I got several Great Planes Easy Touch bar sanders for Christmas. The family got 2 of each size so I'm pretty well set. However, one of them was twisted such that the bed of it wouldn't lie flat. I called Tower Hobbies and they rushed a new one out right away (great customer service). However, it is twisted as well though not as bad as the original one.

Has anybody successfully "untwisted" one of these?

I have a couple of them. An I find it hard to believe that they could be twisted just from their structure. Unless it was hit really good with a hammer.

How are you checking that their straight/flat?

Ok, I put one of mine on my building board and it is slightly twisted. Less than a 1/32 though...no big deal.

Hi Meaden,

I'm laying it on my kitchen counter and pressing down on opposite corners. It wobbles when pressing one set of corners but not the others. Any ideas?

Well, that's what I was hoping to hear. I didn't think it was a too big of an issue. I didn't think it would have a big affect but wasn't sure.

Flat, level and balanced are relative terms. Decide what you can live with

Set the corner that is touching the table on a 1/32" piece of ply then hit the center of the thing with a hammer. Check and repete as required until flat.

or


Take the thing to a belt sander and surface it until flat.

Damn, I have been using these types of bars from the 6 inch to the 36 and beyond, and not one time in the thousands and thousands of strokes, did it ever occur to me to check to see if they are flat, I guess if I could see a twist in it, I might think about it, but 1/32 over a distance? What freakin model are you building where a 1/32 matters over a given distance?

The most perfect model known to man

When sanding 1/16" sheeting, or trying to true up some ribs, I can imagine that a twist of 1/32" could cause problems or even gouging.

I can't say that I've purposely checked my sanders, but I've had them sitting on the buildboard and used them for straight edges and guides before, and I've never noticed as much as the slightest twist or unevenness in any of the 10 or so bars I have. They seem to lay flat enough that the biggest uneveness I've see has been the result of either balsa dust under the paper or lumps in the adheisive back.

Scott

Perhaps it isn't the sander that's not straight. Are you sure the counter top is straight?

If you have woodworking tools, check it out on the milled surface of a table saw, or jointer.

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Tom

Hmmm, never thought to check mine either. I just checked them on my stone reference table, 9"x12"x2" thick granite. I use this surface for doing layup work on metal parts. The 6" and 12" sanding bars are dead nuts flat on mine. If it matters that much to you, at 1/32" out of tolerance, I would think a quick touch on a belt sander should true it up.
Edwin