How necessary is a platen on a widebelt sander?

[damn_splinters]

I am currently looking at a widebelt sander from Axminster, the only problem is that it doesn't have a platen. How necessary is the platen and what would the finish be like without one?

Thanks,

Martin.

 

[tomatwark]

Hi Martin

Had a look at your other thread as well, I would go and have a look at the sander form Axminster, you may find that if you try to sand wide tops you will end up with a ridge down the middle, we had an open ended sander in a firm I use to work for and this sometimes happened.

Also depending on how the tracking works you may need a compresser as well.

The platten on wide belts is normally used for flat panels such as veneered boards and tops.

If you can afford it I would go for one with a platten.

I don't have a wide belt in my work shop but use a pad sander and with a bit of practice you will get excellent results.

There are lots of second hand ones around for little money .

I bought a Hammer one new for about £1800.00 and it does the job for me making furniture and kitchens.

Hope this helps

Tom

 

[damn_splinters]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the post.
I've had a look at the stroke sanders but really wanted something a bit more automated. I really want to save time, take stuff straight out of the thicknesser and place it into the sander that will automatically pull it through and do the bulk of the sanding whilst i'm prepping the next piece of wood . My plan is to build some sort of support structure around the sander to take the weight of wider peices and avoid snipe as they exit the sander.

The stroke sander seems like it will take just the same sort of time as a handheld belt sander, though would be more accurate.

I think I will opt for the widebelt from Axminster as an interim tool. Hopefully it will save me some time and will suffice until I can afford a pukka widebelt. I guess anything is a step forward and would be quicker than doing everything by hand.

 

[tomatwark]

I can sand a top just as quickly with a pad sander as a wide belt, you can take more off with a pad sander.

I am right in thinking you are going to try to plane wood at the same time as sanding?

I would not leave a through feed machine and go off to do something else as if the board sticks half way through you have a great big hollow in the middle.

In an ideal world I would have a through feed, but to sand a 2.1m to I would need a 7m of working space to feed it through where as my pad sander only takes up about half the space.

Good luck with the Axminster one.

Tom

 

[damn_splinters]

All valid points, maybe a pad sander is the way to go...........

My plan was to thickness the material, sand individual peices with 120 grit, glue up, clean up glue lines and then finish sand the whole piece with 180grit. I was hoping I could just 'bung' the pieces through the sander and let it do its thing whilst I carried on thicknessing. I know the Jet sander has a 'smart sand' feature that is meant to stop the work piece from binding and burning but not sure about the axminster model.

I just don't know any more
As I don't live in the UK (halfway up a mountain, 30km from the nearest town) Its not possible for me to go and view the different machines.

What made you go for the Hammer model rather than the FS-722?

How do you work with your sander, thickness, glue up and then sand the whole thing on the table?

Maybe I'll have a look on youtube to see if they have any videos of the pad sander in action.

Thanks for your help!

Martin.

 

[tomatwark]

Hi Martin

I went for the Hammer for 2 reasons one was cost, and the main one was the foot print as I had to fit it in between an end wall and the door.

I had to fit it into a space of 3m, but if you have another 600mm or so you will be able to pick up a second hand one, for not alot of money and then up grade as money allows.

The Hammer is a lot more light weight than the Felder machines but for me on my own is fine.

I plane, glue and then sand, unless it is a really wide top and then I do it in two halves and finish the centre joint by hand.

There are other makes such as Rojek which Axminster sell which may be worth a look.

I would also talk to other dealers as there will be better machines around than the Axminster through feed.

Tom