Drum sander took a dump yesterday

[Kevin in California]

Very sad, my Ryobi WDS1600 drum sander decided to break on me. Amazing, the shaft on the drive end of the drum sheared off....no jamb, just gave up the ghost. The drum is one piece with the shaft end being turned down to 5/8" to match the motor shaft for a coupler attachment.
ANYWAY! I'll fix it IF I can find a drum assembly.
So, I'm putting the word out, if you guys or anyone you know has a broken down, non working Ryobi WDS1600 16/32 drum sander with a GOOD drum, I'd be interesting in purchasing it.
Parts for these things are not being made anymore, but I'm going to start looking for a drum.
Thanks for your help. I've really come to depend on having a drum sander, and I sure can't afford to put out a grand to buy a new one right now.

[ken cierp]

How about two steel pins? Make a template and drill into the two shaft halves at the break -- just a thought.

[Kevin in California]

Thanks Ken, I've been thinking along the lines of how I might "re-attach" the shaft. The two parts do not meet up nicely so some dressing of the ends will have to be done, but I like the idea you have suggested. I was thinking along the same lines as a possibility. My wife's uncle is a machinist and might be able to help me with this. He was turning truck drive lines on a lathe when he was 12! I will need help getting the bearings off the ends too so the drum can be removed from the housing. I don't know if the operation could be done without removing it but he may have some ideas.

[Kevin in California]

So, Sunday we could not pull, knock, or otherwise, get those bearings off the drum shafts, so since the drum was not usable anyway, we cut the shafts off on drum side of the bearings, then mounted the shaft with the bearing on it in the lathe, and drilled out the aluminum shaft...did this to both, and the bearings came out fine.
So, the drum is out of the housing.
I went ahead and ordered a drum assembly, and while I was at it, I have new bearings coming too. I figured for another $15, why not start out with new bearings. These will be a press fit, so that might be a bit of a challenge. I can't heat up the bearings because the seal is plastic, but I might be able to freeze the shafts if needed so I can slip those bearings on easier. If I can't gently tap them into place, I'll take it to a machine shop and have them pressed on. They have to be installed with the drum in the housing.
So hopefully next week I'll have my sander back together and running. I'll keep you all updated.

Kevin

[Kevin in California]

The new drum and bearings are here. Saturday's project.

[Kevin in California]

The new drum is in!

[Kevin in California]

I got a new spider today for the motor coupling, the motor is mounted and the drum runs beautifully, and now I have feed belt speed control too. YAH! Tomorrow I'll check height alignments, wrap the drum and be back in business.