Buying used Wide Belt Sandya 5 or Houfek Buldog

[Jon Dieterlen]

Looking at a couple used 43" 2 head machines. 2003 sandya 5 from a small shop one owner, or a 2006 Houfek Buldog from a medium sized shop also one owner. The SCMI likely has less hours on it. The Houfek is a heavier machine outweighing the SCMI by over 1000lbs.

Any thoughts?

[Erik Loza]

Aside from the fact that those are both solid machines, it will be difficult to answer a "what should I buy"-type question. So many variables in terms of how the machine was cared for and then what you expect of it. In my experience, the two used machines that cause the owners the most grief from a repair cost standpoint are edgebanders and widebelts. That's not to say it's "new-or-nothing", just that I've seen plenty of cases where that magical deal turned into a giant boat anchor, if you get my meaning. Regarding the SCMi, spare parts "ought" to be available through Parts Pronto. They did a pretty good job of supporting the historical range of widebelts, in my experience. Good luck and hope this helps,

Erik

[jack duren]

How much for the Sandya?

[Jon Dieterlen]

Yea I'm no stranger to buying equipment. You have to find the right machine, from the right place to make it work. There is a lot of old worn out junk on the market. We're running a 1990 Jet 2 head 37" machine that I bought in 2006. It's been a good machine. I also bought a used CNC in 2013, used it for almost 10 years and replaced it with new. It was definitely a gamble on the router, but one I was willing to take. It was 1/2 price of new, and totally transformed how thing are done in the shop.

[Brian Ross]

I have an older Sanya and have owned it for approx 15 years. It has been flawless. It needed bronze bushings in the pressure rollers when I got it. I replaced all 8 for $50 and they were produced by a local machine shop.

[Brian Ross]

I have an older Sanya and have owned it for approx 15 years. It has been flawless. It needed bronze bushings in the pressure rollers when I got it. I replaced all 8 for $50 and they were produced by a local machine shop.

[J.R. Rutter]

A lot depends on how you want to use it. What are the drum diameters and materials in each? Multiple motors or one driving both heads? Are there any options like pneumatic activation of the drums and platen, variable speed feed, or belt blowers to clear dust?

I've got a 1999 Sandya 5 that has only needed display lights, an oscillation cylinder, and drive belts replaced so far. It is an excellent finish sander, and only a fair abrasive planer. It only gets used for an hour or so per day.

[edit] I looked pretty hard at the Houfek, Biesse, and SCM sanders at AWFS back in 2008-9 or so and ended up buying the Sandya lightly used. The Houfek would be my likely pick for heavier work like flattening slabs, etc.

[jack duren]

We sold a similar Sandya is the reason in curious about the price..

[Richard Coers]

I can't imagine the coated rollers are very grippy after 18-21 years old. For the work I did in my shop, I would not be a fan of a 2 roller system. That means two tracking systems and on most of my panels, I had to take a few passes and I wouldn't want the 2nd drum in play all the time. Not familiar with either machine, hope both have optical tracking and lots of HP.

[J.R. Rutter]

I can't imagine the coated rollers are very grippy after 18-21 years old. For the work I did in my shop, I would not be a fan of a 2 roller system. That means two tracking systems and on most of my panels, I had to take a few passes and I wouldn't want the 2nd drum in play all the time. Not familiar with either machine, hope both have optical tracking and lots of HP.

Having switched activation of each drum head (I think that's what you mean by roller) is the best of both worlds. Leave coarse and fine belts loaded, but only activate the fine head for a finish pass. OP, if you have pics of the inside of the machine, air cylinders in place of plain threaded rods on the head adjustments indicate that they are switchable from the control panel.

I don't know that the driven drums need to be very grippy. The Sandya that I have has a steel drum for the first head, which is awesome for hitting things like knotty woods where the density varies. It makes a nice smooth and uniform calibrated surface.

[Jon Dieterlen]

This will be used to sand 5 piece doors, face frames, etc.. We do calibrate ff material and door frame material with it as well. We are running a 37" 2 head Jet now. Just want to get a 43" for the larger frames. Sounds like the SCM would do a nice job on the doors. It has a steel first drum. They are not pneumatically raised/lowered, but we always run both heads anyway. The SCM has been ran a few hours a week, and the Houfek has been ran a few hours a day. I'm leaning toward the SCM as it has seen less use.