So does anyone else here find that their edgebander horizontal trimmer settings vary from day to day, especially after installing new trimmer blade inserts?

We have always edgebanded case parts with a tiny bit of bevel, not a square flush trim.

The two machines I'm most familiar with are an old Holzer Sprint 1411 and currently we have a fairly new Brandt Ambition 1110.

The two banders have VERY different architecture and approaches to trimming edgeband. However, they are similar in how you adjust how aggressive you bevel them---- you have tracing shoe settings.

The Holz-Her always seemed mysterious. You could route and band 3/4" melamine for three days straight using half-mil, and you might end up having to adjust the trimmers all three days to some different number setting to get the same result. But sometimes, that same setting worked for a week or two straight.

The Brandt started out MUCH more consistent (because it was brand new, ostensibly). Once you figured out what number setting gave you the best results, you could predictably set those shoe/trimmer numbers to the same thing every day and get the same results. That lasted 6 months maybe (original trimmers lasted a year, so it wasn't a trimmer change that altered it). After about 6 months, we found that we had to make adjustments to it much more often.

I've found similar issues when we change the machine settings over to get a full radius on thick PVC or thick wood edgeband-- but those don't seem to vary as much.

We change settings, by necessity, usually at least once or twice a day, depending on what we are routing.

It's frustrating to know that having your shoes set to "0.8" worked in the morning, but after lunch you find "0.8" is too aggressive and bevels into the melamine.

Sounds like something isn't as tight as it used to be. Check the attachment of the shoe to the trimmer, tighten. Another thing might be wear or glue on the shoes? Does your scraping station clean up minor offsets? I've never used a bander with shoes, just tracing wheels. They seem to hold their position well.

It does seem like that, and I haven't necessarily ruled out slop in the counter readout, that's happened on one other device on the Brandt... but the Holz-her used a lever for changing depth of cut, so there was no counter involved.

We do keep the shoes clean. Thankfully they aren't problematic, glue/schmoo doesn't build up on them.

I have a Holzher bander that is an absolute joy to use. That said, I have on occasion noticed the top and bottom edge trimmers need slight adjusting. But, as best as I can figure, it has had more to do with inconsistent material thickness or slight warping in the panels themselves, or edge swelling if you don't band within 24 hours of the panel being cut. When I do a banding run, I mic one or two pieces to set the beam height initially but if I get a "skinny" panel, the bevel gets real slight. On the other hand, if I get a "fat" panel, the bevel can go too deep. The more I monitor my material, the better the end result of my banding job. Yes, the tracer wheels follow the material but there is definitely an impact if the beam isn't set within reason of the material thickness.

Stewart, it's interesting to see you say that. I see the same thing on this Brandt. It's not a major issue, thankfully, but if our melamine goes from 19.4mm thick to 19.0, we sometimes do feel a little "lip" instead of a small bevel that's flush to the surface.

You're right, you'd think the tracing wheel would compensate for any small thickness variation, and it "basically" does, but there's a limit that seems to be about 0.4mm.

I have a Brandt bander and think the issue is because of changes in temperature. As the machine heats up the settings seem to change. If our back roll up door is open with a breeze it gives us fits. Closing the door makes a difference.

Sounds like your Eyes of Newt may be going bad. If not, change which corner you throw your chicken bones in....Edgebanders.