Stroke sanders came up in a discussion I came across here today. Went looking at them through a google search but not a whole lot of info about how they work came up. Mostly new and used machinary ads with nothing more then specs. Can anyone tell me more about them? Thanks.
Don
Replies
Don,
Stroke sanders utilize a large belt running at about chest height, running horizontally. The drums turning the belt are large - 6" to 12" or more. Depending on the mechanical configuration, the operator reaches in between the upper and lower paths of the belt, depressing the lower part of the belt via a large flat platten, pushing the moving belt down onto the work which itself is supported by a table.
The platten can be any size from about 6" square to 1'x 3' or more. The platten can be moved around in the horizontal plane and back and forth between the driving pulleys.
The work is sanded flat because of the large sanding area of the platten. The operator can move the sanding action to specific areas of the work as needed without fear of creating small "hot spots."
It's a large machine, by necessity - it has to be large enough to allow the action described above. There have been several plans published for shop made units that perform as well as commercial, all metal, pneumatically-operated-by-foot-pedal units.
Rich
Edited 8/19/2002 10:10:15 PM ET by Rich Rose
Cabinet Making and Millwork by John Fereir, a sort of text book for trade school students has some insigts on stroke sanders. Sort of out dated in a way but still very useful. You might find a copy in your public library. I've had the opportunity to run many kinds from the hand block type to double belted automatic through feed types. Typically the platens are 6" x 12" or longer on some of the special ones. Normally a hand lever works the platen. Never saw a foot actuated one. Boice Crane made a nice little one. Minimax makes them as well. It's a tool that can even be found in metal shops. I even know a foundry that has one. It takes a bit of practice to use them and if you get good you can even sand veneer.
Edited 8/31/2002 11:22:51 AM ET by rsl
Rich, Rsl,
Thanks for the response--sorry I missed it before it got buried.
Have you seen Grizzly's, and what do you think of it?
How would you compare one to a performax drum sander? (37", dual drum)
Thanks.
Don
Edited 9/3/2002 11:27:34 AM ET by Don C.
Don, the grizzly and woodtek are pretty much the same machine except woodtek has 2 model sizes. Look at http://www.exfactory.com The last one I got was a nice old Maddison for $700 and I could put the pedestals any distance apart. This going in your basement? The fiinsh is much nicer from a stroke sander. The drum sander has that small contact point and you still have to random orbit sand. The stroke sander is a last step plus you can sand wider pieces vesus longer. Stroke sanders are sort of outdated and overlap with widebelts but they have their place. I set that Maddison up in a custom metal shop and we did stainless and brass with special platens. Any specific questions????? By the way the pad on the platens on those imports are usually pretty bad and are a big source of frustration. I learned how to make a better one from a plant manger I worked with. He learned it from an old timer at the London College of Furniture. I'd have to do a drawing and instructions to really explain it.
Rick
Edited 9/3/2002 12:25:40 PM ET by rsl
Edited 9/3/2002 12:36:29 PM ET by rsl
Edited 9/3/2002 12:37:55 PM ET by rsl
Don...Look at the Woodtek in Woodworkers Supply. Looks the same as the Grizzly for a bit cheaper. It looks like it would do the job. A new pad on the platen would improve it's performance. Usually they are just foam. A shaped and manicured one of firm felt will make all the difference.
Rick
Rick,
Will do. I looked at exfactory.com also. The vast majority of stuff there is out of the small shop league.
No, I'm not in a basement. I have a 2 1/2 car garage for the shop and a second 1 car garage that I use as a spray booth. I sold that house though 2 weeks ago. Closing is to be by the 28 of Sept., so I'm not sure what the plans are. I was looking at a place to rent, but the terms and conditions were IMO unreasonable, and the spray booth really limits the options of where to go. My wife and I are thinking of just looking for another place. Where we are at now is in town, and that's not going to work.
Anyway, I'm not impressed with the drum sanders. I think mostly they make better planers then they do sanders., but these stroke sanders are a new one to me. Just one of those things that slipped through the cracks and I never heard of. I appreciate the time your giving this. If this is the route to go, I will be looking into the platen design you spoke of. Maybe you could post it anyway for anyone else that may be interested. And from what I'm gleening from this group, their interested.
Don
Don
There's a lot of stuff you can't find out unless you are in the industry plus it's nice to get paid to learn and experiment with someone elses tools. There's no books to learn a lot of this stuff either. There's a lot of old shop text books with machines you just don't see anymore but they are fascinating to read but they don't tell you the real tricks on using them. There was a machine called a power scraper. It was like a planer but had a single fixed blade, not to be confused with those Japanese single knife planers that were being introduced 15 years ago. I've been around double end tenoners and all kinds of sanders where you just wing it and push the machine to whatever you can get out of it. How do you figure people are interested in stroke sanders? The thread almost died. I'm surprised Grizzly and Woodtek even make one. Why don't they make a slot mortiser? That's one of the best kept secrets in woodworking.
Rick
Pics show a graphite mitten for true hand sanding of a radius edge and other shows the machine in full view. In a metal shop but originally from the wood industry. It uses hand blocks rather than the fulcrum platens you see on the Grizzly, Woodtek and Minimax...a little more control. The fulcrum platens are nice if you spend all day on the machine.
Edited 9/3/2002 10:26:31 PM ET by rsl
Edited 9/3/2002 10:35:56 PM ET by rsl
http://www.exfactory.com/seephoto.asp?showall=yes&recnum=SS%2D010416
Don...Did you see the Samco...10 times the Grizzly for $500 more
Rick
Sweet. What area of the country is it located in?? I couldn't find that with this link.
Don
Don...said northwest on listing page. Are you familiar with exfactory...they are brokers for the real owners. Looks pretty good. Has a blower for dust collection. Makes the Grizzly look chintzy. I think I know someone with the same machine. Samco is a good name. They listed a similar machine also for $2900 in Canada
Rick
I'm not familiar with exfactory beyond the web site that was linked here. I like the place. I have a machine broker a couple of miles down the road, but it's mostly all metal working stuff. Wood working machines just don't last long around here. One thing I didn't see though was if the listed prices include the brokering charges or not.
I like the looks of that machine. I might give them a call about trucking costs. I'm in the Detroit area.
$2900 Canadian! That's about 4 bucks US right now isn't it??? 8^) Just a joke.
Don
I think the commision isn't included. There's a couple of ways you can strucure the deals. I've got a couple of side loaders listed with them...no hits yet. I've sold a few things in the past on exfactory. Stroke sanders are a slow sell I suspect. I'll be shopping for one soon as well. I just ordered a resaw attachment for our bandmill from Canada. Have you been to woodweb.com, iswonline.com, woodquip.com or the site for used tools in FWW links? There's also wwwclassifiedexchange.com a monthly publication of a bunch of dealers across the country.
RSL,
Thanks for the links. iswonline just came up as code, so it wasn't anything to see or use. The others are interesting. A lot of info on a lot of different stuff. The one site had a listing a mills, east, central, west. I'd like to find something like that a little more regional along with what stock they carry, and if they have any minimum, etc., requirements for dealing with the public. Those minimum 10,000 bf places are out of my league, but I like the idea of picking out my own wood.
Thanks again, by the way, where are you located?
Don
iswonline.com is the website for Wood and Wood products magazine...also Custom Woodworking Business magazine
I'm in western Mass
Have you been to http://www.woodfinder.com?
Rick
That site works. Thanks again.
Where at in Western Ma.? I have a friend I visit a couple of times a year in Sheffield.
Don
Woodmaster used to make a very nice simple affordable 48" stroke sander. I know because I bought one new in 1983? or so. They don't make them anymore. Wasn't enough demand. I now have a widebelt so I rarely use the strokesander. Anyone interested in it?
Post or email me the specifics. Got any pictures?
Don
The sander has a 6" wide belt. The table is 48" long and 24" deep and it rolls back and forth on bearings. It has an elecrtic motor to raise and lower the table (nice option). The main motor is 2hp sigle phase. The sander is as good as new and I have belts for it which are easy to get. Send me your e-mail address if you want pictures.
Don...I'm in Hadley Mass. Stop by and check out our antique lumberyard/mill shop. Maybe 60 miles from Sheffield
Interesting Gossling...Does your machine have a platen? In the big shops I worked we still did all the finish sanding on the stroke sander after wide belt sanding with the platen.
Edited 9/6/2002 3:05:43 PM ET by rsl
Edited 9/6/2002 3:07:05 PM ET by rsl
My sander does have a platen. I use a hand block instead because I think I have more control with it. My handblock is just a peice of 2x covered with graphite.
I guess I phrased it wrong. What I was wondering does your widebelt have a platen on it or is it just the drum type? I learned second hand from an old timer with 35 years on stroke sanders that a hand block or stroke sander platen works better with a 1/2" of very firm felt between the graphite and the block. On the wide belts I have used there is also felt between the platen and graphite. It makes quite a difference. I agree that the handblock is easier to control than the lever platen on a stroke sander. I also hollowed out the handblock and put lead shot in so I didn't have to push down as much.
Rick
My widebelt does have a platen. We use it all the time on our last pass with 180 grit. We still have to RO sand but not near as much as with no platen. A strokesander does a smoother job with the same grit than a widebelt.
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