Belt sander question

[thistle3585]

I have an older belt sander that has a maple platen with some sort of frictionless material between the platen and the belt. Over the years, the platen has gotten grooves in it and the frictionless material has all but deteriorated. I am trying to decide between sanding the existing platen down and putting the frictionless material back on or possibly sanding the platen down and install a 1/4" steel plate to reduce the wear on the maple. I'm curious as to the need for the frictionless material over the steel. Can anyone elaborate on the construction of their belt sander? I primarily use this to sand headstocks and necks.

[Marty Jacobson]

I have an older belt sander that has a maple platen with some sort of frictionless material between the platen and the belt.

Can I get some of that frictionless material? That's really hard to find! :-)
Sorry, I will give a helpful answer now.

You want to replace the platen surface with Garolite CE, specifically the CE grade which contains blended-in lubrication. McMaster sells an 18" x 39" piece for $25 here:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#2547K12

This is the same material use to make bandsaw guides or "Cool Blocks". It is only 1/16" thick, should last generations. And you'll have extra for next time.
The only hard thing is how to attach it. I think you will need to use countersunk screws (nylon!) as no adhesive I know of will bond to it. I say nylon screws so as the platen wears down, exposing the heads of the screws, you won't create a belt-shredding monster.

Hope I answered what you were asking. Yes, you should also take this opportunity to run your platen over the jointer and make sure it is actually flat and true.

[thistle3585]

I can get the frictionless material. I think its called graphite cloth or canvas. My old one was wrapped around the platen and screwed on the back. It wore through on the ends. You can have the old one if you want it. The belt sander is 4' long, so the remaining material is about 40" long x 6". Its worn in a few spots. I thought about using some of it to make a deadhead sander. Thanks for the link. I'll check that out.

[Marty Jacobson]

Sorry, I was just joking that nothing is truly frictionless. I guess it wasn't that funny.

Yeah, I see. The material I recommended does the same thing as that friction-reducing canvas. It is actually graphite and canvas in a phenolic binder, same stuff Formica countertops are made of. So it is in a rigid sheet, and won't fail at the corners.
Cold rolled steel would work too, but it would be more expensive for something finished nicely enough to do this job properly. Probably at least $100.

[amowry]

Those graphite platens have always been a pet peeve of mine, because they don't stay flat, thus it seems to me they defeat the entire purpose of the sander. On my current sander (a Rikon) I removed the graphite and put on a piece of hardware-store sheet steel bedded in epoxy. As I recall, I clamped a flat piece of granite on top to hold it as flat as possible while the epoxy cured. Then I painstakingly filed/sanded the steel flat. I'm not talking high tolerance, but it's pretty good, and certainly flatter than the underlying steel. I was afraid the epoxy might soften with the heat of sanding and allow the sheet steel to distort, but it's stayed flat for the several years that I've had it. I'm sure there's more friction than with graphite, but the sander still has plenty of power, and the belt life seems okay.

That Garolite CE sounds like a great option if the underlying surface is flat.

[Marty Jacobson]

Mr. Mowry brings up a good point, any kind of sacrificial wear pad should be trued up as it wears.
I wonder if anyone has tried making a platen out of polished granite? Would last forever, never rust, and be pretty doggone low friction.
Seems like something Steel City would do... They have granite topped jointers, band saws, etc.