Stroke Sander

[kimosawboy]

I know that a lot of members use a router with rails to flatten slabs but has anyone any experience with a Stroke Sander???
A lot of the time I can manually sand (with power sanders/grinders) my boards and get a nice finish, only when I have done a lousy job sawing do I need the router. Yesterday I was manually sanding a board roughly 15"across and having a hell of a time. The board was spaulted and some areas very soft with the growth rings hard as nails, it made for some very wavy sanding.
After perusing the internet looking for a large drum sander to build and not finding anything that has the capacity that I would like (40+inches) I came across this pic and was very intrigued.
Reading more about these sanders has really got me thinking of building one about 10' overall. I'm trying to source some large belts and add up the costs but it seems that if you have the area in your shop, a stroke sander might be pretty useful alternative to other methods of finishing.

G Vavra

 

[Nato]

I've never seen anything like that. Looks pretty cool. I bet the belts aren't cheap! Do you have any better pics of the table where the slab sits? Looks like the slab has a carriage with wheels under it. ( manually push slab back and forth?)

 

[kimosawboy]

Basically the belt is stationary and the table where the material sits moves back and forth on HD ''''drawer slides''' (for lack of a better term).
If you Google Stroke sanders you can see the different variations out there.
Here is a few links to a machine running/and finished product.







G Vavra

 

[BobL]

We have an Italian one at the milling yard that looks very similar to the first video in the previous post. Unfortunately not long after we got it someone backed a truck into it and the tray is pretty bent, and now the belt motor has burnt, then it was moved outside and put under a tarp but it has picked up a lot of rust so it "needs some work. The one we have comes with dust extraction but it still makes a bit of a mess.

 

[Leroy in Kansas]

Those stroke sanders can do a great job. It does take a bit of coordination to do without digging a gouge in the wood. (don't ask me how I know this)

 

[kimosawboy]

After a phone call or two it seems that I can get custom belts for a decent price. Stock 186 x 6 belt ranges from 18-23$ .Thats about $1.5/ft, for a larger belt I would be looking at an overall dimension of 216" x 8" and it would be a little less than $2/ft or $36. That price does not scare me as I would only need 3-4 belts max.
BobL... did you ever get a chance to use the italian one before it got bent??

G Vavra

 

[BobL]

After a phone call or two it seems that I can get custom belts for a decent price. Stock 186 x 6 belt ranges from 18-23$ .Thats about $1.5/ft, for a larger belt I would be looking at an overall dimension of 216" x 8" and it would be a little less than $2/ft or $36. That price does not scare me as I would only need 3-4 belts max.
BobL... did you ever get a chance to use the italian one before it got bent??

No I never got to use it personally, but I have seen them being used a number of times.
RE: Belts, even the coarse belts give a surprisingly smooth finish and they last a long time.

 

[rarefish383]

Wow, there's one on Ebay now asking 499. I can see grooves in the table where you could make a sliding rack and push your slab through sideways, Joe.

 

[Mike Dempsey]

These were quite common in the UK several years ago. The main manufacturer was wadkin down in Leicester. The appear on Ebayuk quite often and normally go quite cheap. They seem to be out of favour now and I would think that most companies would use wide belt sanders in preference as they are easier and more accurate to use.

 

[Mike Van]

Wow, there's one on Ebay now asking 499. I can see grooves in the table where you could make a sliding rack and push your slab through sideways, Joe.

Joe, I had one of these years back, a Rockwell. You set the table to a height where the belt just missed the surface you wanted to sand, and there was a block you lightly held down on the inside of the moving belt. You moved the block lengthwise, slid the table in & out. As much woodworking is, it was an acquired skill. Mike Dempsey is right in that the wide belt sanders have pretty much replaced the strokes. I tried to sell mine for months, ebay, c.l., I finally cut it up for scrap. Two of the motors are in use on my bandmill, some of the steel I used elsewhere. If you were using it when one of those 168" belts let loose, well, it was one of those moments.

 

[rarefish383]

Thanks Mike, I finally looked at the video and I see how the pad slides to put pressure on the belt, Joe.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

find a local cabinet shop with a wide belt sander...some will have 48s or larger mainly for face frames. Last time I had to do this they charged me $20.

 

[kimosawboy]

I can see going thru the cabinet shop if you have a slab or two and can find one that will accommodate you. For me with more than a few slabs a hombuilt dedicated large sander is the way to go. Large drum sander are outrageously expensive for what they are and to build one from scratch would not be worth the end product, since you are limited in your width.
This is where I see building a stroke sander. For under a few hundred( I have a 2.5hp) I could have a machine that has the capacity that I want and give me the end product I'm looking for.
Seems to me people have gotten lazier and lazier as the time pass. Woodworkers used to know how to flatten a board with a hand plane, then came the machines, then the fancier machines, then the machines where you just wait at the end for the finished product. I don't mind getting a little sawdust in the air and learning a new skill so I can flatten some slabs.
G Vavra

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I can see going thru the cabinet shop if you have a slab or two and can find one that will accommodate you. For me with more than a few slabs a hombuilt dedicated large sander is the way to go. Large drum sander are outrageously expensive for what they are and to build one from scratch would not be worth the end product, since you are limited in your width.
This is where I see building a stroke sander. For under a few hundred( I have a 2.5hp) I could have a machine that has the capacity that I want and give me the end product I'm looking for.
Seems to me people have gotten lazier and lazier as the time pass. Woodworkers used to know how to flatten a board with a hand plane, then came the machines, then the fancier machines, then the machines where you just wait at the end for the finished product. I don't mind getting a little sawdust in the air and learning a new skill so I can flatten some slabs.
G Vavra

don't forget that any wide belt or stroke sander will require a high capacity dust collector. A 1100 (1.5hp) Jet will work (6" inlet) and they aren't too expensive especially if you find a used one.

some of the DIY drum sanders online are pretty cool and don't look too hard to build.