This month was apparently the month chosen for tool breakdown. I had a compressor, air-nailer and belt sander go belly-up. The nailer just needed an o-ring, which got done, and the compressor apparently needs a regulator rebuild. Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a reno at my son’s home when the nailer failed, and knowing the compressor was also sick, we decided to just get a compressor-nailer kit at the “local” (25 minute drive away) Rona, so we wouldn’t lose the rest of the day. A week later, the belt sander just did nothing when I pulled the trigger switch.
The fine folk at the local tool fixing place (who fixed the nailer) said they don’t even look at old Craftsman tools, as parts were not available, so today I took the sander apart to see what might be possible. I had some thoughts about mounting it upside down as a knife sharpener if in fact it was just the switch which was broken. So nine or so screws later, I had it open, and found that the switch was a sealed unit with the wires embedded. I couldn’t even check the continuity through the switch. A quick online search confirmed that parts were not readily available, so the next step was cutting the switch out, hard-wiring and re-testing.
It was at this point that I began to wish I had given it one last check before disassembly. There’s something horribly final about taking wire cutters to an old and faithful tool. Well, it was certainly old. Always the conservative one, I put enough screws back in to support the motor bearings, and pulled the trigger. For whatever reason – maybe it just wanted some attention – the thing roared into life.
So that’s a mystery, but, so far as I’m concerned, a fine ending. I found an oil hole (you have to remove a screw) that I don’t recall ever seeing in the last forty years, and rewarded old faithful with several drops of oil and even brushed some dust out of its innards.
So now I have to decide whether to fix the compressor for $50. The fix-it place says they built them much better in 2003 – I won’t get one like that today. But what will I do with two compressors? Decisions, decisions!
