Different color, same part

[DocAitch]

My 1x30” HF sander went up after about 2 1/2 years service the other day. One of the bearings seized up solid. The motor ran fine so I decided to pull it apart and replace the bearing if possible. In the course of disassembly, I broke the pot metal tracking apparatus.

I have never dealt with HF for parts, and I do have another belt sander, but decided to call to see if I could get the part and a couple of bearings.
I called the service number and after a 25 minute wait on the phone, I reached a very disinterested young fellow who informed me that the only part available for that machine was the on/off switch.
I then called Grizzly because their 1x30” belt looks identical and after a scan of the parts list, saw that the bearings were identical. After a 5” wait, I spoke to a very nice young man who, after I explained the situation to him , told me that I could order the parts, but if they didn’t fit, I would be charged a 10% restocking fee. I went ahead with the order and received them about a week later.
The parts were identical and the machine is up and running.

I was hoping that the machines were identical, and this adds to my impression that these machines are all made at the same place and stamped/plated/painted for different distributors in the US.
I was very pleased with the service at Grizzly, even though it wasn’t their machine, and will probably go with Grizzly on my next machine purchase, simply for the customer service.
DocAitch

[LatakiaLover]

https://www.burrking.com/catalog/cat-10 ... t-grinders

[DocAitch]

Jeez, George
For that price I can get >20 of the HF model. If each lasts 2 1/2 years, I would be good until I’m 125 years old.

DocAitch

[LatakiaLover]

They last appx. 50 years between factory refurbs.

[n80]

I've got the same sander. It has been fine but good to know that the Grizzly parts fit it. I wonder if the HF stuff just comes from a lower end factory but is the same design?

[KurtHuhn]

They're all made in the same factories, to the same rough design. The difference tends to be the spec to which they're built - some manufacturers spec better parts, or demand tighter tolerances. The nice thing about that, is that better parts are available when the cheap ones break.

[n80]

So I guess the question for Doc is, how much did the parts cost? I think I paid less than $60 for the whole sander at HF.

[DocAitch]

~$9.50 @ for the bearings (~$19 for 2) and ~$5 for the tracking piece. I could have just replaced the 1 frozen bearing but elected to replace both. ~$26 total.
Plus I get a kick put of fixing stuff.
DocAitch

[n80]

You still came out ahead so that's good. Was the failed bearing in the motor or the pulley wheels? I'm wondering if cleaning/oiling of mine would prolong the service interval.

[KurtHuhn]

On a related note - look at the grain size in that cast iron! No wonder it failed! It might as well have been made of compressed sand.

[cpd2186]

Doc, are you sure you can use that sander now? The colors dont match!

[DocAitch]

You still came out ahead so that's good. Was the failed bearing in the motor or the pulley wheels? I'm wondering if cleaning/oiling of mine would prolong the service interval.

Pulley Wheel. One froze and the other felt gritty. I am not sure that you can do much in the way of servicing these bearings, They are sealed units.
DocAitch