Hello,
Long story here so please bear with me...
I have been sanding floors for about 8 years and used a variety of Belt Sanders. This ranges from an older Galaxy that was not well cared for or even had the tension on the V-belts loosened ever to an extremely well cared for Bona Belt. These machines always cut beautifully. I started my own company last year and purchased a Clarke Floorcrafter 8 which has left chatter marks in the floor since the day I got it. Clarke has not stepped up regarding the warranty. Every time I call I get a different list of companies in the Chicago area (I'm down state Illinois) that I have to call to see if they do warranty work. After calling several and getting told either they DO work on the sanders, but do NOT do warranty work, or they DO work on Clarke products but NOT floor sanders, I finally after 7 months found a place. They took it, bent the front clasp for the door, and gave me my machine back with the tracking set so far off it was cutting into the eye bolt on the tensioner. As soon as I adjusted the tracking to move the paper back to the middle of the drum the chatter has come back worse than ever.
I saw the other thread regarding chatter with a Clarke Floorcrafter and I can assure you this is in the floors character, not the topography. No waves, just little lines about a 1/2 inch apart all through the floor. I have taken the v-belts off and ran the machine to listen to the motor and it is smooth. Adding the fan belt, it still sounds and feels smooth. With no fan and the upper roller assembly removed with only the drive belt attached to the drum, I think I might hear a slight wobble, but it's nearly nonexistent. I am pretty sure the problem is in the upper roller assembly because as soon as I put everything back together I can hear a noticeable vibration, see the drive belt as well as any sand paper wobble as if it is not tight. I ruined the first set of V-belts I had for it because I thought it just wasn't tight enough and over tightened them and stretched them out. The inside of the paper I use (Bona Blue) has marks as if the paper is sliding. I tried to adjust the tension to the point I could barely get the paper on and this problem still exists!
At this point I am giving up on Clarke's Customer Service helping me through the warranty which is up at the end of May. (Not happy to have spent $5,000+ on a machine that has never worked properly by the way). I just want my sander to stop costing me money through the extra time and materials to double-side disc the problem away. Can anyone recommend a reputable repair shop as close to Central Illinois as possible that can once and for all fix my machine? I am a do it your selfer, so if there are any adjustments I can try (and I have tried a few) to eliminate this myself I am more than willing to give that a shot as well. Given the other thread on this topic with the same exact problem with the same exact machine it leaves me wondering if there is something inherently wrong with this sander. Any help is certainly welcome as business is getting ready to have to expand and I can't do that without a properly working machine. Thanks in Advance!!
