while back and finally got around to getting it ready for use. I followed all of the setup instructions in the manual and it seems to run well. I have two questions about it though...

1. When locked (and tightened) in the upright position, it has quite a bit of movement I can't seem to eliminate. Is this normal? See this video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1sjfkfs8yo3x7 ... t.mp4?dl=0

2. When turning off the powerhead, it comes to a stop fairly quickly, much more so than other SPTs. The two drums that the belt rides on move freely with no belt installed. Is that also typical?

Thanks,
Bill

Mine also has some of that fore and aft movement, but it doesn't affect the usability of the unit. I don't know if that is normal or not.

The belt sander spins down fast due to the friction of the belt and rollers. That is why you always run it on low speeds. Low is better for the belts and also less load for the Shopsmith motor.

Mine does it too.

mountainbreeze wrote:I purchased a used 6" belt sander a while back and finally got around to getting it ready for use. I followed all of the setup instructions in the manual and it seems to run well. I have two questions about it though...

1. When locked (and tightened) in the upright position, it has quite a bit of movement I can't seem to eliminate. Is this normal? See this video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1sjfkfs8yo3x7 ... t.mp4?dl=0

2. When turning off the powerhead, it comes to a stop fairly quickly, much more so than other SPTs. The two drums that the belt rides on move freely with no belt installed. Is that also typical?

Thanks,
Bill

There is an additional bolt (#78 in the exploded diagram) that can be used to hold it firmly in position.

The belt sander doesn't have to do that.

There are two holes shown here that can be used to fix this.
One is used when vertical to some tilt, the other is for the other position. You need to add a 3/8" bolt and a couple of washers and a wing nut or other way to tighten it.
It goes like this:
Yes it does slow down quickly.

Ed

Thanks all y'all. I think adding the bolt is a good idea that also addresses the issue of shaft alignment. With the amount of movement i was experiencing there was quite a bit of variation in the shaft alignment.

Mine came from the factory with both bolts.

Likewise, my 1983 model came from the factory with 2 bolts installed. That eliminates side to side wobble, but I still have a bit of fore and aft movement unless I overtighten the two bolts, and that seems like the wrong thing to do.