Sanding heavy boards on Performax 16-32
Has anyone had trouble sanding long heavy boards with the Performax drum sander. I have been trying to sand some 5/4 x12″ poplar boards approximately 65″ long. The drum digs a groove at the leading edge or the posterior edge. Outboard roller stands are in place and I have checked drum allignment. Drum height is adjusted by 1/8 th turn (1/128″) each pass. Admittedly, I have not rechecked the roller height and will do so tomorrow. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.
Replies
Rick: The snipe is a result of the misalignment ot the outboard support tables.When I bought this sander,I did not purchase the tables that go with the machine.I built my own wood stand and built my own support system. The custom tables extend 24" in front of and 24"behind the drive belt table that is part of the machine. I also built a narrow ledge on the outboard end of the drum. This additional support is useful when sanding panels wider than 16 inches. These shop made tables are all in the same plane and perfectly flat. The height of this additional surface is about 1/16"below the top face of the conveyer belt surface.
This works for me,but could have drawbacks. If your boards have a bow end to end you could possibly lose contact with the drive conveyer and cause the work to stall in the middle of the cut. I sand the glued panels for cedar blanket chests,the largest is about 22" X 46".The glueups are flat and warp free when they go to the sander. My main problem with this machine was keeping the abrasive tight on the drum.
It took a while to learn to check this often enough
The take up device on the inboard end of the drum was a little hard for me to operate since it is mostly hidden from view.
Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Edited 9/28/2004 9:42 am ET by Pat
Thank you for your reply. I was wondering about the outfeed table and wondered if it should not be parallel to the sanding platen? If so, would it not operate as a jointer? Alligning the pressure feed rollers according to the instruction manuel would seem to increase the likelyhood of snipe. Any further thoughts?
Rick: I don`t remember what the manual said about the feed roller alignment.I will look it up and get back with you.
I can`t visulize this machine ever being used as a jointer.You might want to expound on this.Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Pat: By reference to a jointer, I only meant that the outfeed table is alligned with the cutting edge of the blades thereby supporting the wood after it passes over the cutter head, rather than permitting the cutter head to create a divot in the wood. Thanks for your interest.
A groove will result anytime the board stalls momentairly while passing thru the sander. This can happen as a result of a bow in the board or misaligned feed tables (or a combination of both). I've never had to adjust the roller tension.
I don't use the infeed/outfeed tables supplied with the machine due to the space they take up. My sander is on a cart that rolls between two 8' long benches on one wall of my shop. The sander table is slightly higher than the benches and I keep two 6' flat, smooth boards set aside that I lay out as infeed/outfeed tables when I'm sanding long heavy boards (just finished some 5/4 x 14 x 90 white oak). I shim/adjust the boards so they are perfectly level with the sander. The sander has worked fine without the factory feed tables on stock about 25" or less.
I have also successfully sanded boards with bows in them ( I could not take it out the bow, but I couldn't pass up using the board - not fine woodworking, but you can pull some boards into shape during assembly). To do so I had to adjust/remove the feed tables and support the boards by hand as they passed thru the sander. (the support height at the ends will change as a bowed board passes thru
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