Diagnostic Bosch 3727DEVS

Suggest removing sanding pad and pulling dust baffle off to resolve problem.

My girlfriend refinishes hardwood floors professionally, and this is her preference with this machine. She also runs the sander with a shopvac attached instead of the stock dust canister. Be advised that the dust baffle does act as a mechanical brake to slow or stop the sander's rotation. If removed, the sander might act differently than usual. With dust baffle removed, the sander shouldn't be allowed to spin up to high rates of speed without any load. Spinning too fast will cause the sander pad to gouge the surface on first contact after spinning up while unloaded. It also might damage the bearings over time.

When new, the sander comes with a thick grease applied between the dust baffle and the sanding pad. In your case, I imagine this grease has worn away or been saturated with dust. If you want to keep the dust baffle, I suggest finding a very thick grease (preferably nothing that would stain when flung off by the rotation of the sanding pad). Careful grease selection may also be necessary to avoid a type of grease that could damage the rubber of the dust baffle or the sanding pad. Perhaps silicone based grease? As an alternative to grease, you could also try the application of a paste wax product. Johnson and Minwax both make such a wax, for use in woodworking. Suggest cleaning both pad and baffle surfaces to remove old grease and dust prior to applying any paste wax product, as it may not adhere otherwise. Cleaning thoroughly might be less important when adding grease, but is probably wise. Should probably remove sanding pad from sander for this cleaning. Use included wrench slipped under handle assembly.

Both the dust baffle and the sanding pad are available as replaceable parts on ereplacementparts.com and from Bosch directly. I would definitely consider the sanding pad to be a consumable product when under heavy use. Eventually the velcro hooks break off and the thing needs to be replaced. Personally, I'd question how much actual trouble was being caused by this issue and act accordingly. It's my opinion that the dust baffle was poorly designed.