Polishing Chain Plates

Delta Combination Sander Rescued From the Freecycle Bin

There is a God! It is truly amazing, just when I needed a big belt sander, I found one in the “free” recycle bin here at Herrington Harbour. They have two Freecycle bins at the yard and it pays to check now and then. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the bin and saw this Delta combination 6″ by 48″ belt sander with 9″ disk just resting there in the bottom of the bin in a drunken slumber. For the past week I’ve been thinking one of these would really help the projects. I had sold mine in Sacramento before coming out here and missed having it. It did not take me long to rescue this machine from the bin and give it a new home. Of course, I took it apart before plugging it in. There had to be a good reason for someone to give it up. And I found the problem… it had shaken parts loose, the motor mount was off its support, the pulley grinding on the case and belt off. It must have made a horrible noise and jumped off the table. And the starting relay fell apart making the motor not start properly. Perhaps it came from an abused home. It took me less than an hour to make the simple repairs and have it purring, ready to perform for its new master.

First Step to Polishing the Chain Plates, Sand out the Deep Grinding Marks

The first job for this machine is to sand the grinding marks out of the newly made Chain Plates. This is the first step in polishing the Chain Plates. I will be wearing my leather gloves to protect my hands while sanding the grinding marks out. A big bucket of water is kept handy to keep the metal from getting too hot. Here I am sanding the four minor chain plates, rotating them through the sanding and cooling process. The belt sanding machine makes this job easier to do and produces a very good result. I think now, I will be able to do all the polishing myself and not have to send the chain plates out for electro-polishing.

Dowsing the Chain Plates in Water to Keep Them Cool.

I spend several hours today sanding the four lower shroud chain plates. By the end of the day, I have some warm bath water!