# Bad motor replaced with completely seized one.



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Wow. I've always thought these things seemed overpriced… I just assumed they must be really high quality. So much for assumptions, right?


----------



## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

Holy smokes that sounds bad.
Will they not take the POS back??
If not, how about a little home engineering and get a more powerful motor rigged in??


----------



## Greedo (Apr 18, 2010)

wow, when you pay that much for such a simple machine, you would expect it to be top quality.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Got a call from Sand Flee this morning. They say they will get me another motor that someone actualy checks first.

It is a big dissapointment so far and I just want to get the thing running properly. I have use for the sander so if they can get me running that would be wonderfull.

They had Baldor send me the current dead motor direct. Baldor has been getting a bad rap in recent years and I can see why. Still - geez.


----------



## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

According to their site, that should be a 1/3 HP motor. That should be plenty of power for this application.

However, it looks as though they have the motor hooked up to directly drive the sanding drum. I think 1750 RPM is a little fast for sanding. Maybe a 3:1 speed reduction (and a 3X torque increase) would make this a better machine.

I think this is just poor design (as well as crappy components).


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

After promising to give me a clear answer on exactly what was going to happen by end of day yesterday … I still havent heard from them. Thats the way it went the first time around too. I'll have to chase them again to get motor number 3.


----------



## Howie (May 25, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear you're having a bad time with sand flee. I have a 9" that I bought at Woodcrafters and it's been a good useful tool. I use it on small boxes and some molding.
Good luck I hope they fix it to your satisfaction.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Another update

This is getting to be one big clown and pony show. Since I didnt hear from RJR Studios when I was supposed to I email them a reminder.

I get a response this morning. Now they want me to send both defective motors to Baldor and at some point Baldor will replace one for my machine.

It would appear the motor may simply not have the torque for its purpose. The second motor sent to replace it was dOA and they want a third crack on their terms. All of this is thru Baldor directly not RJR. I didnt buy a Baldor motor though - I bought a Sand-Flee. How is it my problem when they have a bad supplier? Yet they make it my problem to try and wrangle a working motor from the supplier they chose. WOW - thats hard to believe isnt it? Looks like the Sand Flee warranty is not what they advertise.

I cant beleive it myself yet its happening to me.

All I did was buy an expensive tool to use for its purpose. Somehow I become the QC of the company.


----------



## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

This is stunning … there is no excuse for this poor customer service.


----------



## ducky911 (Oct 6, 2010)

You must be misstaken here is their promise. Oh boy it looks so beleavable…send the whole thing back..gee i been thinking of getting one of these

At the end of the day, if we are not making a difference in the lives of our customers, we are falling short of our ultimate goal; we strive to provide the best customer service possible.

To access our online customer service, please click one of the links to the right. If you find that your customer service request cannot be answered online, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thanks again to all of the customers out there.

Safe Woodworking,

Stephen C. Raffo
President
R.J.R. Studios, LLC


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Stephen Raffo is who I have been dealing with all along.

Total jerk? No. In fact he said he would make it right. But isnt making it right. Rather he keeps passing the buck to Baldor and is not taking responsibilty. He's still in salesman mode when now is the time to stop talking and just take care of business. He talks way more than listens. This is after all very simple and if he stopped talking and just thought for a minute it would be solved by now.

As a customer I expect only one thing. Take a motor from inventory, test it, see it is working then send it to me. Do not trust Baldor to do it, do not expect the customer to do it. YOU do it.

I once tried to offer an affordable line of guitars. This put me in a simular position Sand Flee is in now. I had suppliers CNC'ing parts. I got some bad parts from them and it cost me dearly. I stopped offering a mass produced line and made good to customers. I worked a year for free but I got each person a hand made replacement at my expense. I learned my lesson and understand Sand Flee may indeed be getting screwed by their supplier quality wise. But thats not the customers problem.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

The final entry in this saga. Sandflee is full of BS. They are not honoring the warranty. They give me the choice of dealing with Baldor directly. They will not test a new motor and send me one. Instead they insist I do the legwork with THEIR supplier. The end.


----------



## TheGravedigger (May 20, 2007)

Well, that settles it for me. I had thought about one of those, but not anymore.


----------



## bvdon (Feb 22, 2010)

I was looking at one of these… just now doing the research. Thanks for the heads up… staying clear of this company.


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

wow, what a total POS both from customer service and the actual product. I saw this product for the first time today and thought that it looked like a really great product, a good alternative to a large drum sander which I have no room for. I was even in the process of trying to figure out where I could put it. Thankfully now I'll be spared the hassle you went through.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

They eventually did send me a replacement motor. The unit is still the least used tool in the shop. The replacement motor has very little torque as well.

Overall with some refinements it may work as advertised but its a non precise and finicky tool as is. The way they set table height on this leaves everything to be desired. There is a lot of fooling around to get the table level with the drum. To much for a pro shop.

Yes, the company support was just odd. I would suggest anyone thinking of this idea to build their own. You'd do just as good with a MDF or melamine top as you would with the expensive sand-flee.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Follow up. This tool still sits unused in teh shop. I noticed the steel top was never at all flat and decided to measure it. With a Veritas 32" steel straight edge the top is 1/8" sagged on the middle and almost that much off corner to corner warp. Its been sitting there unused. We had another laugh and decided to move it out of the shop for good.


----------



## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I was just about to post the following reply: "why don't you just cut your losses and toss a big Baldor on there." Boy am I glad I read all the replies before I stuck that foot in my mouth. This whole thing surprises me. I thought the price tag suggested a Ferrari among drum sanders. $700 goes a long way in the finish drum sander market. I thought the big sell was power and portability. Boy is this a sad story. Maybe you can use the pretty table to DIY a properly made tool around. Sad, very sad.


----------



## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

@lashing-Unbelievable! $700 is quite a haircut … hopefully your situation will serve as a warning for others contemplating purchase of this product.

-Gerry


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Baldor has a pretty good reputation in the machinery business. They were just probably furnishing these people what they specified. I sure am sorry that you had all of this trouble and it was good of you to post this so nobody makes a similar mistake. Hopefully something positive will come out of all of this.


----------



## kapanen (Oct 13, 2010)

Thanks for the review….I too was considering a purchase of one of these. Due to your frustration and communication, you can know that you saved several people from buying one of these. I thank you for that. 
Lets hope that another manufacture realizes the potential for the concept and designs one that they stand by….and manufactures it with quality as well as with a dash of common business sense in the way of customer services.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Glad I helped people save money.

I eventually got his working. With no help fromt the manufacturer. I used a different motor that runs the same speed but with more torque. The way the motor attached to the drum was improved. However the tap is sagging a bit now making is less than precision.

Overall with money and effort I changed enough to make it work. But thats the kicker. Basically if I had just started with the DIY kit Stockroom Supply sells, I would have saved myself time, money and aggravation.

Even without the motor issues they still to to address adjustment and table problems on the sandflee. Adjusting table height is so finnicky and the steel top is not flat. You really are better off building your own box.

Put it this way - I didnt even want to put it in the classifieds as I felt I'd be a fraud to pawn it off on the next poor sap.


----------



## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

lashing-You said it … Paul's kits from Stockroom Supply are a great deal. I have had mine running for well over two years now without a hickup.


-Gerry


----------



## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

lashing-You said it … Paul's kits from Stockroom Supply are a great deal. I have had mine running for well over two years now without a hickup.


-Gerry


----------



## LasCrucesPenTurner (Dec 17, 2017)

I recently ordered a SF1800 from RJR Studios. Delivery took a long time. When I unpacked the pieces to assemble the machine, I was greeted with what looks to be a xerox copy of a 2009 manual. The motor mount was not included in the packing and the motor to sander coupler was mis-machined and had a lot of run out. I sent an email to the company that went unanswered. I followed up with another email and received an answer saying the individual was on the road and he would take care of the issues the week of November 20, 2017. He also provided and telephone number saying he would always be happy to discuss problems. I returned form a show the following week expecting to find a motor mount and and a replacement coupler, wrong. I followed up with another email and a phone call to the number provided, leaving a message there. When I finally received the motor mount and NO coupler, it was sent by slow freight. I again sent another email and made another telephone call. I provided the run out of the coupler(it was close to 1/8") taken with a dial indicator and again requested a replacement coupler. Here it is the week of December 20th and I still do not have a coupler that runs true. The vibration is severe enough to make the aluminum table vibrate. They still have sloppy table alignment issues as the adjustment screw does not raise the right and left equally. You have to manually adjust the table height through trial and error. In 2017, this machine now runs almost $1000, plus freight. The quality and and customer service does not deserve that price point. It is a shame that RJR Studios puts such a low importance on customer service. Although the machine concept is good, he needs to keep on the road to sell the machines since the words of customers will catch up with him eventually. December 2017.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

> I recently ordered a SF1800 from RJR Studios.
> 
> - LasCrucesPenTurner


How did it turn out?


----------



## LasCrucesPenTurner (Dec 17, 2017)

Owner did not return phone calls, some emails and would not recognize that the coupler on my machine was not machined correctly. Sets up a vibration on the table. Why they chose to use a 5/8" motor shaft diameter and 1/2" on the sander is beyond me. there are motors with 1/2" shafts of that horsepower that would have made coupling cleaner. I will have to find another coupler of some type. Nice machine, lousy customer service. Based on customer service, I can't recommend the company. Machine is nice other than the problems notated in my original post. In other words, nothing has changed since the original post.


----------



## lashing (Sep 4, 2010)

Clearly after several years the guy hasnt learned anything. He spends all his time at trade shows trying to sell the thing but spends no time servicing issues and/or eliminating them. My guess he got in over his head , doesnt know what he's doing and cant let go. "Gils gotta make a sale"


----------

