i have this sanding machine. i’ve used both the belt and the spindle sander attachments a number of times. this last time i was sanding the edge of a 6″ long board and i noticed that the sander had created a crown in the center of the sanded edge. it was very noticable and unacceptable. must be something in the plate backing on the belt attachment. seems like a shame, because until now i had really liked the belt sander part. anyway this machine rated highly in a report, but this is another consideration for anyone looking into this product.
greg
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Mine doesn't do that. Was there something on the table (pile of saw dust, chips) that allowed the board to rock and sand the top and bottom edges more than the middle? There is a flat steel plate under the belt, which should not allow a crown to form. Was the belt loose, allowing it to wrap around the board's edge instead of remaining flat? Is the belt grit worn more along a band of its width so that it sands more above and below the middle of the edge? Is the wide surface of your board really flat, or is it warped a little so that it can rock? Are you careful about holding the board steady? There are a lot of things to check.
i didn't take time to look at anything except the backing plate and there wasn't anything on it. the table wasn't 90 to the belt and i fixed that. the board was face down on the table and the edge on the belt lengthwise. it's possible the belt isn't tight enough i guess. i have a 4x36 belt sander as well and that fixed the crown on the edge.
"it's possible the belt isn't tight enough i guess." That was my first thought.
BTW, I read a rumor that HD is no longer providing sanding sleeves and/or cylinders for the spindle sander. Is that true??forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
i don't know if hd is still supplying the sanding sleeves, but i have some.
it turned out that when i put a straight edge acrosss the back plate i discovered it was concave by a significant amount. i disassembled the belt sanding fixture and pounded the plate flat. it was a pita, but not hard to do.
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