I just made a new platen and ground my first blade on it.
I have a little 1x42. The black L piece is the original platten. I am aware these cheap L plattens flex, but honestly before now my grinding skills were bad and i couldnt tell.
I made the new platten by welding 2 pieces of angle iron into an L shape. I invented some crazy clamp trickery to get it clamped perfectly square before welding and it came out straight as you could ever get angle iron. The vertical angle had a notch cut out to fit around the bottom piece, and i welded all 3 contacting edges.
I drilled some holes in the vertical piece and can bolt on various plates. These plates must be drilled and threaded to have a smooth face the belt rides against.
It came out pretty well but if i bear down on it it still flexes just a tad. Whereas the old platten might move 1/4" at the top, the new platten might twist just a barely noticeable amount. I honestly expected it to not move at all.
I am curious if anyone has a better platten for this kind of sander? I have read several "improvements" that dont actually have any back support. I figure even with a center back support, it might still twist a bit.
I have a little 1x42. The black L piece is the original platten. I am aware these cheap L plattens flex, but honestly before now my grinding skills were bad and i couldnt tell.
I made the new platten by welding 2 pieces of angle iron into an L shape. I invented some crazy clamp trickery to get it clamped perfectly square before welding and it came out straight as you could ever get angle iron. The vertical angle had a notch cut out to fit around the bottom piece, and i welded all 3 contacting edges.
I drilled some holes in the vertical piece and can bolt on various plates. These plates must be drilled and threaded to have a smooth face the belt rides against.
It came out pretty well but if i bear down on it it still flexes just a tad. Whereas the old platten might move 1/4" at the top, the new platten might twist just a barely noticeable amount. I honestly expected it to not move at all.
I am curious if anyone has a better platten for this kind of sander? I have read several "improvements" that dont actually have any back support. I figure even with a center back support, it might still twist a bit.