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WINNER
SMOOTHS OUT SANDING PROBLEMS AT ABBIE PINE
A Timesavers-Sandingmaster Winner wide belt sander
is living up to its name at Abbie Pine Designs
by slashing sanding time and improving product
quality.
The
small Kidderminster company run by brothers Derek
and Mark Blazier produces a wide selection of
traditional pine furniture that is sold through
several leading pine retail outlets locally and
nationally.
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The
Winner wide belt sander in action at Abbie
Pine Designs. |
Its
extensive standard product range consists of fitted
kitchen units as well as bedroom, lounge and dining
room furniture. Individual bespoke items requested
by retailers are also produced, with computer
desks and other items for home office use currently
proving popular.
Only
top class Scandinavian redwood is used, usually
original boards that are the most stable sections.
The finished items are supplied mainly in the
white, although a waxing and lacquering service
is also available.
Timesavers-Sandingmaster's
sole UK agent, T.M. Machinery, of Leicester supplied
the 1100mm wide Winner sander. It features two
sanding heads, a large calibrating roller and
a combination head with a working width of 1100mm
and 1900mm long abrasive belts.
With
a reputation for solid construction, reliability
and superb performance, Sandingmaster models offer
a number of technical advantages that make them
especially attractive to middle-market users.
In particular, Sandingmaster is unique in using
membrane-controlled segmented pads, while most
manufacturers use cylinders, which are less accurate.
At Abbie Pine the Winner sands all of the pine
components prior to their assembly. It replaced
a smaller 900mm wide Sandingmaster bought second-hand
when the business was set up in 1995.
As
the belt is 200mm wider than the old sander even
the largest components, such as tabletops, can
now be put through in one pass. Previously these
big pieces had to be made in two parts with each
part sanded separately before being assembled,
with the middle join needing laborious hand sanding.
"It has made us far more efficient by giving us
a better finish and additional sanding capacity
due to its extra width and speedier operation,"
said Derek Blazier. Because of its extremely compact
design it doesn't take up any more space in the
crowded workshop than the former sander.
In
particular, the brothers find the digital readout
capability extremely useful. Explained Mark Blazier:
"You simply set it to the thickness you require
and the machine does the rest automatically. It
takes all of the guesswork out of the setting
up and is absolutely idiot proof."
He
added that the adjustable feed control speed was
another major advantage. This allows the operator
to slow the belt right down so that he can put
several small components on it, then walk round
to the other side to take them off after sanding,
which makes loading and unloading a simple one-man
operation.
As
well as sanding pine it's also used on solid oak
pieces that are occasionally required for kitchen
worktops. This presented a problem for the old
sander because if too much pressure was put on
the worktops the belt would slip, resulting in
a defective finish, something that no longer occurs.
"We checked with several sander suppliers before
choosing the Winner which we feel offered the
best value for money when you consider all the
advanced features it has," said Derek Blazier.
What also helped to clinch the sale was that T.M.
Machinery was prepared to offer a two-year warranty
instead of the standard one-year manufacturer's
guarantee, so confident were they of the machine's
well-proven record of reliability.
According
to the Blaziers, the routine maintenance requirements
are minimal, with the sanding belts quick and
easy to replace, and the built-in safety features
help to prevent accidents.
Sales
enquiries to Matt Pearce, T.M. Machinery Sales
T: 0116 271 7155. F: 0116 271 5862
E: sales@tmservices.co.uk
W: www.tmpartnership.co.uk
Editorial enquiries to Stephen Barry Publicity.
Tel: 020 8341 6660. email: stephenbarry@clara.co.uk
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