Dead da?

[70bee]

Have a old da from my father, it was never used but appears to want to stop spinning and not have much power. I put some oil in it and it helped. Is this thing hosed? Its about 20 years old I figure.

[Phil V]

I have a couple DAs that are older than 20 years old and still working fine.
What brand of DA is it ? Is the spindle locked in the "grind" position ? That would certainly explain its lack of power. The reason a DA is called a DA is because they are a Dual Action sander. It will sand in random oribtal mode or strictly orbial mode. Most DA air motors were designed to run at around 10,00 rpm. That works great when the spindle isn't locked in the orbital only mode. But with the spindle locked in then the motor is still trying to run at 10,000 rpm but the spindle/disc wants to run at a fraction of that speed. So if you put an pressure on the sanding pad then the pad slows down as does the air motor. slower air motor means less power.

[AMCDude]

If you try what Phil V suggests, and it doesnt help, try this:
One thing to consider is that, after 20 years, any oil in the tool may have turned to gum. I've salvaged a lot of "dead" tools by spraying a penetrant or cleaner into the air inlet, then running it for a few seconds. My penetrant of choice is Kroil, but I'm sure there are a lot of others that will work. Sometimes it works on the first try, sometimes it takes a few shots. I've gotten most of my air tools from estate auctions, bodyshop auctions, etc,and they were not always in the best of shape.

[70bee]

its a Central Pneumatic. like the harbor freight one on the other thread. No directions either...so I want to loosen that knurled piece?

[MARTINSR]

its a Central Pneumatic. like the harbor freight one on the other thread. No directions either...so I want to loosen that knurled piece?

If you are going with "Central Pneumatic" because it has "CP" on the side, you may be mistaken, it may be a "Chicago Pneumatic" which is a pretty good brand. If it really is a a "Central Pneumatic" then it isn't 20 years old, I don't think that company was even around 20 years ago. But if it was, toss it in the garbage can if it is a "Central Pneumatic", it was "dead" 18 years ago and is certainly not worth reviving. You can get a new one at HF for the cost of a box of Fruit loops, only the Fruit Loops are a better value.

Brian

[Mooch]

If your like me the fact that the tool was your pops makes it worth fixing.

I have also done what Phil has suggested and hes right more times than not it is just gummed up. Mooch

[70bee]

messed with it tonight, its a central poo-matic, is at least 16 years old I know for sure. I tried to unstick it but no go. Even removed the locking part and no help. Think I'm gonna toss it....maybe try some more p fluid tomorrow.

any suggestions on a new one?

[Len]

What you use the sander for should determine the one you buy. We have several in our shop but for almost all feathering, surface sanding and color sanding we use the AirVantage. If you should ever break it or have a problem the AirVantage people will take care of it very reasonably. Since we purchased our first AirVantage it's rare that anyone picks up any of the other high quality random orbital sanders unless the AirVantages are being used or we have some rough cutting to do then we may use our National Detroit or Hutchins sanders


http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/av611000s.jpg

AirVantage Link (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=T)

[TimG]

Central Pnumatic is a National Detroit knockoff,right?
I've unstuck dead DAQ's by taking them apart and cleaning the swill out of the air motor and inside bearings.
Been a while since I've done one,but don't remember it being real hard to do.
If you're going to toss it anyway,try running some Carb cleaner thru it.
Good Luck!

[Restoguy]

Len is too subdued.

I do not care if your DA is brand new. Keep it as a family heirloom if you wish, but get the aivantage if you want to get the job done. The price is really miniscule.