I have a 371 Porter Cable belt sander that has stopped working. The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. At first
I thought that the drive belt was broken but it looks OK. I want to
take the sander apart and look deeper for the problem. To do this the
drive belt needs to be removed. Because there is no provision to
remove the tension on the belt, (you can almost play a tune) it takes
a $230 tool called an A19540 SRT installation tool to add/remove the
drive belt. If I could find a picture of this thing, I might be able
to make my own (much cheaper) but I haven't had any luck finding a
picture or description on the Internet.

I have a picture of the drive belt: https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalber...HARED/Belt.jpg
and an assembly diagram for the sander: https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalbers/WORLD_SHARED/371
Belt Sander.pdf .

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? I
really like this sander when it works.

wrote in message
...
I have a 371 Porter Cable belt sander that has stopped working. The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. At first
I thought that the drive belt was broken but it looks OK. I want to
take the sander apart and look deeper for the problem. To do this the
drive belt needs to be removed. Because there is no provision to
remove the tension on the belt, (you can almost play a tune) it takes
a $230 tool called an A19540 SRT installation tool to add/remove the
drive belt. If I could find a picture of this thing, I might be able
to make my own (much cheaper) but I haven't had any luck finding a
picture or description on the Internet.

I have a picture of the drive belt:
https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalber...HARED/Belt.jpg
and an assembly diagram for the sander:
https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalbers/WORLD_SHARED/371
Belt Sander.pdf .

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? I
really like this sander when it works.


Loosen the belt a bit: You have too much tension on it.

wrote: (clip) The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm betting it is a loose set screw securing the motor pulley. Can you
see/reach it without disassembly?

On Jun 2, 12:22*pm, " wrote:
I have a 371 Porter Cable belt sander that has stopped working. *The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. *At first
I thought that the drive belt was broken but it looks OK. *I want to
take the sander apart and look deeper for the problem. *To do this the
drive belt needs to be removed. *Because there is no provision to
remove the tension on the belt, (you can almost play a tune) it takes
a $230 tool called an A19540 SRT installation tool to add/remove the
drive belt. *If I could find a picture of this thing, I might be able
to make my own (much cheaper) but I haven't had any luck finding a
picture or description on the Internet.

I have a picture of the drive belt: *https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalber...HARED/Belt.jpg
and an assembly diagram for the sander: *https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalbers/WORLD_SHARED/371
Belt Sander.pdf .

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? *I
really like this sander when it works.

Better PDF

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/(A(H...cumentId=34604

from

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/Prod...ki eSupport=1


The belt probably comes off easy enough when you loosen the driven
pulley #25 and finagle the belt off the side of the pulley facing the
case, putting it on is going to involve sliding the pulley back on the
shaft while teasing each groove of the belt onto the next pulley
groove, one by one.

Dave

Dave

On Jun 2, 12:22*pm, " wrote:
I have a 371 Porter Cable belt sander that has stopped working. *The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. *At first
I thought that the drive belt was broken but it looks OK. *I want to
take the sander apart and look deeper for the problem. *To do this the
drive belt needs to be removed. *Because there is no provision to
remove the tension on the belt, (you can almost play a tune) it takes
a $230 tool called an A19540 SRT installation tool to add/remove the
drive belt. *If I could find a picture of this thing, I might be able
to make my own (much cheaper) but I haven't had any luck finding a
picture or description on the Internet.

I have a picture of the drive belt: *https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalber...HARED/Belt.jpg
and an assembly diagram for the sander: *https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalbers/WORLD_SHARED/371
Belt Sander.pdf .

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? *I
really like this sander when it works.

I'm guessing that the tool has two pins, one goes down the hole of
each pulley. One pin is fixed and the other has an adjustment to allow
you to start with the belt loose and then move the pins apart to their
final dimension. You would then slip both pulleys off and onto the
shafts simultaneously.

Probably not too hard to build.

wrote:

(...)

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? I
really like this sander when it works.

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/docu...a23752,371.pdf

The cork and platen assembly is a wear item. How does it look?

http://www.dewaltservicenet.com/Prod...?partid=258746

--Winston


--

We now return you to the economic collapse, already in progress.

Put a flat screwdriver between the belt and pulley. Rotate the drive
and allow the screwdriver to guide the belt into the groove.
JR
Dweller in thwe cellar

On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 09:22:26 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I have a 371 Porter Cable belt sander that has stopped working. The
motor runs at full speed but the belt stops moving or slows down
considerably when even slight downward pressure is applied. At first
I thought that the drive belt was broken but it looks OK. I want to
take the sander apart and look deeper for the problem. To do this the
drive belt needs to be removed. Because there is no provision to
remove the tension on the belt, (you can almost play a tune) it takes
a $230 tool called an A19540 SRT installation tool to add/remove the
drive belt. If I could find a picture of this thing, I might be able
to make my own (much cheaper) but I haven't had any luck finding a
picture or description on the Internet.

I have a picture of the drive belt: https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalber...HARED/Belt.jpg
and an assembly diagram for the sander: https://ilocker.bsu.edu/users/jalbers/WORLD_SHARED/371
Belt Sander.pdf .

Any advice on making a tool or procedure for adding/removing this belt
on my own without spending $230 or sending it in to Porter Cable? I
really like this sander when it works.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

replying to jalbers, Oldman wrote:
I use a heavy shank screw Gun bit holder with the correct size hex head bit to
fit the small pulley. Install the belt partially on the large pulley and then
put the bit holder through the other end of the belt and start the hex bit
into the pulley. Straighten up the bit holder and start the belt down on the
small pulley as you turn the bit holder with a wrench. Work both ends of the
belt onto the pulleys as you turn the bit holder. It wasn't as bad as I first
thought it was going to be. Once I came up with using the bit holder trick now
it is easy.

--
for full context, visit http://www.polytechforum.com/metalwo...37-183736-.htm

replying to Oldman, Madmax26 wrote:
I used a 5mm Allen in the small pulley.
Slip the belt on the large pulley about 2 ribs. Put the small end of the Allen
inside the belt and into the small pulley. Start to turn the wrench while
putting pressure on the belt with your fingers and work the belt onto the
small pulley ribs.
As it starts to climb onto the small pulley, it wants to come off the large
pulley, so you have to keep pressure on that end also. I did it by myself, so
it took a couple tries but I got it!
Just take your time and it'll go!
Madmax26

--
for full context, visit https://www.polytechforum.com/metalw...37-183736-.htm

replying to jalbers, Craig wrote:
I had the same experience. The problem was the worm gear from the motor
became disengaged from the drive gear that turns the drive belt pulley. So
the motor ran, but the pulley didn't move. I had to take the sander apart to
find that out -- accidentally pressed in the right place, and the gears slid
back together. Of course, it happened again after some additional use, so I
took it apart again to push the gear back. It appears there is too much slack
in the mounts for the gears. Wish I could tell you how I took the sander
apart to reach the gears, but I can't detail it accurately for you. However,
an exploded parts view (online) helped me visualize how the sander is
assembled, and so how to take it apart and put it back together. One
cautionary note: If you disassemble the plate assembly, with its springs and
levers for releasing and adjusting the sanding belt, you will have a very hard
time lining everything up again and holding the spring-tension in place while
you try to re-install and re-attach the plate assembly. If it is possible to
reach the gearing without taking the plate assembly out, I haven't figured out
how. All the internal parts are attached to one half of the body or the other
half, so I pretty much took everything out to reach the gears.

--
for full context, visit https://www.polytechforum.com/metalw...37-183736-.htm