• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.

Sander wheel dent

ShawnR

ShawnR

Ultra Member
Premium Member
A friend of mine has a 6" belt sander. I don't have any photos of it, These are the wheels. He asked if I could fix them. They are dented. I started to straighten them last night but realized if they are white metal or similar, I might break them. A magnet does not stick to them but they seem heavier than what I would expect aluminum to be.

These two wheels run on a common shaft, and are the idler end.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?
 

Attachments

  • 20220512_110911.jpg
    20220512_110911.jpg
    285 KB · Views: 13
ShawnR said:
A friend of mine has a 6" belt sander. I don't have any photos of it, These are the wheels. He asked if I could fix them. They are dented. I started to straighten them last night but realized if they are white metal or similar, I might break them. A magnet does not stick to them but they seem heavier than what I would expect aluminum to be.

These two wheels run on a common shaft, and are the idler end.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?
Click to expand...

Make new ones?

Buy replacement wheels?

Buy a new sander?

Depending on the cost of the sander, I favour #1. You can probably reuse the bushings. Solid aluminium wheels with weight reduction holes in a pattern would make you a hero.

Even if you can manage to straighten them, the yield strength of the metal has been exceeded and they have yielded. It will never be the same again.
 
Last edited:
Yes it can be repaired (same as AL wheels), gentle (forceful) pressure and heat (how much don't know the answer but they use a propane torch).

Now if you are doing this as a helpful but learn exercise great, otherwise turn a new wheel.
 
You can try heat and gently bend them to shape. Depending on how well this is made, it could be good enough but obviously not as good as new.

Try it and see how it goes. If replacement is not an option, then try making new ones. If you do not have AL needed this could get quite expensive.

You can sell the sander & get a new one. I know, shocking, but if you need to buy AL to make a new one it could easily mean hours of work and well over 100 cad in expenses. You can get a belt sander 6" for around 400 CAD on auction. I am assuming you are talking about one that is like 1200+ new, not some 150 CAD thing.
 
Thanks all. I cannot remember the make but one of those old ones you find in an industrial shop or school setting. I will get more info. I will consult with him before trying anything as I pictured just a steel wheel.
 
Dabbler said:
If they are 'white metal' - a euphemism for "whatever was in the pot that melts at XXX degrees" typically is very high in zinc content, and might not like heat bending. I'd be tempted to epoxy fill and turn it to round again.
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest the same but add that you might need to add some epoxy to opposite side to maintain balance if using quite a lot or if it's very high speed.
 
@ShawnR - I was going to suggest epoxy too but figured balancing would be too much effort and in the end I just dropped it.

With two others also suggesting it, maybe it's worth a try.
 
Maybe I am learning something. Epoxy was my first option after realizing attempting to straighten might not be a good idea. I balanced the wheels in my other thread on the squash machine and got them close I think so can try the same procedure again with this project. I will report back. Thanks all
 
Here is what I came up with. The wheels are now better, but far from perfect. I took an -thread rod coupler and a couple of bolts and used them as internal jacks. I took a large gear clamp and wrapped the exterior of the wheel with that, with a piece of 18 gauge steel inserted between the clamp and the wheel, opposite the dent I wanted to push out. I was hoping this would cause the greater force to be concentrated on the opposite side from the steel plate. It actually worked fairly well but I also noticed that I could easily cause a separation between the internal web supporting the wheel so a compromise had to be made. I did this on all of the major dents and I could note an improvement. But there are also some high spots, probably as a result of the low spots...? When I decided I had pushed my luck enough, I put some gorilla tape on some of the low spots and then put one wrap around the two wheels. I don't know why they are made as two parts so perhaps taping them together will not work. But by doing this, I was able to find the positions relative to each other where the differences are not as dramatic. We will see if it stands up.

I did warn my friend that to pursue it may cause the wheels to break and he was ok with that. I figured I can still be more aggressive in the future if this "bandaid" does not make the sander usable.
 

Attachments

  • 20220516_200306.jpg
    20220516_200306.jpg
    295.1 KB · Views: 7
  • 20220516_201459.jpg
    20220516_201459.jpg
    204.9 KB · Views: 7
Degen said:
A little heat from torch will give it that extra give.
Click to expand...
How much heat are you talking? I thought with being cast that heat would not be too effective. Still heat to red like regular steel? Or with being cast, is very warm going to have any effect?

Heat might be my next step after a trial run. Or epoxy as suggested above by many. One might break it, the other require balancing.....pick your poison

Thanks
 
Warm to hot, definitely not red. Apply pressure and then heat give it chance to move. I've seen it done, but gave never done it myself, it is very much an feel thing.

If you feel you can't move it anymore, don't epoxy and balance.
 
Judging by the gates inside the wheels, these look to me like they were diecast. Zamak, maybe? If so, a VERY small amount of heat from a torch will leave you with a puddle!

If they are Zamak, I don't think there is a recognized "best method" of repairing dents. Most stories seem to end with 'and then a big chunk broke off'.

Sorry.

Craig
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top