Here it is...
rockwell-delta-grizzly.jpg
Like it?? Here's the story.
Awhile ago I picked up an older model Rockwell/Delta stationary sander. I have no idea how old it is since the identification plate fell off, but it works fine. Still, it couldn't get longer pieces very flat. After removing the belt and inspecting the platen, it was clear why:
bent platen.jpg
Quite a dent. These sanders are very top-heavy, so I could only conclude it took a tumble at some point in its prior life.
As you might expect, no one sells a replacement for this platen.
I spent awhile trying to figure out how to build one, but couldn't come up with any good ideas. Then I decided to start looking through parts diagrams of modern stationary sanders to see if any current models have a similar part. Lo and behold, one of Grizzly's sanders looked quite similar.
Despite hearing great things about Grizzly's customer service, my expectations weren't very high. After all, I don't think they're staying in business selling parts to be used on other manufacturers' products. I figured they'd just laugh. Instead, Vince C. in tech support had me send him the measurements of my old platen which he compared to the Grizzly platen and let me know the differences. Since it still seemed like it would work, I went ahead and ordered it.
After drilling a few new holes, my sander now has a nice shade of green:
new platen.jpgnew platen1.jpg
Thanks, Grizzly..
---Mike