A request for information on your mill or lathe

[nova_robotics]

Now that you mention it my 2x48 belt sander gives me a small shock sometimes. I try to avoid touching the frame while grinding but, the shock is sometimes even felt through the work piece when I make and break contact with the rest. I thought it could be a bad ground but after checking I couldn't find any problems. Gloves are such a pain to even remember where a pair are, insulated plier does the trick for small items. There is no way I would have ever correlated a belt sander with the Van de' Graff, but now at least a possible direction for a solution has been made available. Thanks to all for the tip.

No probs. Just make a single metal pulley and put it at the top. That way it grounds out the belt before it has a chance to shoot little zaps into your fingers. Maybe replace the slider/platen thing that holds the sandpaper against your workpiece with a metal one? There are probably a few different ways to prevent charge from building up on the belt.

But really when you think about it, we're intentionally CAUSING the thing we've spent the whole thread trying to avoid. You are now grounding out your belt through a bearing. I've been using the crap out of mine for years like this and haven't had to replace a bearing yet. I'm sure it's accelerating bearing wear, but those bearings are easily changed and only a few dollars. A mill spindle bearing is a different situation.