# flex girrafe too stiff



## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

my flex sander is too stiff, when i sand 2.7 ceilings i have to use a bucket because the head of it wont really bend, any ideas? also when sanding i notice it always leaves light scuff marks i use a 220 grit yellow disk sand paper .


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## Kiwiman (Jun 14, 2008)

bluelineman said:


> my flex sander is too stiff, when i sand 2.7 ceilings i have to use a bucket because the head of it wont really bend, any ideas? also when sanding i notice it always leaves light scuff marks i use a 220 grit yellow disk sand paper .


Gidday there Kiwi, new to the site I see.
My Portercable sander is the same, if you do a search you'll see a vid of Gazman using one and the head has a lot more flex in than mine, there's no way mine will pivot that much without gouging in.


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

i got it reconditioned i used to have a porter cable but it was too heavy so i changed to flex, they are abit lighter. you in auckland?


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

Because you are new and a Kiwi I will save you from doing a search.


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

how do you get it to bend that much? my old one used to


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

I have never had any problems with it not bending, even from new. Maybe I just got lucky.:thumbsup:


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

do you add grease or spray it? do you get it serviced? i see your jobs are very nice they look simular to mine,


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## Kiwiman (Jun 14, 2008)

bluelineman said:


> you in auckland?


Nah, Ashvegas (mid canterbury).


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

quite busy down there aye , thinking of moving down. how much is a sqm or floor area down there?


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

bluelineman said:


> do you add grease or spray it? do you get it serviced? i see your jobs are very nice they look simular to mine,


No I dont add grease or spray on the pivot part. I believe that lube will attract dust and form a paste which will cause wear. I service the PC myself. Here is a link to a thread.

http://www.drywalltalk.com/f9/porta-cable-maintenance-3020/


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## Kiwiman (Jun 14, 2008)

bluelineman said:


> quite busy down there aye , thinking of moving down. how much is a sqm or floor area down there?


We don't work off floor sqm down here.....drywall sqm rates usually.
Your best bet is earthquake repairs in Christchurch, I think they're paying quite well.


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

My flex is the same, Stiff at the head so ive always had to use on an angle, I was looking at it the other day thinking Mmm, That black vac hose is just to hard, I need one more supple to get the head looser. I wonder where i could get one from.


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

My original hose split after a few years so I replaced it with some off the shelf hose. I was in BCF ( http://www.bcf.com.au/#HomeFeaturedProducts ) the other day and noticed that they have it for sale by the meter. I checked on there site and could not find it. I will check it out next time I am in store.:yes:


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## Square Foot (Jul 1, 2012)

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this regarding the PC, but check the drive cables. Porta Cable, or who ever it is out-sourced to? has been somewhat inconsistent on the length of the cables. I replaced one in one of my sanders a while back and immediately noticed it was not sanding right. Took it out and compared it to a couple of others and all were different lengths. The new one was almost a 1/4 inch longer than the one it replaced. I used a cut-off saw and shortened it.


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

Square Foot said:


> I don't know if anyone has mentioned this regarding the PC, but check the drive cables. Porta Cable, or who ever it is out-sourced to? has been somewhat inconsistent on the length of the cables. I replaced one in one of my sanders a while back and immediately noticed it was not sanding right. Took it out and compared it to a couple of others and all were different lengths. The new one was almost a 1/4 inch longer than the one it replaced. I used a cut-off saw and shortened it.


You make a very good point, the longer the cable the stiffer it will make the head feel.


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## Muddauber (Jan 26, 2008)

When I store my Porter-cable in the shop,I put the head flat on the floor and stand the pole straight up in the corner. Seems to help with flexability.


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## JustMe (Apr 17, 2009)

cazna said:


> My flex is the same, Stiff at the head so ive always had to use on an angle, I was looking at it the other day thinking Mmm, That black vac hose is just to hard, I need one more supple to get the head looser. I wonder where i could get one from.


Seen different hoses in a vacuum repair shop, caz.


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

Muddauber said:


> When I store my Porter-cable in the shop,I put the head flat on the floor and stand the pole straight up in the corner. Seems to help with flexability.


Odd, I just thought about doing that today and did.

Great minds think a like:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

Muddauber said:


> When I store my Porter-cable in the shop,I put the head flat on the floor and stand the pole straight up in the corner. Seems to help with flexability.


This is how my sander is stored.


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

Here is a short video showing the range of "flex" that my PC has.


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

mine can go more than yours now i just needed crc


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

Well if yours can go more than that what are you whining about? I dont have any trouble using mine.


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

i couldnt before, i also had it serviced


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## bluelineman (Aug 28, 2012)

just wondering if you could do a step by step on changing the motor of a pc. never done it before but mine has just completely stopped working. just where i should disconnect the wires and how do i put it in again. thanks in advance


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

bluelineman said:


> just wondering if you could do a step by step on changing the motor of a pc. never done it before but mine has just completely stopped working. just where i should disconnect the wires and how do i put it in again. thanks in advance


Here you go Bluelineman. This is the best that I could do at short notice.

http://www.drywalltalk.com/f9/porta-cable-maintenance-3020/


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## Kiwiman (Jun 14, 2008)

bluelineman said:


> just wondering if you could do a step by step on changing the motor of a pc. never done it before but mine has just completely stopped working. just where i should disconnect the wires and how do i put it in again. thanks in advance


First of all get a price for a new motor, somehow I don't think they're cheap.
secondly, if you havent had any electrical experience then be very careful and double check everything you do, you need to be 100% confident you've done it right, none of this stand back while you flick the switch with a stick and hope for the best 
If the casing doesn't fit back together perfectly there may be a wire getting pinched somewhere.
Another thing you can do is take close up photo's of each step as you go, it can take some of the guess work out of it.


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