Trickle-down Technology
www.modernwoodworking.com 37 SEPTEMBER 2009 Project4 12/11/06 4:36 PM Page 1 Circle on Reader Service Card or visit ModernWoodworking.com/info. Trickle-down technology Designers, architects and consumers increasingly de-mand higher quality fi nishes from wood products manu-facturers. Fortunately, widebelt sander suppliers are mak-ing quality fi nishes easier to achieve by pushing features once reserved for only the top-of-the-line machines down into mid- and entry-level models. As we see a trend toward darker stains, the fi nish quality has to increase because blotchiness and sand-ing inconsistencies are more apparent, says Mike Johnson, BiesseSand brand sales manager. With that trend, we're seeing more demand for chevron belts and super-fi nishing units because of the consistent fi nish quality they provide. Chevron belts on smaller machines also make it possible for custom shops to produce furniture-quality fi nishes and eliminate the time and labor required for hand-sanding. The best fi nish you can get from a sanding head is a drum, says Tim Middleton, product manager for Stiles' sanding group. But any variation in the core can cause the drum to burn through the veneer because there is no pressure control. The problem with a pad scratch is that because of the wide surface area hitting the part, you get `snake lines' as the belt tracks back and forth. A Chevron belts give you the scratch pattern of a drum, but allows you to have edge control and pressure tolerance so you can accommodate variations in the core and not burn through the veneer it's the best of both worlds. Another feature once reserved only for high-end machines are crossbelt units that sand across the grain and remove wood rings and allow the following sanding heads to sand the part completely smooth. The combination of touch-screen controls and vari-able abrasive belt speeds that allow the user to dial in set-tings for specifi c wood species are also making it easier for shops with less experienced operators to achieve higher quality fi nishes. With the touch-screen controls and preprograms, the operator doesn't need years of sanding knowledge to reach a high level of fi nish quality, says Johnson. He can be trained in minutes how to pull up a program and have the machine set itself and run those complicated applications rather than manually setting up the machine for each application.