Sorby Sandmaster problem

[BMac]

Hi,

Got a problem with my Sorby Sandmaster. Whenever I use the Sandmaster for more than a few seconds it seizes up and won't spin properly. I've oiled the bearings, cleaned the shaft and run the lathe as slow as it will go but the problem persists and, as soon as the shaft gets any increase in temperature, the tool stops working. I've tried running the lathe at full speed to see if that will spin the pad but I had no joy.

Is this a problem with the tool or am I doing something daft? For the few seconds the tool works it works very well but for all the time it works it isn't worth lifting.

Brendan

 

[TobyB]

Has the shaft got badly worn? I had one where it ran hot and the shaft got very worn and the surface wasn't smooth but irregular - I replaced the pad and all was well again.

 

[Russell]

They do wear quite a bit I am on my 3rd head for it in 5 years or since they came out any way

 

[CHJ]

.....Is this a problem with the tool or am I doing something daft? For the few seconds the tool works it works very well but for all the time it works it isn't worth lifting.

Brendan

It's a problem with all these tools that use a plain unshielded bearing, abrasive grit just chews up the bearing shaft interface.

The Sealed Ball Bearing types are much better and need less friction to drive.

See My earlier problems with the plain bearing kit way back in 2005

Grip-A-Disk was about the only bearing unit readily available at the time but others are now appearing on the shelves.

 

[jpt]

My advice on this sander and others like it is chuck them in a cupboard and buy a good one, they must be one of the worst designed pieces of equipment for woodturners ever. This is just my opinion.

I struggled for years with these type of self propelled sanders with them seizing up and other problems. I have just dug them out of the cupboard for the first time in 2 years and they are virtually seized solid.



Because they don't have proper bearings in them you have to keep oiling them to keep them working. This causes problems because when you use them the oil sprays out and marks the wood so for most of the time I was using them with a piece of paper towel wrapped around the head.

Like this.


About 2 years ago I was at a demo by Phil Irons and he was using a Vicmark self propelled sander which has 2 sealed bearings in it, after having a good look at it I brought one from him and have used it since without any problems and I am very happy with it.



It come with both 2" & 3" pads and is excellent, it is expensive, currently £39 but well worth the money. I have used it on over 200 bowls and other items and the only problem was the pad broke due to me doing something silly off the lathe.

Hegner now sell a new sander which I brought at the Spalding show and have used it quite a lot so far and it seems to be as good as the Vicmark one. I find it more comftable to hold and use than the Vicmark one.



It comes as a complete kit in 2" or 3" sizes with sanding pads at £35 or £44 respectively. Or you can buy it in parts the head and metal arms at £18.50, the handle at £3.20, or make your own. It will of course take Hegners arbours but it will also take any other make that has a shaft of 6mm, they just push in and can be pulled out when you want to change it.

Sorry for the rant but these sanders were the bane of my life until I found the Vicmark one.

I have no affiliation other than as a customer, usually a satisfied one, with any of the companies.

john

 

[wizer]

can I ask why you'd use the hand propelled over powered ? Just wondering.

 

[jpt]

HI Tom

I use hand, powered or self propelled sanding for different items.

Power sanding is very good and can be very quick, however, I find it can also be very aggressive unless you are very careful. I usually use it for the first grit only.

Self propelled sanding I use most of the time and find it very controllable and efficient and not as agressive as power sanding.

Hand sanding I use for inticate areas and for all spindle work. I very rarely use hand sanding on bowls as I suffer from arthritis and find that hand sanding bowls causes me a lot of pain.

Also I find that using the self propelled sanders puts less sanding marks into the piece compared to hand sanding, therefore making the sanding of an item easier.

john

 

[CHJ]

I have not resorted to using drill mounted power sanding for some considerable time, perhaps a year or more, in fact during a sort out of one of my cupboards last week I came ascross the cheap hand drill that I used but had forgotten about.

I find that the friction drive is more than aggressive enough, if not then there is need to sort out my tool or wood treatment work.

 

[BMac]

Thank you guys,

It is good to get my suspicions confirmed. I only used the Sandmaster a couple of times but always felt the bearings were in the wrong place and weren't actually contributing much to the operation of the tool.

So, I'm going in John's direction and buying one of the type he recommended because I am having problems with my hands when sanding the inside of bowls and this type of sander seems to be the solution.

Again, thank you,

Brendan

 

[DaveL]

Being a skinflint I have just bought the Axminster version of this.

I have been and retrieved it from the shop and it does appear to have a shielded bearing in the handle, so is this the sort that fail quickly?
Go on confirm I have wasted my money, well it was on special offer. :roll:

 

[CHJ]

Is it a plain bronze bush or shielded ball bearings Dave, it looks to me to be a Sorby look-alike with plain bush bearing.

 

[DaveL]

Chas,

I have taken the cir clip off the shaft to get a better look and in very small writing I think is says 686Z, looking at it does have shield in the outside face. The bearing is on the pad side of the head and the shaft just pokes though a plain hole in the back, two cir clips locate it in place.

 

[jpt]

Hi Dave

if you look at the first picture in my post above the bottom one came from Axminster. It is slightlly better than the Sorby one because it does have the one bearing but the problems come with the top which is just a meatal sleeve.

Eventually this will wear and also the shaft of the arbour will wear and cause problems.

How long it will last befaore causing problems depends on how often you use it. On average I use mine on 2 items a day so it wears very quickly for me. Obviouslly the less you use it the longer it will last.

john

 

[Richard Findley]

I had one like Dave's Axminster. It wored ok for a good while but packed up eventually. After this I moved on to power sanding and never looked back. As Chas says, it can be rather agressive but with practice you learn to control it, like any other tool, and I believe the benifits of power sanding outway the faff of using the self propelled sanders any day!

Cheers,

Richard

 

[CHJ]

Hopefully you will be OK with that 6mm bore bearing Dave, at least it's facing the worst of the debris, pity the back is not sealed.

 

[dickm]

Being even more of a cheapskate than the rest, I got a plain pad with 6mm shank intended for drill mounting and fitted it to a couple of sealed ballraces (for some unknown reason, I have a stock of a dozen or so) in a wooden handle. Has worked fine for several years.......