I've been able to get a couple coats of finish on the base parts now. I'm going to scuff sand these coats and give one or two more before final assembly. I spent some time today tweaking the bed adjustment on the Ramco sander. The sander is 37" wide, and I've got it to within .009" or less side to side. I'd like to get it a few thousands closer, but it will do. This is wood we are working with after all. I'm happy enough with that result for now, and it is sanding very nicely. It is quiet, doesn't seem like its working hard at all, and the dust collection is fabulous. 


I proceeded to run the two slabs through several times to flush up any small deviation in the joint, and take the epoxy down flat.  Worked great. The extended infeed conveyor is really nice for big heavy boards like these. No visible end snipe at all. I'm going to switch to the 150 grit belt for a final pass or two. I forgot the camera at the shop again today, so nothing to show till tomorrow. I'm going to try to include a video of the slabs going through the sander. Very exciting for me anyway! It took 11 weeks to bring that machine from dilapidated and incapable of any work, to completely refurbished ready for another 30 years work. My thanks to Bob and Richard for their help!


As promised here's those photos.

That 15 minutes represents hours of saved orbital sanding!