I’m looking to use the spindle sander but not sure if it’s working again. Is there a remotely acessible list somewhere that is kept up to date on the working status of equipment (working, repair in progress, out of service)? I know there’s the red tag tag on discourse but searching by machine and filtering the results is time consuming and it’s hard to tell if older posts have been resolved or not.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but the spindle sander is down.
We do not currently have a website or list with an easy to see status of all the equipment in the building. It may vary from workspace to workspace, but I know we don’t have one for the wood shop today. Unfortunately the sander is still down.
The last time I got to look at it, I believe there is an issue with the threads in the machine. Spindles do not twist on easily at all. And they should be able to do that. If someone could double check me, that would help us move forward in finding the right fix.
The threads are fine but the tapers are galled. Grinding the spindle tapers is straightforward but grinding the internal taper on the main shaft is not. It may be easiest to replace the entire main shaft. Part number DPEC001775.
I’m getting an error message when I try to post to Red Tag but…
The Dewalt Palm Router appeared to die on me today during normal operations. It’s been making some interesting noises lately, like a change of pitch for no particular reason. I believe the motor is toast. I changed batteries and got the same result.
Hi Pete, thanks for letting us know! The best way to notify us is by filling out a problem report form at Asmbly.org/problem or scanning any of the red QR codes around the shop. This will add it to our tracker and, optionally, automatically post it to the red tag section if you want it to be seen by everyone on the forum.
Super bummer. Replacing that shaft is not trivial.
Do we also need to get new spindles?
Thanks, Evan. Will do. ![]()
I think the spindles are salvageable. The one that welded itself in had a pretty severe wobble, but that may have just been the galling. It has centers on both ends if someone wants to mount it on the lathe and check.
Is it possible to run a tap and cleanup and “recut” any marred threads on the shaft?
The threads themselves are fine, it’s the conical taper that actually holds the spindles that is marred up. It can be ground on a lathe with a spindle grinder, but you would have to take the main shaft out to do so. At that point I think the replacement shaft should just be ordered.
Sorry for the delay, I’ll get an order in pronto