I've been a drum man for years. I bought a Hummel 8 inch belt machine two years ago...and I'm at my wits end.
It seems this thing needs parts all the time.
We've recently seen the floors getting chattered alot, mostly softer woods...red oak..american cherry..ect. It seems to be cutting more aggressively as well, lots of dishing out. Am I loosing my mind and missing a step here? We've replaced the belts, fan system, tention pully, tention roller, drum and wheels. It feels very unstable when cutting. I never had this much trouble with my Clarke, and I'm hoping it's just that I'm not familiar with adjusting this big green German monster. ANY suggestions from people familiar with the Hummel would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !!

Did you buy it new? Used? Hummels are tempermental if banged around and can get knocked out of adjustment. It is possible that you are not operating the machine by the manufacturer's recommendations. Do you have Lagler's Operator's Manual? The parts you mention will get worn out in time with any belt style floor sander. Furthermore, any replacement parts should always be Lagler parts. I have tried after market parts from other sources. There is no comparison. Do you live/work by an authorized repair center? You can always contact Palo Duro in Denver. They are the importers of Lagler sanders and know them pretty well. They can make service recommendations plus supply you with manuals and parts, if needed.

Palo Duro Companies
12655 east 42nd Avenue
Suite 60
Denver, Colorado 80239
Fon: 800.8HUMMEL (800.848.6635)
http://www.laglersanders.com

There are many unique factors to operating a Hummel:

1) Rough/course cuts are ideally done at 7 to 15 degree angle to the direction of the floor.
2) The sander should be run left to right.
3) The belt should track dead center
4) Drum pressure is 69 PSI. This needs to be verified and checked.
5) Drum head should not be dressed
6) machine should run smooth and vibration free

Common errors:

1) walking too fast or too slow
2) using a coarser grit than necessary
3) sanding right to left
4) uneven belt tracking
5) out of round wheels
6) poor quality drive belts
7) drum head pressure incorrect
8. grit and debris in wheels, drum head and upper roller
9) failure the clean machine ( blow out ) often.
10) knocking wheel adjustment out of adjustment

Yes..it was bought used.
There is a slight vibration to it, but when I sent it out to my local distributors repair center, they said it felt fine. I've experimented with the grits, I try to stay away from the reall heavy grits unless I need to use them. The drum I bought was a Lagler drum...and I do believe my partner dressed it about three months after we put it on. It wasn't an aggressive dress, but no the less...it my need to be replaced.
Thank you for the advice...I will try Palo Duro..the more I can learn the better.

Thanks again !

i bought my2nd hummell less than a year ago and its been to the shop twice for chatter they say its fine. Ive had to re-sand 2 jobs. thanks hummell

Same here. My old boss says it has to be something simple, because Hummells don't chatter...but the repair shop said it was running fine..and it still left patterns. I'm about to drop new drum bearings in..we'll see. I'm also borrowing a brand new Hummell to sand my next one to see if mines running rough...could be a motor bearing.

Lagler Hummels are not the only sanders to have problems. I've heard similar stories about every brand; Clarkes, Pro-Sands, Galaxy's, K&T's, etc. It sucks when the machine you've spent thousands on is not operating correctly and the repair center says it's working fine. I believe most repair centers think that if the machine turns on and actually sands wood, then it's fine. The operational nuances of a well-tuned floor sander evade most service techs unfortunately.

i have found when the joist system has vibration in it from long spans or engineered trusses i get some chattering

Yes I have a lot of experience with the hummel.First off there are a higher maintenance machine(pull out top roller daily and clean,replace bag every 6 months,keep wheels clean and always check tension on the belts).So have you tried the belt tension adjustment?To do this you need a scale and then wheel your machine onto and set the drum on it and release the lever.Should be 30lbs 0f pressure.You can always back that off if your doing a lot of softwood floors.I have found that sanding ALL cuts on high tension also greatly reduces the chance of chatter.When storing the machine make sure wheels are not touching the ground.I use the bottom of the crate the sander came in,works great.I use my hummel to refinish decks as well and do have a spare drum for that.Hope that helps...


MICHAEL PHILLIPS
owner/operator
Ultimate Hardwood Ltd.
Sherwood Park,Alberta

You said you were a drum man....


Let me ask, are you cutting the same direction as you did with the drum?
R-L or L-R

Actually no I find especially on the galaxies those drums always chatter,in any event I cut left to right.First cut always at an angle 7-15deg.We have run clarke floor crafters,galaxy 2000,porter cable and hummel.I ll always stick to the hummel.It has a football shaped drum so it almost never leaves cut lines.But like I said the hummel is a lil more maintenance .Cheers !

Why don't you just buy trio and pass it one after the drum and you will never have to worry about chatter, floor will be flat as it can be.

I am looking for a feedback on the hummel 12 inch, anyone have one?
Do you like it?
Does it run like the 8 inch ?

Thank you

I don't run a trio as I can sand very flat and leave very little sanding marks. I use a clarke 16" sander with a hardplate and most importantly I clock the polisher properly. Are you releasing the tension off the belts when the machine is stored? If not this can put an anomaly in the belts and cause chatter.Waterpop after sanding will get rid of chatter. Sounds to me like you need some further training. Contact Trish @ NWFA.

My father owned a hardwood flooring company in Columbus Ohio for 30 years and all I remember seeing growing up was a Hummel drum sander. I am now 30 years old and have my own hardwood flooring company ... Www.djhardwoodflooring.com and I use the same Hummel drum sander that my father had its very old and barely maintained other than new drums,belts,and roller assembly. Hummel makes the best floor sanders in my opinion I've used Clarks,orebros, and a few other belt sanders and they do not even compare. Sounds to me like the problem with the chattering is you may be walking to fast and not allowing the sander to do its job. Furthermore I would take the sander to a professional flooring technician and allow him to service and inspect your machine. If you've replaced all those parts and it's still chattering I'd walk a little slower and make sure you give the machine enough bite to evenly sand the floor. Also with the drum marks you mentioned I would practice feathering your drum lever.

Make sure you lose the drive belts when not in use, this can cause chatter. How far apart are your chatter marks? I change my bearings every year (all) if I use cheap bearings and every 5 years with good bearings. If it feels unstable when running it, your wheels may be out of alignment. If you have the hummel tool bag, look for the weirdly shaped piece of bent steel with the bolt through it. That is for checking your wheel level