Hammer HS950 sander Platen not Flat

[Joel Wesseling]

My sander arrived out of the crate - not set up flat. It had an inward deflection in the middle of the sanding plate.

It has adjustments. Locking grub screws that push on the back side of the plate. These screws are at 3-4 locations across the length and with one at top and bottom at each location..

I've set the grub screws the best I can. Its much better than it was, but not flat enough to sand 2 edges for a glue up. There remains deflection between the adjustment locations.

I disappointed. A machined steel surface would be better? Not a flexible steel plate?

What should we expect from this company and this price point and edge sanders in general?

Maybe there's more that can be done to make it flat and I need to play around more with adjustments.

Sanding shaker doors after glue up is fine. I don't really notice(by sight) a slight dimensional variation across the length of the edge but it is there..

Any thoughts? Anyone own this sander and has a flat sanding surface?

Thanks!

[Aaron Inami]

The Hammer HS950 has a 1/2" thick steel platen that is supported by several cast iron brackets behind. It is not a flexible sheet metal. Can you take pictures to show what you are getting? Maybe take a straight edge along the surface.

[mike stenson]

What's the measured deviation we're discussing here?

[Aaron Inami]

One thing to be aware of is that this edge sander is not a jointer. You can get pretty close to a flat surface, but it's not going to be 100% perfect. A lot can happen with uneven pressure. If you are sanding an edge that is longer than the sander itself, then you can definitely have a curved/uneven surface.

This post here shows what the HS950 1/2" steel platen should look like:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....92#post3213592

[Joel Wesseling]

The photo from post 4 is exactly like my machine. The 3 center iron brackets hold the grub screws. On mine the screws were not touching the platen initially and the platen was resting against the brackets with no gaps. The inward deflection was 2mm that was obvious to see with a straight edge. The grub screws will easily flex(with plate side screws loosened first) the 1/2 inch steel when rotated clockwise and bring plate closer to flat through the center where the deflection was.

I'm slowly improving on sanding pressure skills. The sanding is rapid with an extremely smooth finish.

But, take a straight edge across the plate(without sand paper) a see how flat you plate is.. I'd be curious to know.

I doubt that steel platen has been machined to be flat. I would love to see the platen manufacturing process.. I'm looking for descriptions in the specs/marketing but can't find anything yet.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Joel, have you contacted Felder-Group Canada about this?

Regards, Rod

[Aaron Inami]

Following is a straight edge against my HS950 platen:

platen_graphite_straight_edge.jpg

I can get a 0.015" feeler gauge down into the gap in the middle (.38mm). I attribute this to normal wear on the graphite pad. When I put a straight edge against the steel platen itself, it is perfectly flat:

Platen_straight_edge.jpg

If you are getting a 2mm gap with a straight edge, I would raise this issue back with Felder as a defective product. Include pictures of your straight edge to show the problem.