Portable Belt Sander 101

[Mary K]

No Roly, I dont have a table saw. Wish I did though. But, I do know a cabinet maker that can do it for me.

Thanks,
Mk

[Podunkfla]

I WISH I would have thought of doing the skill saw (circular saw) thing earlier in the build. But its no to late, I still have exterior trim to do.

Got any ideas on making a planner out of the belt sander? I can not find 1/4" thick boards for the top trim...still...

Mk

MaryK... I will be glad to rip you up some trim and even run it through the planer... for free. Only thing is I'm about 4 hours East of you... driving over here at 3 bucks a gal. or shipping long stuff is kinda spendy?

Another, prolly better idea is, check with A real local lumber supplier like Meredith & Sons... They have been around for eons. Four generation I think. I'm sure they know of some local woodworkers or even have some that work there that could rip you up some trim. It really shouldn't cost much more than the cost of the wood... cause it's a 10 minute job. They prolly sell clear fir and poplar to trim carpenters of new houses all the time. Most any trim man could also do it for you. Just some thought on the subject. http://www.meredithonline.com/about.html

friend ~ Brick

[tonyj]

Roly,

A curved skid plate? What a great idea! Any chance you could provide a picture? Would love to see how you attach it.

I get a little more mileage out of my belts by using one of those big ribber erasers. It really helps extend the life of those expensive belts.

Great tutorial. thank you.

[Mary K]

Awwa, that is a sweet offer Brick. Wish we lived closer. Your a good man. I purchased my 1/8" birch skin from Meredith & Sons. I will go by there an talk to em. It's only 5 min from work.



Tonyj, Big ribber erasers? What? What are you talking aboot? OHhhh, tehehe, Rubber eraser... That is an good idea, I can see how that would help.


Mk

[Roly Nelson]

Tony, I'm lucky I've mastered posting words on this board, posting pics is still a problem for me. Now, about that curved skid plate. All I did was bandsaw the proper radius on one side of a flat board that is 1/4" longer and the same width as the metal skid plate. The thin ends are a mear 1/8" thick, and I fastened a small cleat on the front end that butts up against the skid plate. The belt, while turning wants to slide it backwards, but the wooden cleat prevents it.

Now you've thrown down the gauntlet, I'll take a pic and see if my daughter can post it for me. Then I'll write down all the steps she goes through, about finding my teardrop pics and getting them the right size and finally posted........whew, harder than working with wood.

Roly, not quite 'puter lit-rit, but trying

[tonyj]

Tonyj, Big ribber erasers? What? What are you talking aboot? OHhhh, tehehe, Rubber eraser... That is an good idea, I can see how that would help.


Mk

Oops. Right--rubber erasers. Sorry, I try very hard to keep my muspillings to a munimim.

Roly--thanks. I think I understand, but don't give up on the pics. You do such nice work I know everyone would enjoy seeing more.

[Miriam C.]

Tony, I'm lucky I've mastered posting words on this board, posting pics is still a problem for me. Now, about that curved skid plate. All I did was bandsaw the proper radius on one side of a flat board that is 1/4" longer and the same width as the metal skid plate. The thin ends are a mear 1/8" thick, and I fastened a small cleat on the front end that butts up against the skid plate. The belt, while turning wants to slide it backwards, but the wooden cleat prevents it.

Now you've thrown down the gauntlet, I'll take a pic and see if my daughter can post it for me. Then I'll write down all the steps she goes through, about finding my teardrop pics and getting them the right size and finally posted........whew, harder than working with wood.

Roly, not quite 'puter lit-rit, but trying

Roly, photo bucket will automatically size for posting. You might get your daughter to help you set up a site with them. Posting is easier after that.

[s4son]

Roly,
Can you write up something for using a router? It is one tool that really intrigues me. It looks like it will do lots of stuff and I have no experience what so ever.

Scott F.

[Roly Nelson]

Scott, I 'm afraid you are asking the wrong guy to instruct you on router use. I am just a basic router user, have used one for years, often while working as a carpenter in the field. Now I have 4 of them, all for different uses.

There are many uses for this versetile tool. Most of my router use is for rounding over sharp corners. Cutting a rabbet on the edge of a board is very quick and accurate. Making daddos for shelves in cabintry is a snap if a sliding, clamp-on T-square guide is used. Then there is the little trick of following a pre-made curved template to produce duplicate parts. What a tool, I love it and wouldn't be without it.

These are just a few uses that work for me, but I do believe Doug would be able to fill you in better than I can. As a matter of fact, wasn't it Madjack that said he had more than a dozen routers of various sizes? You can invest quite a sum of coin, buying the various carbide-tipped tools on that are on the market today. Years ago, we sharpened our own, and they dulled quickly. Such is modern progress........

Roly, happy to have experienced a weekend of Teardropping in the So Calif mountains.

[Joanne]

Yes you do!! I just saw the picture of your new baby.

Joanne

No Roly, I dont have a table saw. Wish I did though. But, I do know a cabinet maker that can do it for me.

Thanks,
Mk

[Mary K]

Yes you do!! I just saw the picture of your new baby.

Joanne

No Roly, I dont have a table saw. Wish I did though. But, I do know a cabinet maker that can do it for me.

Thanks,
Mk

Yup!! That was me 2 days ago. Trying to plan my trim was becoming a nightmare. Blablabla, all talk and no action. Call this place and that place and see if they have ..... Fergetit!!! I doit myself now

Now, what was it I was going to do??? And how do I doit???

Mk

[KA]

Thanks Roly,
You do a great job of explaning how to use the sander.
Kris

[nikwax]

Oh, I have clamped my sander to my workbench and clamped the trigger (no trigger lock) for some small detail wood work. I'm sure there is a fancy piece of equipment to do this for a real wood shop, But hey, learn to work with what ya got huh?

Mk

you can clamp a belt sander in a bench vise (helps to have wooden jaws in the vise) and use it as a stationary sander.

[halfdome, Danny]

Excellent Roly I couldn't have said it better. Just one thing. You probably learned like I did on the old heavy locomotive shaped sanders that required the operator to start it in the air not on the work piece. Those heavy machines would ruin the wood to start on the workpiece. In the Cabinet shops I've worked in over the years some require the newer lighter sanders to be started on the work piece to avoid having less experienced workers from tilting the sander on contact and gouging the wood. My preferred method is like yours but I recommend novice operators to start the sander on the wood. Danny

[Roly Nelson]

Danny, I enjoyed your explaination of the "locomotive shaped sander". I remember them well. If my memory serves me right, I think the motor was mounted with the stator on a shaft facing forward and back. This always torqued the machine as soon as we pulled the trigger, plus it seemed to be top heavy, to boot.

Some craftsmen have the same complaint with the Skil-saw, with the motor mounted in the same way, with a drive gear changing the direction in order to turn the blade, which is on the left. By the way, it is the only Skil-saw that I ever use. Just can't get used to having to look over the right side of the saw to see the blade, while the teeth are throwing wood chips into my eyes.

Roly, enjoying my workshop more and more every day. (just bought a 12 inch surface planer.......Sears, was 50 bucks off, and works great)