Belt sander woes

[DC]

I notice that a lot of you have this belt sander in one brand or another. Works great but the vacuum passage plugs all the time. At least mine does, especially with Bamboo. Has anyone tried enlarging the black housing in the second picture? I was thinking I would give it a shot. Any suggestions? I tried blocking the passage from the disc sander part but that didn't seem to do anything.

[Eric Krewson]

I have plugged the vacuum line of my jointer a bunch of times with green wood chips, I shook the hose and finally got it going.

Bamboo is a different animal and the harbinger of doom for vacuum systems. When I overload my vacuum system with bamboo it usually stops up right at the mouth to my vacuum fan. I disconnect my hose at the fan, reach down the hose and grab what has backed up. Once I clear the screen, actually it is a course lattice to keep big wood chunks from going into the fan blades, I am good to go for a while.

Disconnect at your fan to see if there is a stoppage there. Going slower when you grind bamboo may keep your system pulling the stuff out before it stops up.

[DC]

It was plugging right at the sander, I had to take the thing apart almost every time. I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to fit and that about doubled the size of the exhaust. It works way better. The screws that mount the exhaust tube go right through the middle of it and the dust/fibers build up on it. It needs to have the screws moved but I'll see how it goes.

[sleek]

I solved my exact same problem easily enough. I took apart the vacuum part and now it doesnt clog. I also despise the smaller belt sanders. I bought me a nice Porter Cable one and it's worth more than I paid honestly. I now do all my belt sanding outside so I dont have to worry about the dust.