Dressing Your Big Machine Drum

Well yesterday the wireless did not work, so trying to get e-mail was not going to happen. I live out in the sticks, and bad rain brings no service!

I got a request via a phone call that I felt might help a few more people, so here it is: "How can I make sure my drum is dressed right?" This is a tough one to share because it depends on the machine; a Hummel unit should not have the drum dressed because the Hummel has a "football"-shaped drum and it is hard to get true. I know folks who say to put a credit card under the right wheel, dress the drum, then place it under the left one and dress the drum, but I do not feel that you really know if the drum is set and the true center has been found. The other units to my knowledge can be dressed, but the key word is "flat." A flat drum with a crowned upper roller will track the paper as good as any unit. Like I said, the key word is flat, so making sure your drum is set up to hit the floor completely flat (across the face of the contact point of the drum) is very crucial. I have a trick that helps make sure that the shaft is 90 degrees to the floor. I use a height gauge that will reference the center points on both sides so that as you adjust the level left to right, you know that it is dead-on. Once you get the shaft set at 90 degrees, you can dress the drum flat.

Wow, I hope that makes sense (check out the pics below). Some of the adjustments I have done for years are so hands-on that trying to write it down is a task for me. If anyone wants to get more insight, please send me an e-mail with a phone number to [email protected]. I will do my very best to help. I am helping a few folks around with tech support, so you can also reach via Revolution and sanderparts.com.