Belt Sander 101

[Roly Nelson]

While building a wall-hung, clear pine kitchen shelf and drawer unit, a powertool-challenged neighbor stopped by my workshop to see what I was making. Since I had finished cutting and mortising all of the pieces, he was very interested in the beltsanding process which followed. He said he never used his sander because he felt he couldn't control it and it always left permanent tell-tale beltsander marks, ruining the finished product.

I went through my normal proceedure, relying on my 55 years of exterimenting and personal sanding errors and successes and listened to his comments about how he would "never do it that way" or "gee, I never thought about that". After I finished, he said he had a new feeling for what can be done with his rarely-used beltsander when used properly and would try some of the things he had learned while I was sanding away on the faces and edges of my shelving lumber. This brought to mind, how mechanically-challenged I am with car engines and how I feel like a fish out of water when digging under the hood for some faulty greese-covered component.

Therefore, I was wondering if some of my fellow teardroppers would be interested in some simple beltsanding tips that I could share with them as well, if they too are unfamiliar with this noisy,electric, dust making monster of a machine. I'm sure many know as much or more than I do about this subject, but if I can make someone's build easier, I'm all for it.

So, if you are wanting a little "Beltsander-101", hop onto this thread and let me know. If not, I'll just shut up and forever hold my peace........(or is it my sander)?

Roly, the li'l ol' woody woodworker..........ME

[Arne]

Go for it... we can always learn from others successes and failures...

Sometimes the 'don't do this' are just as important as the 'do it this way'.

I built my first one real quick, and could never have gotten it done in time if not for this forum.....

I'll give you a for instance... I just used a belt sander with 60 or 80 grit to get the inside floor ready to paint.. I should have changed the belt to 120 or higher.. but, I used no pressure and kept it moving and it turned out fine... two coats of kilz (not the best choice).... if you know what you are doing, it doesn't have to be 'just right' to get the job done. Experience makes a big difference.....

So, let 101 begin....

[SaGR]

Agreed, let the 101 version of this class begin.

[peggyearlchris]

That would be great. I like to learn new things.101 here we come! Peg

[Steve_Cox]

Roly,

Your wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I used the belt sander tip you gave a couple of years ago about the curved wood block on the dead-plate of the sander for sanding convex surfaces, it worked very nicely. So thanks in advance for "Belt sander-101".

[halfdome, Danny]

Hey Roly, I just had to say it . I thought they were for Belt Sander Races. That's we used those things for back in the 70's. Danny

[Juneaudave]

Roly...that would be surely appreciated!!! I've got to buy a new belt sander for the build, and would really appreciate any tips you could give on sanding flat surfaces....Juneaudave

[mikeschn]

Yep Roly, I agree... go for it!

Mike...

[Guy]

Dear Roly,

What a great offer. Please go for it.

[madjack]

...wonderful idea Roly...you build it and we'll cover it in stickys .............................

[dhazard]

What time is the class?

[apratt]

Roly I would never say no to an experince (not old...LOL) Pro. Even I think I know everything to know about belt sanders. but there is always new tricks to learn. Most of the time I use airboards but each tools has their use it just depends on the situation. So I say go for it Roly .... Belt Sander 101!!!

[Arne]

Actually, I'll start with a question... the front of my tear is curved (the front part of the wall will curve towards the center of the tear).... I want to get the curve as close to vertical as possible so the wall will get full purchase on it.... I did it by eye, but am wondering if there is a mechanical way to get it closer. I may see if I can bolt a straight edge to the side of the belt sander (keeping it parallel to the tear floor would make the surface right angle to the floor surface..)... it is the curve in the pic below... one on each side....

[steve wolverton]

I'm quite comfortable with the belt sander, but the rip saw scares the bejezus out of me!

[Juneaudave]

Hi-jack....Huuuummmmm

What you got going on there Arne?????