How to live life w/o a wide-belt sander

[martens]

I've recently quit my job to "do my ownthing"
This means I don't have access to some of the bigger tools like the 44" wide biesse sander.
I used to glue up all my door panels, table tops ect...run them thur the sander and in 3 or 4 passes I would have a perfectly flat pice.

Working in my own shop I don't have space for a wide belt or even a bigass planer.....what are some good tricks to get around this?

 

[martens]

I've got a project currently that requires a 40×90 solid maple top.
My plan is to do a really good job on the glue up (lots of domino's) and hopefully just  finish it with my RO150...
I've just been so spoiled with having access to some of the bigger machines...

 

[kevin clifford]

Find a local shop with a widebelt and rent it as you need it. I have paid 40 or 60 bucks an hour a few times. Much cheaper than owning a widebelt for the few times a year you may need it. Bring coffee and donuts for the shop foreman as well.

 

[martens]

Yeah i think that's probably what I'll do..I just like to be able to do it from home.

General international has that open ended one, might look into that one down the road.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Get a bigger space and then buy a wide belt. 

I am looking for a wide belt, moulder and slr currently.

 

[Kev]

"one day" when I've got space, a wide belt is a deffo !!

Nothing crazy big and not a Felder ( [crying] ) as the 5x price of a good used SCM or similar blows them out of feasibility!

To me the thing that kills a WBS is the space they require ... sure they're costly as a unit, but a massive time saver if you're churning out work.

 

[Discap]

I just made a desk out of 3" mesquite that is 4' x 7'. I used lots of dominos and my RO 150. Worked great. My 26" wide belt is in storage because of dominos and the RO 150.

Bill

 

[Kev]

I just made a desk out of 3" mesquite that is 4' x 7'. I used lots of dominos and my RO 150. Worked great. My 26" wide belt is in storage because of dominos and the RO 150.

Bill

[member=27808]Discap[/member]

Obviously you'd have spend the time on getting an even thickness before plunging the dominos ... so how much sanding time do you thing the 4x7' needed to bring it up to ~150 with the Rotex post glue up.

Personally I'd probably be fussing for about 20 minutes per grit.