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Thread: Shop tour #7A Green machines - 37" Timesavers widebelt

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Shop tour #7A Green machines - 37" Timesavers widebelt

    hello fellow ww's
    I want to finish up my shop tour with this series of green machines. The first green one is as the title suggests - A Wide Belt sander. I see from my limited time here at the creek that many of you have sanding machines of some sort. Some would say that any sanding surfacer ranks in the "nice to have" as opposed to the "must have". I would agree that it is a nice to have and not a must have. Having said that, I have found it very usefull in a number of ways ( figured lumber and 1/4 and thinner stock for example, as well as very wide boards ) .


    I am not an expert on wide belts, but here is what I have found out ( some may have more expertise and wish to correct me which is fine ). There are 2 basic styles of these machines. #1 platen style #2 Contact drum.

    Most of the machines that you run across are platen style and excell at sanding veneer and such where you only want to remove .002" at a pass. The platen can be raised up so that the smaller contact rollers touch the work piece. This allows for a more stock to be removed ( .030 ). Some feel that platen machines are not ideally suited for solid wood processing, but make the compromise by allowing the platen to be raised up out of the way. The problem with these machines is that the diameter of the contact rollers is pretty small ( compared to a true contact drum machine )

    The contact drum machines are not very well suited for veneer sanding but are ideal for solid wood processing, like most ww's do. Contact drum machines come in a couple of drum sizes. From what I could find out the most popular is a 6" dia drum. There are also machine with extra large drums in the 12" dia range. It turns out the the machine I purchased from the original owner is one of those extra large drum machines. I lucked out, because it was only after buying the machine that I found out some of this information.

    I bought this from a dealer who took it as a trade for a new machine. It had only one owner in a 2 or 3 man shop. I got all the original paper work with it and original manuals. These are the types of machines you want to look for. My advise is if you want one of these used, stay away from "ebay" and the other auction sites, those machines are wooped.

    This machine uses pneumatic tracking and has worked fine. most modern machines use photo eyes, but there is nothing wrong with the older technology if you have some idea of how to adjust it.

    If you do go looking for one of these machines, make sure to carefully inspect the surface of the contact drum. Mine has one small score in it that causes a ridge of a few mills. They can get very badly damaged if someone has fed a board that is just too thick for the machine to process.

    This particular machine has a 20 hp cast iron beast of a motor that runs the drum. It is quite fun to start up.

    enjoy
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Houston, Texas
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    339
    Lou

    I enjoyed your shop tour!
    Looks like your having fun.

    Corvin

  3. #3
    Lou,

    My head is still spinning from the last part of the tour. That's an amazing piece of equipment. I think I've owned cars with less horsepower!

    Dave Fried

  4. #4
    Wow, that is one huge piece of equipment. You have a beautiful shop with some cool machinery... ...... lol... if you powered that sander and that big old jointer up at the same time, I would probably wet my pants and yell for my mommy!
    Honestly, thanks for the tour Lou, you have a shop to be proud of, enjoy it.

    Corey

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pa
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    2,266
    Geez, and I never had before thought of a Timesaver as "old iron," but now I know better.
    Alan Turner
    Philadelphia Furniture Workshop

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Turner
    Geez, and I never had before thought of a Timesaver as "old iron," but now I know better.
    Hi alan

    timesavers used to be made right in the old usa and were extra heavy. This one tips the scale at about 3800 lbs (1973 vintage ) . A modern 37" machine is about half the weight... where did it all go?

    lou

  7. #7
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    Jan 2004
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    Another awesome piece of machinery Lou! What do you buy by the pound? Is this weight thing an addiction? Seriously though you have a fine setup in your shop! You have tools that most of us would love to own but probably never will. Again Nice setup!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Grand Marais, MN. A transplant from Minneapolis
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    5,513
    Lou you really like to torture us, and it feels so good. Thanks for sharing
    TJH
    Live Like You Mean It.



    http://www.northhouse.org/

  9. #9
    Lou, that is one nice looking peice of machinery! Thanks for the post, it was all new information for me.
    Jeff Sudmeier

    "It's not the quality of the tool being used, it's the skills of the craftsman using the tool that really matter. Unfortunately, I don't have high quality in either"

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Sudmeier
    Lou, that is one nice looking peice of machinery! Thanks for the post, it was all new information for me.
    hi jeff
    Thanks for the comments. As I have stated before, one of the reasons that I wanted to take the opportunity to present this information in this slow drawn out format was not to "crow" about all my tools. Really any guy with more money than brains can fill up a shop of tools that he has no idea of how or why they work. My motivation was to be able to provide some real information about these machines that will help folks make informed purchases and be able to evaluate this machine vs that machine.
    I do welcome you all if you have some specific question about a particular tool to pm me and I will try to answer them as best as I can.

    BTW. I realize that this particular machine seems like it is way out of reach for the average ww. It really is not. I took my time and looked for one ( the timesavers brand were really the first on the block, I know that beach and nash also made big drum sanders, but for wide belts timesavers is really the unisaw of sanders ) for a couple of years. I paid less for this machine than some are paying for a new drum sander!

    regards
    lou

  11. #11
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    Lou.....I hope my post didn't offend you or anybody else! It is, in fact, a neat experience to learn about new (or in your case old) machinery, their method of operation and the reasons the owner bought that particular piece of equipment. Often it's these reasons that effect my future purchases or plans. It's been a real treat to see your shop and your tools! My comments were based solely on my personal situation as a soon to be retiree, with limited income and a beginner, woodworker hobbiest. I am one who happen to marry a woman who has NEVER denied me a tool! I also inheritied enough Scotch from a maternal grandmother to try to be frugal and yet, have enough experiences with "less than satisfactory cheap stuff" that I always try to buy the best quality that I can afford and justify? Make sense? I really appreciate the work and thought that you've put into building and outfitting your shop.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald
    Lou.....I hope my post didn't offend you or anybody else! It is, in fact, a neat experience to learn about new (or in your case old) machinery, their method of operation and the reasons the owner bought that particular piece of equipment. Often it's these reasons that effect my future purchases or plans. It's been a real treat to see your shop and your tools! My comments were based solely on my personal situation as a soon to be retiree, with limited income and a beginner, woodworker hobbiest. I am one who happen to marry a woman who has NEVER denied me a tool! I also inheritied enough Scotch from a maternal grandmother to try to be frugal and yet, have enough experiences with "less than satisfactory cheap stuff" that I always try to buy the best quality that I can afford and justify? Make sense? I really appreciate the work and thought that you've put into building and outfitting your shop.
    Hi ken

    no problem, I wasn't responding to your most gracious post and reply. I agree that folks should be frugal and not just buy stuff to have it. I really do build furniture. This past month has been a distraction because of the band saw purchase, which will be one of the tools shown in shop tour 7C. Like I said, even though only a few folks take the time to respond to my tour with a post, I am pretty sure that others are just taking time to listen and learn and that is how it should be. We all are learning from each other. I look at rob millard and say "wow" that guy is good, as well as other folks work shown here and on other sites.

    kind regards
    lou

  13. #13
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    Jul 2003
    Location
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    Lou, I like your belt rack (stool flange and PVC pipe, right?), thought I might have missed it in a previous post but I checked and this is the first (top photo) it shows up. What is the length of the pipe? Are you satisfied with the strength of it, as is, or would you do it different next time. I have a bunch of 6" and 8" belts (48" and 84" and several grits) that take up lots of space and are heavy too. I've been thinking about hanging them out over an open stairwell using metal brackets and 36" long PVC pipe split in half to spread (avoid kinking). Your method bears consideration, thanks.

    Yes there are those of us lurking in awe as your tour unfolds.
    Work safe, have fun, enjoy the sport.
    Remember that a guy never has to come down out of the clouds if he keeps filling the valleys with peaks. Steve

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Stube
    Lou, I like your belt rack (stool flange and PVC pipe, right?), thought I might have missed it in a previous post but I checked and this is the first (top photo) it shows up. What is the length of the pipe? Are you satisfied with the strength of it, as is, or would you do it different next time. I have a bunch of 6" and 8" belts (48" and 84" and several grits) that take up lots of space and are heavy too. I've been thinking about hanging them out over an open stairwell using metal brackets and 36" long PVC pipe split in half to spread (avoid kinking). Your method bears consideration, thanks.

    Yes there are those of us lurking in awe as your tour unfolds.
    hi steve
    wow ... good catch on the belt rack.. It is exactly as you say.. a toilet flange bolted to the wall with regular pvc pipe.. works great and I would recommend it. My sander uses 37" x 75" belts and if they get creased they get ruined. Each belt is about 50 bucks, so you don't want to ruin them needlessly. Like I said, the wide belt may seem over the top, but if you are patient you can find one for a reasonable price.


    BTW for all of you who have an eye for detal like steve does, take a look at the picture that shows the timesavers lable plate and the turn crank. If you notice the turn crank has divisions on it from 0 to 20. Timesavers was into the digital age before there was a digital age. Each division on the turn crank equals 0.001", one full revloution equals 0.020" . Pretty cool!



    lou
    Last edited by lou sansone; 04-15-2005 at 11:50 AM.

  15. #15
    I guess I missed something along the way. After seeing this machine I want to see the rest of the shop tour but having done a search, I can't find anything. How do I get back to the previous postings?

    George

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