Del, Thank you soooo much for your input on this. I'm trying to save myself some money which is why i looked at this $900 used one this morning. It's clear that there is more to consider. If I buy the wrong one it could cost me more than I think I'm saving. Thanks again!! Greg Delwin D Fandrich wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Greg Newell" ?gnewell@ameritech.net? > To: ?pianotech@ptg.org?; ?mpt@talklist.com? > Sent: January 18, 2002 8:28 AM > Subject: stroke sander > > ? OK, call me nuts but I'm actually considering a stroke sander. I'd like > ? to ask a few questions about it. I found a used one for $900. It is a > ? Boise Crane. Is that a good name? the belt size is 169" x 6" . Is that a > ? normal size? > > That's a bit small. The Grizzly G5394 is 6" x 186". Our SCM MiniMax is 6" x > 271" > > ? > ? It has a sliding table. Is that desirable? > > It's normal, but not desirable. The SCM has a sliding belt system. It's > considerably easier to control both the hand platen and the in-out motion of > the belt with one hand (or two hands, but they're in the same place) than it > is to control the hand platen with one hand and the in-out motion of the > table with the other. That has always struck me as being something like > rubbing your stomach and your head at the same time. > > Besides, you're going to want to add an extension to the table. Tougher to > do this with a sliding table. > > I'm not sure who makes it, but I've seen at least one small-shop machine set > up this way. I'll take a look. > > ? The sliding part > ? is hand activated not machine driven. Normal? > > Yes. > > ? > ? I could swear that I've > ? seen manufacturers use this machine as a finishing tool to polish the > ? finished piece. Am I dreaming? > > No. We've looked into it but haven't used ours this way yet. Belts are hard > to find. We were able to get one belt with plastic wool on a cloth back, but > the plastic wool was so aggressive (it was the hard, abrasive, kind) it was > unusable. They are available, finding a source might be difficult. > > ? > ? The outfit I might be buying it from > ? cannot find a source for cloth type belts. It would be a great deal > ? easier to make this decision if it could also be used in a finishing > ? process. It has a 1 1/2 hp 220 v 3 ph motor. Again .... normal? > > Typical, though not necessarily normal. Most new machines come with > single-phase motors until you get into the really big stuff. Or at least, > you'll be given the option. In this case, unless you have 3 ph power coming > to your house, you'll either need to replace the motor--and this might be > difficult--or you'll need to come up with an adaptor of some sort. These are > available--check the ads in the common woodworking magazines--but are some > pricey. Several hundred at a minimum. > > ? > ? It is a > ? fairly old unit and Boise crane as a company no longer exists. The > ? outfit tells me they still have parts and judging from their shop, I > ? believe it. > > Old tools can be wonderful things, indeed. Solid construction, great > bearings, etc. And, normally, I'd lean toward buying old rather than new. In > this case, however, I'd suggest you keep on looking. The thing is a bit > small, capacity wise. And then there is the problem of rubbing your stomach > and your head at the same time. If you can do this well, then go for it. > > Del -- Greg Newell mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
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