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G0458 18" Open End Belt/Drum Sander
-21-
Choosing Sandpaper
There are many types of sanding belts to choose
from. We recommend Aluminum Oxide for gen
-
eral workshop environments. Below is a chart
that groups abrasives into different classes, and
shows which grits fall into each class.
The general rule of thumb is to sand a workpiece
with progressively higher grit numbers, with no
one grit increase of more than 50. Avoid skipping
grits; the larger the grit increase, the harder it will
be to remove the scratches from the previous
grit.
Ultimately, the type of wood you use and your
stage of finish will determine the best grit types to
install on your sander.
Grit Class Usage
36 Extra Coarse Rough sawn boards,
thickness sanding,
and glue removal.
60 Coarse Thickness sanding
and glue removal.
80–100 Medium Removing planer
marks and initial finish
sanding.
120–180 Fine Finish sanding.
Sanding Tips
• Replace the sandpaper with a higher grit to
achieve a finer finish.
• Raise the table a maximum of
1
⁄4 turn of the
handwheel until the workpiece is the desired
thickness
.
• Reduce snipe when sanding more than one
board of the same thickness by feeding them
into the sander with the front end of the sec
-
ond board touching the back end of the first
board.
• Feed boards into the sander at different points
on the conveyor to maximize sandpaper life
and prevent uneven conveyor belt wear.
• DO NOT sand boards less than 6" long
or
less than
1
⁄8" thick to prevent damage to the
workpiece and the drum sander.
• Extend the life of the sandpaper by regularly
using a PRO-STICK
®
sanding pad (Page
24).
• When sanding workpieces with irregular sur
-
faces, such as cabinet doors, take very light
sanding passes to prevent gouges. When
the drum moves from sanding a wide surface
to sanding a narrow surface, the load on
the motor will be reduced, and the drum will
speed up, causing a gouge.
• DO NOT edge sand boards. This can cause
boards to kickback, causing serious personal
injury. Edge sanding boards also can cause
damage to the conveyor belt and sandpa
-
per.
• When sanding workpieces with a bow or
crown, place the high point up (prevents the
workpiece from rocking) and take very light
passes.
• Feed the workpiece at an angle to maximize
stock removal and sandpaper effectiveness,
but feed the workpiece straight to reduce
sandpaper grit scratches for the finish pass
-
es.