AEM Wide Belt Sanders - Any Opinions?

[Matt Hutchinson]

So, for whatever reason I keep getting calls for jobs like "I am re-doing my entire kitchen, and I would really love to have butcher block counter tops. Do you do that kind of work?" Of course, I do. However, I don't have a wide belt sander in house, and the sanding usually gets subbed out. Given the fact that I have had a surprising numbers of inquiries of this nature in a very short time span, I think it may be time to invest in a new machine. I am looking at getting a 37" wide belt, (75" length belt). Right now I might be able to get my hands on an AEM. Any experience with this brand? I know that AEM has service and parts support through Timesavers, which seems like a plus. Any and all comments and opinions are welcome. Thanks!

-Hutch

[David Kumm]

What age? The Green AEM for generally made in the US although some were Korean- I believe. The early 90s gray ones were US before Timesavers bought them out. I think AEM and Timesavers were owned by relatives- brothers maybe- and AEM sold in early 90s. The gray Timesavers series look to be close in build to the gray AEM. Both were very heavy castings and steel. Table was usually hand cranked but rock solid. They weighed about 2500 lbs for the single head 20 hp units and close to 4K for the two head 25-15hp ones. By mid 90s they had gone to Asia. Look hard at the contact drums and the feed belt. About 800-1000 to replace either. There has been a very nice 37" on Machine Central for some time. If you have the capacity Andy there also has a nice two head 43" AEM for a good price too. I almost bought but a SCMI close by came up instead. Dave

[Matt Hutchinson]

Thanks Dave! It is described as not very old, and it's bright blue. It has a 30 hp motor, which is one of the things that really attracted me to it, and it's local. I will check out Machine Central as well.

- Hutch

[David Kumm]

The older AEM were blue. I think the Timesavers were green so I screwed up there. They made several series and 30 hp sounds like a heavier series. Go to Ex-factory.com and look for a sander that is similar and look up the literature in the description section. They have original brochures listed that helps when looking at older models. Dave

[Chris Peterson]

Matt,
Like any company, AEM made some good models and some not-so-good models.

AEM was started by a man who worked at Timesavers for many years (decades).
Later, Timesavers bought AEM.
Some AEM sanders were made in the AEM plant in Kansas plant and some were made at the Timesavers plant in Minnesota (serial number ended with "M").
Incidentally, some Timesavers sander were made at the AEM plant in Kansas.
Eventually the decision was made to save costs by closing the AEM plant and the AEM label went away.

When looking at purchasing a used widebelt sander, look at the condition of the contact drum and conveyor belt as these are your costliest repairs.
The contact drum should be spiral grooved. This is important for cutting ability, dust channeling, and cooling.
Look for grooves in the drum caused by sanding material too thick, blowing the abrasive belt, and damaging the drum.
The average cost to remove, recover, and replace a contact drum is about $1,100.

Check the seam of the conveyor belt for separation due to age or over-stretching.
The average cost to replace a conveyor belt is about $1,000.

Machines that use electronic eyes to sense the abrasive belt for tracking are more desireable than machines that use air to sense the abrasive belt...but we've converted many air-sensing machines to electronic sensing.

I hope this helps.

Chris Peterson
Comprehensive Repair, Inc.