Belt Sander Upgrades

[dafixer]

Can someone tell what upgrades to the belt sander have been made since 1988?
The model # back then was 505642. Current belt sanders are model #555355.

Thanks for any help.

Frank Albert

[DLB]

The two functional upgrades that come to my mind are an improved dust collection chute, which uses a 2-1/2" DC fitting as opposed to the old one with 1-1/4", and elimination of crowning on the drive drum which is meant to improve belt tracking. Shopsmith found that having only one drum crowned resulted in better tracking. Of these, the dust collection is available as an upgrade and the drive drum is available as a replacement part. Poor man's drive drum: I turned my drive drum to eliminate the crown, using mostly coarse sandpaper.

- David

[dafixer]

Okay Dave. Thanks alot!

Frank

[chapmanruss]

If your Belt Sander has the old 1-1/2" Dust Chute I do recommend upgrading it to the larger 2-1/2" Dust Chute. I did that with my 1977 Belt Sander and the collection of dust was greatly improved. Another problem I had with the 1-1/2" Chute is the angle and "grinding" off the end of the vac hose.

The Belt Sander Dust Chute Upgrade is SKU 300002 Price $27.95