what size is the Porter Cable 897558 O-Ring

[Sean]

Hello
I will be replacing the o-rings on my  Porter Cable 333 sander
what size is the Porter Cable 897558 O-Ring , I wanted to go to Ace hardware.. what size matches part# 897558 O-Ring .
Thanks

[Papaw]

Quick Google search offered no sizes, but plenty for sale. If you have the O-ring, you should be able to match it up easily in a place that sells lots of O-rings and seals.

[Sean]

That's the problem .. no o-rings..

[Papaw]

At least one of the ones on Ebay was only $1.99. Google "Porter Cable 897558 O-Ring".

[Sean]

I did all that...
I just want to buy local ... shipping costs more than item usually!

[Papaw]

That's a good thing to do , but in a case like this, you should consider the cost of fuel and your own time in the equation.
By all means try local first if it doesn't mean driving all over town.

[Bill Houghton]

Not to take away from this great community, but you might try posing this question over on Old Woodworking Machines (http://www.owwm.org/index.php).  Several people there are very knowledgeable about Porter-Cable, including James Huston, who repairs them for a living.

[turnnut]

at times, I use the same factor as Papaw,  running around using gas or wait for it
to arrive in the mail.

unless you need it NOW.

[stillfishin]

Actually 1.99 models are junk. There is a big difference in what O-rings are made of. I have a couple 333's and have needed o'rings. One time I thought I'd save some money and get the cheapo off ebay. It lasted less than 2 hours. I then got an OEM from an electric repair company here that had stock. Sure, it was about $8. but its lasted about 3 years now. The OEM is much softer and stronger material whereas the cheapo was harder and less flexible. I guess most times you do get what you pay for.

[Sean]

I went to the local Aubuchon Hardware store and in one of the "O-ring draws" ,I found one thin # 225 o-ring  listed as 1-3/4"
It fit the dust collector and seamed to be very snug with two of them. price $0.89/each !

[bear_man]

     I've had lots of luck at the local NAPA (auto parts) dealer and never had any complaints about quality.  My experience has it that my local hardware suppliers cater to the "financially challenged" and market the cheapo-est products — but I suppose that's reflective of my local economy.  So-called counter-top "Formica" sheets began coming apart in less than a year, as a for-instance.
     On another note: my first wife's first ex- used to say that "A penny saved is an hour wasted."
     I reckon Bill Houghton's onto something I hadn't thought of before.

[Tool Pants]

Mr. Google brought me here because I have a PC 333 sander with 1 broken and 1 missing o-ring part #897558 for the dust collection adapter.  Bought it used at a flea market about 8 years ago and never used it except to turn it on when I got home to see if it worked.

I found it in a box a few days ago and took it out of the box.  In the bottom was a broken o-ring which I assumed was for the pad.  Turned it on the the pad moved, so what is that o-ring for?  I thought a first some junk had just fallen into the box and the o-ring had nothing to do with the sander.

Looked at the parts list to see if it called for an o-ring.  An o-ring was listed for the adapter.  Looked at the adapter and there were 2 empty groves, and the broken o-ring was a perfect fit.  The o-rings provide a friction fit so the dust canister doesn't blow off when you turn on the sander.  Early models had just 1 o-ring.  Mine is a later type 4 that uses 2, because the early models with just 1 were blowing the canister off.  So when I bought the sander it was already missing 1 o-ring but like I said, I never used it and did not know.  Over the years of storage the second o-ring dry rotted and fell off into the box.

I have some large diameter thin o-rings that were in the bottom of a tool box that I bought years ago.  A few were 1/16" thick like the broken one, but the diameter was too large.  So the plan was to super glue the o-ring into the grove, cut the excess off, then glue down the cut ends that were now a butt fit.  It worked.  The friction fit of the 2 o-rings kept the canister from flying off when the sander was turned on.  It was such a tight fit that I put some silicone grease on the o-rings to make it easier to slide the canister on.

[Tool Pants]

Next day I went to ACE hardware down the street to see if they had the o-ring.  I have the advantage of having the old but broken o-ring to match it up.  I couldn't actually test fit a new o-ring, because I had super glued the others on.  But just think, I saved 99 cents per o-ring times 2.

O-rings have standard size numbers.  Like if you need a 1/8" drill bit you you can go anywhere and find it.  While the ACE supplier indicates the dimensions, they do not list the standard o-ring size number.  I looked at an o-ring chart and based on the dimensions I believe it is a standard number 31 o-ring, but I may no be reading the chart correctly.  Go by the dimensions. 1 7/8" OD x 1 3/4" ID x 1/6" thick.

The op said a 225 worked and that could be.  But the first thing I noticed from the o-ring chart is that 225 is 1/8" thick.  I have calipers and measured the groove and the broken o-ring. My model is 1/16" thick.  I tried 1/8" and it would not seat into the groove.