7345 problems

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moonie5961
Bottom Paint Application Technician
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:22 pm
Boat Name: Banzai
Boat Type: 1974 Contest 31

7345 problems

Post by moonie5961 »

Hellooo

I have a question. I know from reading that this crowd loves the PC 7335 sander, but has anyone had any experience with the 7345? Mine is going through various stages of kicking the bucket, and I've used it for less than 10 hours or so. It is acting like there is a loose connection with the speed setting dial or something, or that's my best guess at least.

It'll run all day at setting 6, but recently it has been losing power at setting 4-where I use it most. Setting 6 is only one that will not lose power. When at any other setting, the sander will randomly stop like it's been switched off. I blow the sander out at least hourly, with a high pressure air gun. I have been really easy with this sander, as it's one of the few times that I splurged for a nice tool (I'm young and cheap).

I thought that maybe I had it hooked up to an inadequate extension cord, but tried it directly to the wall to no avail. It exhibited the same symptoms. The cord that I had it hooked to was pretty beefy, anyway.

The sander gets warm to the touch, but does not feel or smell like it's overheating.

I called ToolKing where I bought it, they gave me the number of a Porter Cable service center. The guy on the phone at the service center sounded pretty unconcerned and said that it'll probably be at least a week to get it back if I leave it with them. I don't want to wait a week!

I am not usually paranoid about stuff "made in....____", but I remember reading that one of the reasons the 7335 was so popular was that it was made in the USA, oh.. and it worked. This is made in Mexico

I hope that mine is an isolated incident, because I really liked the tool before it started acting finicky.

Any ideas/recommendations? I still have alot of sanding to do, I'd rather finish it all up, and not lose momentum for a week+ while I'm waiting. I have thought about sending the malfunctioning one in to be repaired, and buy a new one in the mean time.. but if the new one does the same thing, I don't want another one.

Thanks!!
jeffwagnpete
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:02 pm
Boat Name: Frogman
Boat Type: Pearson Ariel

Re: 7345 problems

Post by jeffwagnpete »

Hello Moonie

About 2 months ago, I posted this same topic, I was having the same problems with this sander, in fact, I have probably done about 60-70 hours of sanding and guess how many PC 7345 sanders I have gone through, 3!, theres nothing worse when your out there sanding and all of a sudden the thing burns out on you. The first PC I bought only lasted 10 hours and died on me, the second one lasted about 35 hours and died on me, the 3rd and final PC has been going so far, but I am prepared for it to die again. Luckily, here in st. paul, mn, we have a great hardware store called seven corners hardware, its a family owned store and they have everything, no corporate bs to mess around, and my hardware guy just replaces these for me, no wait time or fooling around with repairs, he knows that I have a ton of sanding to do, but yea, these sanders are problematic, I dont have a car, so I cant just hop in a car and go to seven corners hardware and get another sander, no, I have to hop on my bicycle and bike 25 miles to this store to get a new pc sander, nothing makes me more irritated when this sander has died on me. these sanders are no good, but I have lots more sanding to do, and will probably go through more of them.
moonie5961
Bottom Paint Application Technician
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:22 pm
Boat Name: Banzai
Boat Type: 1974 Contest 31

Re: 7345 problems

Post by moonie5961 »

How disappointing!

I guess I'll just take it into a service center. Thanks for confirming that I'm not imagining the problem... still have a lot more sanding to do =\
Matt B.
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:23 am
Boat Name: Firefly
Boat Type: Islander 28
Location: Everett, WA

Re: 7345 problems

Post by Matt B. »

moonie5961 wrote:I have been really easy with this sander, as it's one of the few times that I splurged for a nice tool (I'm young and cheap).
You will learn - splurging for a nice tool *almost invariably* means hunting eBay, Craigslist, garage sales, and pawn shops for old tools. With a few exceptions new tools are expensive, shiny, and poorly made. Gear or drive mechanisms made from plastic, nylon bearings, plastic casings that "snap" together.

My 7335 came from eBay. It's died twice. The first time it was the carbon brushes - $12 and half an hour (including 10-15 minutes blowing out dust and inspecting connections). The second time it was a faulty slide switch. That one was $3 and soldering the connections took ten minutes. The whole tool is solid, well-made, and I have no doubt it'll last a long time. There are no wear parts made from plastic. There are no useless parts (unless you could a plastic shim that allows the power switch to be at the front even though the electrical switch is at the back of the tool.) The parts you might normally service are easily accessed behind one casing piece held on with a machine screw.
Matt Beland
Islander 28 #256, SV Firefly
matt@rearviewmirror.org
Case
Skilled Systems Installer
Posts: 277
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:59 pm

Re: 7345 problems

Post by Case »

I just wanted to mention this much:

Inflation is nasty stuff. Many people say old tools are better. Not necessarily so. For example, my father had an old drill. He paid $80 for it. The carbon brushes blew out on it recently and I took it apart. It was all steel inside. No plastic stuff except for the trigger itself.

If you want a new tool that is as good as the old one or even better... cough up more $$$. That $80 in 1970 (date of purchase my father told me) is worth over $400 today. So if you moan about paying over $200 per tool, you're umm... more cheapskate than yer olden grandfather who coughed up $50 or $80 for a tool in the 1950s or 1960s!

I just wanted to show a different perspective of things. In a way, our tools are unbelievably cheap when priced for inflation. Unfortunately, it seems that inflation is pulling ahead of most people paychecks so that makes it all of the more painful. It's also another way of seeing why the old tools are often better than the sub $200 tools today... they were EXPENSIVE back then! New tools do have all steel gears inside. But you have to cough up lots of moolah for them.

One last bit of story that is related to inflation... My house still has its original 1974 garage door opener with bulky, ugly remote beeper. Its a giant piece but I keep using it because new ones just don't respond that well. I had to replace the battery recently and was awed to see that there was maybe a quarter of an ounce worth of silver soldering inside. You don't see that stuff in electronics anymore. Too expensive. That's almost $10 worth of silver at current prices.

- Case
ILikeRust
Skilled Systems Installer
Posts: 285
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:22 pm
Boat Name: Grizabella
Boat Type: Pearson Wanderer 30
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: 7345 problems

Post by ILikeRust »

When I saw the subject line, I thought you meant you had 7,345 problems with your boat. I was thinking maybe you had made a comprehensive list. My thought was "yeah, that sounds about right. Sounds like my boat."
Bill T.
Richmond, VA

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." - T E Lawrence
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