Peter Hall’s Quest for Excellence

When specialist cabinet maker, Peter R Hall, decided to up-grade its sanding capability the company evaluated machines from Germany, Italy and Switzerland in search of the piece of equipment that would deliver exactly what it was looking for.

"Our business was expanding into larger contracts and higher quality veneering work," explains Peter Hall, founder of the business. He continues, "Competitors were investing in sophisticated wide belt sanders so we had to find a machine that would give us an edge.

"We deal in excellence. Most of our work is one-off bespoke furniture for the London and export markets. As a consequence, we needed a sander that not only delivered first class results, but also gave us the flexibility to handle everything from solid wood and veneers to lacquer sanding for a perfect finish.

"When it came down to finding the right solution, there was quite a lot of choice. Some of the larger machines, however, need more space and power to achieve similar results as the Bütfering SKO 213CC we finally settled on.

"The Bütfering is a very compact machine, which is a great advantage for us as space is a premium in our workshop. It is also very easy to use and saves us huge amounts of time compared to the old pad sander we used to rely on.

"Above all though, it is the consistent quality of every work piece that we run through the machine that is so impressive. For our business consistency is vital; with the Bütfering, we know we can rely on it. Whether it is calibrating raw boards prior to veneering, sanding veneered and wooden composite pieces or de-nibbing, it delivers excellent results without fail.

"Working with leading interior designers and architects, some of the pieces we produce are far from standard shapes and sizes. In the past, that has meant laborious work on the pad sander. Now we can load all kinds of shapes and sizes onto the Bütfering's vacuum bed and there are no issues - unlike some of the other machines we tested which produced such problems as rounded-off edges on the long sides of work pieces."

Before purchasing the sander, Hall visited Homag UK's Castle Donington show room, taking with him "a stack of different work pieces to test". He went away impressed. Before making the final decision however, he wanted to reassure himself the investment would be worthwhile and so returned again with yet another pile of work pieces, including lacquered veneers to de-nib, to assess the machine.

One Pass Process
The two heads on the SKO 213CC enable most jobs to be completed in one pass. Precise calibrating is achieved with the contact roller on the first head, whilst additional stock can be removed by using both contact rollers. Sanding of solid wood can also be done with one pass by using the contact roller of the first head and the segmented pad of the variable speed second head.

For veneered work pieces, one pass results are achieved by using both segmented pads, whilst lacquer sanding uses just the segmented pad of the second head. Precise digital timing and a standard segment width of 35mm ensure ‘anti-dubbing' all around the panel, guaranteeing crisp, square edges.

"The team at Homag were great," continues Hall. "Nothing was too much trouble and they even put together a finance package that spread the cost of buying the machine over five years. It was unreal; they made it so easy for me, without exerting any pressure whatsoever."

Driving Business to a New Level
The sander was installed into Hall's premises in a day and two of the work force were trained on operating the machine so that it was up and running profitably from the off. Hall again, "The Bütfering has driven our business to a new level. It has given us the ability to attract new customers by offering a full (and quick turn-around) veneering and sanding service.

"The cost benefit analysis we carried out prior to purchasing the sander suggested significant time savings would be made and it has certainly delivered those and more. The real benefit for us though, is the quality of the finish we can consistently deliver. It has eliminated the need for any hand finishing, even with interlocked grain or other awkward timbers.

"The Bütfering is so easy to operate via its touch screen. We are constantly amazed at what can be achieved with it and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anybody wanting a high quality, reliable sander," concludes Hall.

Homag UK Ltd
10c Sills Road
Willow Farm Business Park
Castle Donington
Derby DE74 2US
Tel Fax 01332 856500 01332 856400
Email discovermore@homag-uk.co.uk
Online www.homag-uk.co.uk