Shortsighted Screwfix !

[Blockplane]

Needed a replacement velcro platen for my ROS....not in catalogue, phone Screwfix ......no we don't stock them, return for a replacement under guarantee.

So instead of a 5 or 6 quid retail sale of a semi-consumable item , they have made a loss, and a perfectly usable 5 month old machine will probably go to landfill.

Defeats me!

 

[flying haggis]

any good


https://www.mpdhookandloop.com/by-case- ... the-metre/

 

[rafezetter]

For well over a year now, possibly two I've been buying "micro velcro" self adhesive tape in strips about an inch wide and sticking them to the base of my ROS. The original had lost its stick and I simply sanded it off flat and used the tapes. It's a Bosch so they do make replacements - at almost £20 a time for the entire platten... no thanks.

Works a treat lasts for ages (depending on usage) the self stick really holds well. There are ebay companies that sell circular sections of self adhesive velcro, but becuase the hooks are larger don't acutally work as well and get ripped out and worn down much quicker - I'd be replacing them every couple of months until I tried the "micro velcro" version.

The sander itself is hmm 5 years old now? and is only now showing signs of needing to be replaced - it's so annoying the velcro wears out long before that.

Edit - the larger hooks version flyinghaggis suggested does not work anywhere near as well or last as long.

 

[Rorschach]

Use a pad saver next time, they work very well, I am still on my first one!

 

[rafezetter]

Use a pad saver next time, they work very well, I am still on my first one!

I've thought about those, but do they really work and do they round over edges?

 

[Rorschach]

Well I got one with a Mirka pad since I often use abranet which supposedly damages ordinary velcro. Because I use a wide range of abrasives though I can't conclusively say that abranet damages the velcro, I imagine it might if its the only abrasive you use day in day out. The pad saver is used on my ROS all the time for whatever disc I happen to be using, I can't say as I have noticed any rounding of edges on the projects I have made but it does make the surface very slightly softer than the built in backing pad.

Considering the low cost of a pad saver though I would suggest that you get one, give it a try. For most projects I suspect rounding won't be an issue and if it's a really critical surface just take the saver off for that job, it only takes a few seconds to remove and replace.