Thread: Anderson 900mm wide sander

Originally Posted by auscab

Did you used to work on the old one at Dewhurst ?
That was a drum sander!
Grunty looking thing.

Yep, that's the one. Not so much grunt though, only 10hp.
Woodworking Machinery in Australia - Manufacturers and Merchants

I also found its replacement; 1350mm wide, 30hp on the first head, 20hp on the second head. Now that was a grunty piece of kit!

Yeah changing the paper on these WBS is not that easy without damaging them, the sand paper in this machine is about the same size as my previous sander, which is around 1300mm long, it is a breeze to change compare to a bigger sander. with bigger sander, say sand paper >1900mm in length, to change the sandpaper you almost have to stand at the exact spot, raising your hand to the exact height, relying on that perfect balance of the paper holding its own shape and then slide it in.... if you dont, the sand paper will not go in and you will damage your paper.

but comparing to a drum sander, its a lot easier. I have watched a skilled woodworker changing the sand paper on his drum sander... immediately I told myself I will NEVER get a drum sander.

The WBS really is a game changer to any workshop. I will never give up my WBS.

We used to put them on with a length of pipe fitted to a forklift tine. One of the sanders was 1800 wide.
Wrapping a drum sander is quite simple,once you get the hang of it and have a template for angle and length. A bit of a file down on the drum edge engaging the paper helps a lot.

The new drums look pretty easy; clamp one end, wrap it around and clamp the other end. Ours was anything but.

It wasn't a 3" wide strip, but a single full width piece cut on an angle at the ends so the overlap would sit in a helical gap in the felt covering the drum. To install it you'd lever the sprung end of the drum out and drop in a pin to hold it back, then you had to position the full sheet, pull it tight with the palms of your hands and hold it in place with leather straps, then (without disturbing the position of the paper on the felt) slide a steel band around each end of the drum and hook it in to locating holes, then pull the pin out to release the tensioning spring and hope you got the paper evenly wrapped all the way around because if you didn't there'd be a bubble and you'd have to start over.

Minimum of an hour per drum, we only changed the paper when it literally blew up because it was such a massive PITA to do.

Originally Posted by rustynail

The Anderson's are quite a good machine and provided they are well maintained give long service. Being one of the more simple designs they are simple to operate once tracking has been adjusted. As I recall, this model didn't come with pneumatic belt cleaning which could give problems with belt clogging (easily rectified with an old thong.) Good dust extraction is a must on these old girls. Check drums for lateral movement as bearing wear makes tracking hard work.
If the machine is in good order the price is good.

What sort of maintenance does this sort of machine need?

It is unlikely I will get it, I only have a 3HP dust extractor and not really wanting to buy a new one. Something to keep in mind for the future

They really need very little regular maintenance, just periodic checking of the drive belts and some grease on the table jack screws. The bearings are all sealed and the pneumatic and electrical components either work or they don't. The only other thing is dressing the feed belt when it stops gripping.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

They really need very little regular maintenance, just periodic checking of the drive belts and some grease on the table jack screws. The bearings are all sealed and the pneumatic and electrical components either work or they don't. The only other thing is dressing the feed belt when it stops gripping.

How does one dress the feed belt?

How is the table calibrated so that it is exactly parallel with the sanding surface or is that set at factory?

To dress the feed belt, simply remove the upper limit switch/stop for the table travel and very slowly raise the table into a fresh 60 grit belt while it's running; take 0.1mm at a time and make sure the feed belt completes at least 2 full passes before raising it again. If the machine has an air pad in the combination head, make sure it's disabled. You shouldn't need to take more than 0.2-0.3mm to get a fresh surface.

The table is fixed and it's actually the sanding head that's adjusted. On the motor side there should be some clamping bolts and an adjustment bolt. While it is set at the factory, you should always check for parallelism after the machine is set down and levelled as it may shift slightly in transport.