Craftsman 2x42 Issue

M

mrp

Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
47
Hello all,

I recently purchased a Craftsman 2x42" belt sander (1/3 hp) in hopes of doing a bit of machine-assisted stock removal. After examining the machine, I noticed that both the disc sander and the belt drive pulley rotate slightly askew. It's more noticeable on the disc sander and I imagine that's due to the larger rotating area. When viewing the machine head-on, the disc appears to move left to right about 1/16" during its rotation. The center-line of the drive pulley on the belt side seems to sway laterally probably 1/32" and up and down 1/32". I tried removing the disc and resetting it with no luck. I just don't see the disc being capable of flattening scales and such with this sort of misalignment, and expect the belt will have significant tracking issues.

Was I expecting too much precision?

Any suggestions from the resident grinder-gurus and machinists would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.

Mark
 
The Crafsman 2x42 is a great grinder for the price, but again for the price. My disc had the same problem. I never noticed a problem on the belt, but I would imagine if I looked closely mine sways a bit too.

I ripped the disc right off, IMO its useless. Use the knobs from the rest on the disc to hold the platen on the belt, makes the change from platen to slack much quicker. I had a thread not too long ago about upgrades to the 2x42, I'll shoot you the thread if I can find it.
 
Mine runs true. I use the disk all the time for flattening handle material and for dovetailing bolsters.
 
jaymeister99 said:
The Crafsman 2x42 is a great grinder for the price, but again for the price. My disc had the same problem. I never noticed a problem on the belt, but I would imagine if I looked closely mine sways a bit too.

I ripped the disc right off, IMO its useless. Use the knobs from the rest on the disc to hold the platen on the belt, makes the change from platen to slack much quicker. I had a thread not too long ago about upgrades to the 2x42, I'll shoot you the thread if I can find it.
Click to expand...

You didn't find the disc useful for flattening liners/scales? I suppose that could be done on the belt nearly as easily.
 
jkf96a said:
Mine runs true. I use the disk all the time for flattening handle material and for dovetailing bolsters.
Click to expand...

I've never really looked to see if mine ran true. I have a hard time getting those darn sanding disk pads on straight anyway, but I do flatten quite a few scales on it.

The belt was never aligned with the platen and it was a little worse after I put on a piece of ceramic tile (I probably didn't get it perfectly aligned either..;) ).

If I were you, I'd take it back and see if the next one is any better. Then once you find the one you like, start chopping it up and modding it.

Here's several video's to help you get started! The $500 dollar knife shop channel
 
mrp said:
You didn't find the disc useful for flattening liners/scales? I suppose that could be done on the belt nearly as easily.
Click to expand...

Nope. I didn't need to flatten liners, scales I flatten on the platen.

I added a platen extension and a ceramic liner too.
 
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I use the disc on my Craftsman all the time. I almost never have the table on the belt, so the disc is really handy for truing edges.
 
I use the disc all the time too. It's very useful for flattening scale material and sometimes even profiling.
 
when it was stil my primary grinder, I used the disc a lot as well, but mine ran true. I would return it. Sears is usually pretty good to deal with. There are a bunch of mods that you can make to the grinder - a lot of them will make it more efficient. The number one mod IMHO is to replace the platen. The one I got on it was very far from true, and the two prong attaching it to the body of the grinder bent with even just a mild amount of pressure. I just got some 2x2 angle, drilled a few holes and jb welded a ceramic platen on to of it - 100% improvement!
 
tedinatl said:
when it was stil my primary grinder, I used the disc a lot as well, but mine ran true. I would return it. Sears is usually pretty good to deal with. There are a bunch of mods that you can make to the grinder - a lot of them will make it more efficient. The number one mod IMHO is to replace the platen. The one I got on it was very far from true, and the two prong attaching it to the body of the grinder bent with even just a mild amount of pressure. I just got some 2x2 angle, drilled a few holes and jb welded a ceramic platen on to of it - 100% improvement!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I already have a ceramic platen on the way. I'm slow to return it since it's the last one within 200 miles of me. Oh well, I'll return it and have them ship one when it's in stock. Thanks for all the replies.
 
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