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These are used extensively in the cabinet door business. Both for white wood sanding and for sanding sealers during finishing. Im not sure how they would fit in with solid surface. We also used “fladder” sanders for profiles on wood doors, they may have some application on edge profiles.
Wags,
Not sure if it will even work, but I happened to run across it and you know the gears are always turning.
Mory
I’ve contacted them. I’ll order one and put it to use on a local CNC on solid surface. In my experience as it relates to fladder wheels, and the ones I’ve seen being used, they’re ok for wood. We will see on solid surface.
I used those years ago to sand the round over edge on particle board countertop blanks. It was at the end of a huge core builder we had and it worked pretty well in that application. I guess with the right abrasives it might work on solid surface.
Shane
Used to use those back in the days when I had a furniture factory. Called Vonagut heads or wolf heads. Really just for de nibbing carvings, polishing embossed chair backs after pressing, not much on stock removal which was why they were used. Same concept as we used on wood turnings, called a Nash sander, except the wood turned and the sandpaper and brushes were stationary.
Don’t think they would be usable on solid surface, but have you ever seen a pump sander, or sometimes called a ballon sander? 3″ x 9″ drum, air inflatable to different hardness for bullnose edges. You can put them on a pedestal grinder or use them hand held like a rolling pin to do edges. Those would work.
I have one of those (not that brand) that I use to sand the final step in the bowl.. I think it is 320 grit. Had the thing for years and it works real well although I don’t know that it is really necessary.
Good Lord, Shane!
You worked at a company large enough to use a core builder?
VT?, Pro-Form?, what?
Tom
Tom,
The company was Crown Plastics at one time the largest countertop manufacturer on the west coast. We would produce 6 to 10k ln ft of countertops a day which amounted to three semi trucks going out every day. We had two production lines, our high speed line would run at 30 fpm and then we had our custom line that would run much slower. We had two core builders, our large one was a Mid-West Automation unit that would make up a complete core with build-up and no-drip edge just by feeding in a 30x particle board. We even built and installed an auto feeder so it only required one guy to tail off.
We also developed our own line of solid surface called Cromar back in the late 80s. The owner was Ralph Solomon and he bought all the equipment to mix and pour the product into molds. After working 30 days straight to hook it all up I was involved a little on the development of the mix as far as type of resin, ath, pigments, and catalyst. The product still needed improvement when I left 18 years ago but it was only two years later when the business folded. Hartson-Kennedy bought him out in the early nineties and then moved the operation to another location. I think their product was called Cerrata (sp).
I had worked there for close to nine years (the stories I could tell…:) and had worked my way up to plant manager when I realized I needed a change, so I decided to work harder for less money and go into business for myself.
Shane
We would produce 6 to 10k ln ft of countertops a day…
That’s astounding. And I used to wonder how companies like H-K could sell blanks fabricated for what I paid for materials.
I think one of the great event markers of his carreer was when my Dad fabricated the post-form tops that went into the home of the owner of Saxon Mfg., a production post form house in Mass.
I think you are right about Cerrata. Didn’t go too far, but I thought that would be the ss of home centers at the time.
… so I decided to work harder for less money and go into business for myself.
Heh. Too true.
Tom
for the record.. HK moved that equipment to Glendale Az. It was the only location making Cerrata in the country. They also had several PostForm line for laminate. In January of 06 they stopped making Cerrata for a number of reasons, one being the cost of solid surface was dropping as the cost of raw materials were rising. Also they were competing with some of their larger laminate customers who carried other solid surfaces. All this combined to make it the right time to get out of the solid surface sheet business. In November of last year they closed the Glendale Az plant completly. They moved most of the PF equipment back east, I know they were trying to sell the solid surface equipment but not sure if they did. Last time I visited them it was still there (December 06). HK is still a large producer of laminate tops in the east.
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