delta b.o.s.s. sander problems

[jay st clair]

Just got a used delta boss sander but it has a couple of problems with it so was hoping for some good advice. The bolt that holds the spindle backing and sandpaper won,t tighten down enough to keep the sandpaper from spinning on the backing,also which way loosens the bolt. I thought I would try a different approach and ask questions first before I broke it. Thanks Jay!

[Sean Nagle]

Just got a used delta boss sander but it has a couple of problems with it so was hoping for some good advice. The bolt that holds the spindle backing and sandpaper won,t tighten down enough to keep the sandpaper from spinning on the backing,also which way loosens the bolt. I thought I would try a different approach and ask questions first before I broke it. Thanks Jay!

Did you stick one of the big fender washers under the bolt? I believe the bolt tightens counter-clockwise.

[Doug Shepard]

Sean may be onto somethiing. If you're not using the large washer on top of the spindle/sleeve it may be that the bolt bottoms out before you can get it tight. I'd also recommend picking another one up to put at the base of the spindle. There's some knurling at the base of the spindle that will chew up the hole on the sleeve. The extra washer will keep the sleeve off that knurled portion. I'm also pretty sure the bolt is LH thread too.
That said, I dont know that the making the bolt tighter does anything to the rubber sleeve that would change the fit of the sanding sleeves. They're usually a bit of a chore getting off (with the rubber spindle adapters off the machine and no bolt tension) and almost equally tight getting onto the rubber. I'm wondering if you don't just have some old or 2nd rate sanding sleeves that are just running loose.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the (properly sized) washers are essential as they make the rubber spindles "bloom" out to grip the abrasive sleeves. Only the smallest one doesn't use a washer and the bolt has an accommodations welded on for that purpose.

[jay st clair]

Thanks for the replies! the guys that used this before didn't realize it should have some shims under sleeves they just tried to over tighten the bolt,and it has been used so long like this that the sleeve is loose on the bolt. Its a good thing they are professionals otherwise I would lose a little respect for them. Their advise was to throw it away even though we've already needed to use it on a small cabinet job. thanks again Jay