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Thread: Italian classic - sander gloat

  1. #1
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    Italian classic - sander gloat

    This SCMI/Samco Unilev 15 arrived at my shop last week. I'll be using it with a power feeder to sand edges. I'm working on an attachment that will let me work to a final dimension with precision. This type of sander is more popular in Europe than here in the US. I haven't come across many of these, so I thought that I would share some pics.




    Rather than a long platen, this has a shorter 36" platen open on one side. The other side has a jointer type offset fence and strip platen, about 1-1/2" wide. The driven drum on the end can be used for inside curves. For tighter inside curves, there is a set of spindles that mount in the drum, along with a table to raise the work. I got lucky in that this machine still had the accessory spindles and wrenches. It even has an inflatable drum type, that I mounted for the pics. The dust hood is made to position wherever it will do the most good. I find it too big and will probably get/make a few magnetic hoods for faster repositioning.




    The entire belt assembly cranks up and down to use the entire belt. It is surprisingly rigid (the whole machine is 900 lbs). The strip platen is similar to a widebelt platen: It adjusts in/out and has a felt pad, steel flap platen (like a handheld belt sander), and graphite cloth wear surface. I may need to go to a harder pad for the light dimensioning work that I want to do with it. The table on this side is covered in plastic laminate and tilts up 45 degrees for bevels.



    The control panel rotates to whatever side you are working on. It has a 2 speed motor switch, and controls for the pneumatics that tension the belt and activate the oscillation. The oscillation is limited on the bottom by an air jet. The pressure of the jet and oscillation piston controls the height and speed of motion. I'm not sure yet if this has any significant advantages over a mechanical linkage other than being less fussy with belt changes. The drive motor is 4.8HP, so there will be plenty of power . . .
    JR

  2. #2
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    That's a beefy lookin' thang! Congratulations. Nice acquisition.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
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    I'm not sure what I'm even looking at...but it sure looks cool!

    -Jeff

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the pics, first time I've seen one of those.
    It looks like a very nice machine.
    Judging by the background, you have a bevy of nice machines!
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  5. #5
    It's interesting to see a tool that I haven't seen before.

    Would it be accurate to say that in addition to being a belt sander, it's an edge jointer? I mean, can the fences be offset from each other?

    Then with the addition of a fence on the opposing side, it would effectively be an edge planer.
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  6. #6
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    Allright!!! Now here is my final offer...

    $12.00 U.S.

    Dang! Will that thing cook a meal too? What a beast.
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Schreiber View Post
    It's interesting to see a tool that I haven't seen before.

    Would it be accurate to say that in addition to being a belt sander, it's an edge jointer? I mean, can the fences be offset from each other?

    Then with the addition of a fence on the opposing side, it would effectively be an edge planer.
    Yes, the infeed fence can be offset. It runs in a machined way along the same angle as the back side of the fence piece. You can use it like an edge jointer, but it would take a coarse grit to actually straighten like a jointer. For sanding long edges, it gives more control than trying to slide it along an open platen.

    I will indeed be setting it up with an outboard fence and feeder to do my final dimensioning on drawer faces, fillers, and misc parts. A sideways abrasive planer. Similar to a shaper setup where you clamp a fence to the table and run parts against it to cut a groove and do final dimensioning at the same time.
    JR

  8. #8
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    very very nice J.R.
    Being able to dimension and sand edges in one pass will definately speed up the processs alot. I'll have to stop by next-time I'm in the area and check out all the shop improvements.
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  9. #9
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    Absolutely Steve! Hope to see you up here again. Things have progressed nicely since your last visit.
    JR

  10. #10
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    My old local host for photos sold their domain name, so my original pics are gone. Here they are again.










    JR

  11. #11
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    Thanks for reposting - I missed that first time around.

    Curious: What is the belt speed for the edge sanding operation, and what is the feeder's feed rate? WOndering what the effective ground speed is for the wood crossing the sanding point.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  12. #12
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    JR - just went thru you website. Very nice - the graphics, the description of what you do - the whole thing.

    One questions - going thru the Shop section - I didn't see anything for the M&T joints - what process do you use for those?
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  13. #13
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    JR, why not post them directly to the Creek rather than using a picture hosting service?
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    Andy Rooney



  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kent A Bathurst View Post
    JR - just went thru you website. Very nice - the graphics, the description of what you do - the whole thing.

    One questions - going thru the Shop section - I didn't see anything for the M&T joints - what process do you use for those?
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    JR, why not post them directly to the Creek rather than using a picture hosting service?
    Thanks Kent. I would need to look up the belt speed. It has a 2-speed motor and I just use the faster speed. The fence and feed speed is set to remove 0.008" to 0.012" reliably. That way finished parts are sized within tolerance.

    For the cope and stick, I use a big shaper that is customized with a linear guide/clamp on the back side and a feeder and adjustable outboard fence for the sticking. So basically, I removed the fence and had a machine shop build a new center fixture that runs the length of the shaper table. There is a stop for registering the copes to remove 0.012 from each end as it cuts the stub tenon. The clamp is a RITTER R-10 TESA bolted to the SCM guide that came with the shaper. The other side has spring loaded pressure bars on each side of the cutter to help control the short parts for running the groove. The feeder has the Western Roller belt conversion. The outboard fence is bolted to a dovetail way in the table of the shaper (SCM uses this instead of rings for support in front of different sized cutters) and has a digital gauge that gives me the finished width after ~1/16" gets removed during the cut. Tooling is mounted on the SCM Class pneumatic ISO40 quick change spindles with copes spaced above the sticking so that it all registers correctly with no adjustments needed (the cope sled is higher). I have 6 spindles that are kept loaded with profiles, and a couple of the heads are universals and I can swap the inserts if needed. I had the heads made for me years ago, and the cope uses pairs up up/down shear cutters that are 1. clean cutting and 2. allow shimming of inserts to fine tune the fit of the tenon. Because it is so central to doing this efficiently, I don't like to post pics in public.

    Bruce - Habit I guess! I will look into doing that next time. I also like seeing images in the body of the message rather than in a gallery.
    Last edited by J.R. Rutter; 03-01-2015 at 2:19 PM.
    JR

  15. #15
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    Thanks for the reply JR.

    The details on the same speed aren't critical - you basically answered by saying you have it running with the pedal to the metal. Good enough for my purposes.

    On the second part - you are gluing the cope-and stick joinery without any mortises or tenons, then. Did I get that right?

    Thanks again

    Kent
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

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