Shopsmith Forums

I purchased a used belt sander a year ago. I used it for several hours without issue with the belt it came with. I also purchased some non shopsmith belts and used a 120 grit for probably 2 hours. Now I have a problem. When i put a belt on and start the machine the tension knob pops and the belt loses all tension. I have tried to redo the tension per the instructions. I can turn it 4 turns counter clockwise and it builds tension. I cannot turn it a 5th time so I believe the spring is working. May need a good lube but the concern i have when I remove the belt the idler drum slides all over the place. I this what is causing my belt to lose tension?

I have read the threads and I still cannot get this to work. Would greatly appreciate it if someone could make a video and post that shows how to put a belt on and reset the tension. With this being used I have no way of knowing if it damaged and needs repair. Would greatly appreciate it if anyone could help. I did like using this when it worked!

What do you mean by slides all over the place? With the tension removed, it is xsorta loose. Are you sure you are tensioning it correctly? The instructions are a bit vague and the procedure is counter intuitive.

I have never owned or used a Shopsmith Belt Sander, but did find this Sawdust Session video which may help you.
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... Tuneup.htm

The entire drum moves when no belt is on can slide forward and back. I believe this is normal. So what I did was try and clean the idler drum. It has old grease in it. I did not take it down to pulling the shaft out in fear I would damage the spring. I used some PB BLASTER brand White Lithium grease spray to lube it up. I would like to actually pull the shaft out of the idler drum and clean it out good but I will wait for some direction on how to do that. I have watched the tuneup video but I find it confusing....He says not to remove that end and then it essentially falls apart and he end up putting it back together after he said it needed to be sent into SS for repair. So, really not certain what to do. I found another post where someone said they pull there shaft out all the time to clean it but really did not explain how that is done. Are they removing the roll pin form the tensioner side? I could never get the bushing over the end of the shaft.


I assembled it and I was still having issues with the entire drum wobbling and popping after I set the tension. I was able to move it by hand and the tension stayed but as soon as I turned on the headstock is would pop. I ended up adjusting the tracking screw so that it held the drum in place with a little play and that followed by re-tensioning as directed it seems to work now.

All the post and videos say the Screw on the opposite side of the tracking adjustment is factory set. I have read though with non SS belts this may need to be adjusted. I believe these are non SS belts. So that may be the issue. It is working again for now...At least I learned how to take it apart needs a bad paint job!