Ever clean your ROS

[newood2]

Well, today I had a sanding job to do,took out my PC333 ROS, looked at it and decided a cleaning is necessary. Got a screwdriver with a star bit and took it apart(except the motor section). Wow! I was surprise to find so much caked-up saw dust inside. A small flat screwdriver for scraper, an old tooth brush and shopvac was all I need to get it breathing again.
Shame on me.
Just a reminder to take of our tools and keep them happy as they keep us happy.

Howie

[Pappy]

Rarely take the pad off my PC332 except to switch to a H&L pad for polishing pads. I blow it out throughly when I do and normally blow it out as best I can nearly everytime I put it away.

[Tom Slick]

quite a bit of stuff builds up in a sander. it's almost surprising they stay running.

[eezlock]

ever clean your ros

Yep, sure do....every time I'm through using it...it gets a good cleaning before
storing it away for the next time. Don't like and never did like using dirty tools to start a new job, old habits die hard I guess! eezlock

[SHADOWFOX]

My ROS is connected to a shop vac so I just normally use compress air to take some dust off of the exterior surface of the ROS. I don't think I've ever taken the darn thing apart to clean it. Im afraid I might not be able to put it properly back together

[JeffG78]

I took my DeWalt DW421 ROS apart about a month ago and gave it a good cleaning. When I put it back together, I gave the three pad screws what I thought was the proper torque, but yesterday while I was sanding my current project, the sander's tone suddenly changed. I shut it off and found that the pad was loose. I pulled the paper and removed the three screws only to find that the aluminum retainer holes were stripped and the H&L pad was ruined. I don't know if the screws were under tightened, overtightened, or if the pad just gave out, but my trusty ROS is now out of commission. I can order the parts from DeWalt for about $26, but I'm not sure if it's worth putting money into a five year old sander. Also, I'm still in the middle of my project, so I don't really want to wait weeks for the parts to arrive. I called the local service center, but they didn't have anything in stock. I might be in the market for a new ROS now.

The moral of this story is that if you plan on taking your ROS apart to clean it, be sure to properly tighten all the fasteners and recheck them after a bit of use. Mine went over a month after my cleaning before it vibrated itself to death. I still don't think it was anything I did wrong, but I will never know. The pad design is not very robust and I can see where the screws could pull through the rubber pad over time.

[vanguard]

Can you redrill and tap the screw holes? With an aluminum pad even a cheap tap should work.

[footprintsinconc]

use compressed air to blow it out after every use. wait a minute, i mean before it goes into the box, which would could mean more than one use .

[JeffG78]

Can you redrill and tap the screw holes? With an aluminum pad even a cheap tap should work.

I went to HD today and found a replacement H&L sanding pad. The old pad's holes had ovalled. The stripped part is the aluminum retainer that is connected to the shaft. I bought larger machine screws and will attempt to drill and tap the the stripped part. It was a poor design that only has a few threads in a blind hole with very little extra material to make the hole much larger in diameter. I think I can save it, but if not, I'll order a new retainer for $4 plus $8 shipping

[Pappy]

How much was the new pad? I am running low on PSA paper and want to convert my PC332 to H&L.

[JeffG78]

How much was the new pad? I am running low on PSA paper and want to convert my PC332 to H&L.

The DeWalt H&L pad was $18 at HD.

[mater]

I use an air hose to clean mine after using it. I don't take it apart to clean it.

[supper shaun]

My ROS is connected to a shop vac so I just normally use compress air to take some dust off of the exterior surface of the ROS. I don't think I've ever taken the darn thing apart to clean it. Im afraid I might not be able to put it properly back together

Hey - I've been meaning to ask about this for a while. How do you connect the shop vac and the ROS? I have the standard ridgid with a 2 1/2" exhaust and the P&C ROS 343VSK.

I bought this http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...cStoreNum=8125 but I couldn't get it to work. Did I have the right attachment and am just stupid? I would love any suggestions.

Thanks
Shaun

[Bruce Cohen]

Shaun,

I think this is just what the doctor ordered



Its from Amazon, here's the UR:

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-39332-Vacuum-1-Inch-Ports/dp/B0000222WV/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1197645705&sr=1-84

[supper shaun]

Thanks Bruce!!