Need help with Ridgid Oscillating Sander

[Jerry Bruette]

Not a good week, first the combo square and now the sander. Somehow I've managed to let the belt run too low and ground off the posts for leveling the throat plate for the spindle sander.

Am I the only person who's done this? What's the fix? As you can see all six are ground off.

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[Richard Coers]

Devcon metallic epoxy to build it up and shape it by hand.

[Doug Garson]

Can't think of a better solution than Richard's but no you're not the only one. Just checked and there are signs that my belt has also started to wear away the posts, I'll have to pay more attention to belt tracking to make sure I don't end up where you are. Make sure you repost back on how the solution worked, there may be a few of us that need to make the same repair.

[Jerry Bruette]

Might be a while before I try a fix. The sander is in the garage and it's only in the 40's for high temps.

[George Yetka]

Im not sure of the odor but could you bring it inside?

[Jerry Bruette]

Im not sure of the odor but could you bring it inside?

Could, but I'd have to take it off the fliptop. I'm not in that big of a hurry. I'd like to think about this for a while and see if there might be something more durable/permanent.

[Paul F Franklin]

I'd be tempted to epoxy a few nuts to the sides of the opening with the hole facing up. Then you could thread in some flat head screws and have the ability to level the insert by adjusting the screws. If you use nylon lock nuts the screws won't move once they are set.

[Doug Garson]

I'd be tempted to epoxy a few nuts to the sides of the opening with the hole facing up. Then you could thread in some flat head screws and have the ability to level the insert by adjusting the screws. If you use nylon lock nuts the screws won't move once they are set.

The insert plate has six set screws that you can adjust from above to level it so all you need is something for the screws to push against.

[Rick Potter]

I would simply get a rod of 3/8" aluminum, cut pieces to the length of the original posts, and JB weld them next to the originals.

[Brad Schmid]

Alum Bond H-450 ought to do it.
I just bought some myself for a small repair of an aluminum wheel in a non-critical/no pressure area. I'd give you the rest to try if you were closer to me...

[Jerry Bruette]

I've thought of a fix that would eliminate the throat plate altogether.

A piece of 1/4 inch thick aluminum plate with a hole bored in it for the spindle and a counterbore for the different size spindle rings. Four flat head screws into the existing table to hold it on and the problem is solved. Just remove the plate when I want to use the belt sander. The only thing I lose is 1/4 inch of the spindle length.

Stopped by a friends shop earlier today to see if he could machine the plate for me, but alas he doesn't have a vertical head on his milling machine. I'll figure another way until I can get a plate machined.