23-06-2011, 11:40 AM
Hi,
What is really interesting is how much use a belt and also disc sander is. I don't know how I managed without both mine.
The belt sander is excellent for sanding short lengths of timber as it allows sanding with the grain and I find it invaluable for the sanding of comb joints as used in box making as it brings the joints down flush making a perfect job of them.
My belt sander is currently fitted with a 60 grit belt and boy this is indeed aggressive as David states. This belt is like sanding with a rustic house brick and has a huge appetite for material; end grain sanding is a doddle in fact care is needed not to trim a couple of inches from the end of a board in error.
David very kindly made and gave me my disc sanding attachment to fit my Record DML24 lathe. It too is proving a very useful bit of kit and David also generously supplied a selection of sanding discs informing me the discs are long lived and this is borne out by the fact I'm still using the first disc. Disc sanders need extra care in use or deep ring patterns can be cut into the material being sanded and as David rightly points out the material needs to be kept moving during sanding. At the moment if I'm sanding a wooden box I rough down on the belt sander and finish on the disc sander. It's wonderful having both set up ready for action all the time.
Thanks for the many tips and information David and the huge belt cleaning block you also kindly gave me should last for years; it feels rather like sticky toffee.
My 60 grit belts cost around £10 for a pack of ten from eBay but the single 120 grit belt bought from Screwfix a couple of days ago cost £3.18. The Screwfix belt isn't expensive considering the work it will do. I can fully agree with David about sanding burns to fingers; I've only been caught out once when I brushed against the 60 grit belt and once is once too often; I could have cried when I put my hands into soapy water!!
Thanks for the interesting story about the tiles Alan and how beautiful they look; who would want to cover up such work. I bet a great amount of dust was created whilst sanding the tiles and it demonstrates just how useful a belt sander is.
One job I must do with some urgency is to rig up dust extraction to both sanders; I can add bottom dust hoods quite easily and connect up to the workshop vac making a suitable quick coupler for the hose.
Well done Josh; it pays to keep ones eyes and ears open for items being thrown out; I think a single sheet of wet or dry costs locally around 30p each and if a number of sheets of different grits are needed then it is easy to run up a decent sized bill. For woodworking I like to use Garnet paper which is long lasting and retains its sharpness.
Oh for a bit of summer; I've just returned from a four mile walk and am fed up of being rained upon and blown around each time I leave the bungalow; at least the sun kept appearing to dry my out; perhaps I should put our clocks back an hour and call it winter until things improve.
Kind regards, Col
What is really interesting is how much use a belt and also disc sander is. I don't know how I managed without both mine.
The belt sander is excellent for sanding short lengths of timber as it allows sanding with the grain and I find it invaluable for the sanding of comb joints as used in box making as it brings the joints down flush making a perfect job of them.
My belt sander is currently fitted with a 60 grit belt and boy this is indeed aggressive as David states. This belt is like sanding with a rustic house brick and has a huge appetite for material; end grain sanding is a doddle in fact care is needed not to trim a couple of inches from the end of a board in error.
David very kindly made and gave me my disc sanding attachment to fit my Record DML24 lathe. It too is proving a very useful bit of kit and David also generously supplied a selection of sanding discs informing me the discs are long lived and this is borne out by the fact I'm still using the first disc. Disc sanders need extra care in use or deep ring patterns can be cut into the material being sanded and as David rightly points out the material needs to be kept moving during sanding. At the moment if I'm sanding a wooden box I rough down on the belt sander and finish on the disc sander. It's wonderful having both set up ready for action all the time.
Thanks for the many tips and information David and the huge belt cleaning block you also kindly gave me should last for years; it feels rather like sticky toffee.
My 60 grit belts cost around £10 for a pack of ten from eBay but the single 120 grit belt bought from Screwfix a couple of days ago cost £3.18. The Screwfix belt isn't expensive considering the work it will do. I can fully agree with David about sanding burns to fingers; I've only been caught out once when I brushed against the 60 grit belt and once is once too often; I could have cried when I put my hands into soapy water!!
Thanks for the interesting story about the tiles Alan and how beautiful they look; who would want to cover up such work. I bet a great amount of dust was created whilst sanding the tiles and it demonstrates just how useful a belt sander is.
One job I must do with some urgency is to rig up dust extraction to both sanders; I can add bottom dust hoods quite easily and connect up to the workshop vac making a suitable quick coupler for the hose.
Well done Josh; it pays to keep ones eyes and ears open for items being thrown out; I think a single sheet of wet or dry costs locally around 30p each and if a number of sheets of different grits are needed then it is easy to run up a decent sized bill. For woodworking I like to use Garnet paper which is long lasting and retains its sharpness.
Oh for a bit of summer; I've just returned from a four mile walk and am fed up of being rained upon and blown around each time I leave the bungalow; at least the sun kept appearing to dry my out; perhaps I should put our clocks back an hour and call it winter until things improve.
Kind regards, Col
