Delta 6x48 Sander Platen

Modified on 2018/09/16 21:51 by Jeff Joslin — Categorized as: Restoration Topics, Sanders

Repair¶

Machining or Grinding Flat¶

It is possible to repair a worn cast iron platen by machining or grinding it flat
A Delta 6 X 48 Cast Iron Platen Reborn!
Worn drum on 6x48 sander
The thickness of metal that will remain afterwards should be taken into consideration before choosing this option. Below are images from Bruce Erdman showing a platen with typical wear and the results after Blanchard grinding:

Flattening With Filler¶

On The Machine¶

By Shane Whitlock
Rockwell Belt Sander Restoration Pics (updated all finished).

You can see the platen is stamped steel instead of cast iron and it's in bad shape with more than a 1/8" bow in the center.

Mine also had the typical worn groove .. Right even with the top of the table.

So to flatten it out I took some J.B. weld and mixed up enough to cover the surface.

After it set up over night I mounted the platen back on the sander. I then took some duct tape and wrapped the drums to protect them during the next step.

Next I took a new belt and turned it inside out and put it on the sander. I found a flat piece of OSB, turned on the sander and pressed the OSB firmly against the belt which sanded the J.B. weld down until the face of the platen was nice and flat. It took a while to flatten it out but it worked great. It helped to have my wife turn the tracking screw in and out so the belt moved side to side across the platen while sanding.

What it looks like now, nice and flat.

Graphited Canvas¶

Applying graphited canvas is reported to result in a cooler running belt, less load on the motor and provide inexpensive, easy to replace protection to a newly flattened platen.
Worn drum on 6x48 sander
machining a 6x48 belt sander platen

Setting the Platen¶

Set a straightedge across the platen on both sides of the drums. The amount of drop should be the same. If not, shim out or in the platen. Also the platen can be set too low or high making the belt swell up in the middle as it runs. Most do this a little bit, but it shouldn't be too much.
Rockwell 6X48 belt tracking woes.......