belt sander

woodbutcher

Well-known Member
I was given a 4" Craftsman Industrial belt sander, so I gave my fairly new 3" belt sander to my son. This 4" sander is a heavy rascal, but I don't use one much. Now that I need it, I'm having a hard time fitting a new belt onto it. The only adjustments I can find are the knurled knob on the right side and a spring lever which seats into a square hole between the rollers. The lever looks like it should allow the rollers to move closer together, but I'm not getting any movement. Has anyone had experience with this old model?
Butch
 
Push the front roller down on a hard surface. It will move enough to install a new belt, the use the lever to unlock and allow the roller to move ahead.
 
What Mark said. 20-second video below showing the method. Had the same problem with a friend's who bought it to me to replace the belt and found this video then.
belt replacement
 

I had a similar problem with a Black and Decker Industrial model made in the '50's .
Dust caused the trouble like Mike suggested, but in this case it had hardened almost like concrete inside the adjustment grooves and limited the range of the spring loaded tension bracket .
Try looking carefully at the ends of the adjustment travel and picking at them with a sharp probe .
 
Somewhere it has a lever which moves the front roller in and out. It's possible it needs cleaning and lubrication but the front roller going in is what allows you to put the belt on. Then when it goes out the tension on it is what puts pressure on the belt so the rear rubber roller can get some traction.
 
Thanks for all the replies and the link to the video. It must have sawdust inside the slide mechanism. The lever on the side probably has more movement than I've been able to get from it.
Butch
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top