This is about Belt Sanders

[kwgeorge]

This morning well drinking my coffee and reading BT3 Central I find myself wondering about one particular thread and in an effort not to hijack that thread I thought I would start a new one.

This is about Belt Sanders, now I own one and have had it for years. It see’s very little use and only comes out of the cabinet once in a great while. Yesterday I actually used it to remove some bad glue squeeze out on a bent wood lamination I am working on but other than things like that I find little use for it in my normal workings. Understand that I am not picking on anyone for using this tool nor am I trying to convince anyone of alternatives but rather I am just trying to understand why someone would choose to use it versus something else.

Question to Jeff, you say that it is good for “cleaning up dovetails” and “flattening surfaces”. Typically when I do dovetails they are only proud my a 32nd of an inch or so and a low angle block plane or a chisel makes quick work of them. Seems to me on end grain you are better off cutting the wood than grinding the wood. Sanding engrain leaves the wood fuzzy and impregnates dust in the open pores whereas slicing the fibers leaves a much cleaner surface than accepts finish better. So I am wondering why you choose to use this tool and if you have an example or two of when you used it and why.

Question to Cabinetman, I understand from your post that you are a professional cabinet maker. From the post you made on belt sanders it appears that you use one a lot in your daily work so I am wondering for what in particular?

Like I said I am not challenging anyone’s use of the tool but rather just trying to understand what circumstances would make this tool a better choice and its advantages.

Ken

[cabinetman]

Question to Cabinetman, I understand from your post that you are a professional cabinet maker. From the post you made on belt sanders it appears that you use one a lot in your daily work so I am wondering for what in particular? Ken

First and formost would be a job that is mica. Where mica is on the ends and on the face. Doors, and a lot of them with mica edges and mica fronts and backs. After routing with a trim router it would take too long to use any other method. I did try a 36" drum sander for a few years, and it took a lot of adjustment. I use a belt sander to sand overages where "leaving proud" is just a safety factor. At times "leveled" faceframes or leading cabinet edges. If one becomes proficient with its use, and uses the right belt selection it's a good tool. It's heavy, awkward, and can eat more wood faster than "rock on a rope". I use it as a shaping tool for wood, take it to the jobsite instead of a floor model sander. Have used it to sand old mica for a "re-face". Granted, a ROS will do some of the things that the belt sander does, but I bought a belt sander before I bought a ROS. Besides, you can't have legitimate races with a ROS.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[LCHIEN]

I assume we're talking about Handheld Beltsanders.
How do you feel about stationary/benchtop beltsanders?

They come in the wide, horizontal to vertical styles (like 4-6 inches)
and also int he vertically-running 1" styles. Most have a disk sander sattached.
I find them pretty useful.

[jhart]

I've used my belt sander for a variety of projects around the house and rental properties, but not really much for woodworking. For woodworking, I probably use a ROS and plain sandpaper more than anything.

I've used it to: Sand breadboards, edges of doors that are sticking, Making mouldings flush (when I hadn't planed the stock), sanding some chipped paint areas on siding, sanding down replacement wood on hardwood floors to match the height of the rest of the floor (before I had a planer).

Has been a good, useful tool for around the house and properties.

[LinuxRandal]

I assume we're talking about Handheld Beltsanders.
How do you feel about stationary/benchtop beltsanders?

They come in the wide, horizontal to vertical styles (like 4-6 inches)
and also int he vertically-running 1" styles. Most have a disk sander sattached.
I find them pretty useful.

My father made a stand that holds his belt sander verticle or horizontal. We been using that as a stationary one for a while (until we actually find a good deal on one).
Otherwise, I have used mine more for construction projects.

[SARGE..g-47]

Morning Ken...

I have a PC 4 x 24.. battle-ship.... Bosch 4 x 24.. heavy cruiser older Ryobi 3 x 21.. destroyer............... :>)

As another in-dispensable tool ( re-ciprocating zag saw) they get frequent use around my home. But.. with the exception of hogging off bench table-tops before the hand plane makes things final, they are used more for construction type up-keep.

My PC will eat wood ultra quick. But.... try using it to flatten a glued table top, etc. and make the slightest err by tipping to the side and you have an instant trench dug in you table-top. That happened years ago and it was the deciding factor that convinced me I needed to learn to use hand planes for a better finish and less risky approach.

Every tool has it's place.. my wood-shop is just not the place where I find my belt sanders t be extremely useful!

Regards...

[Stytooner]

I first started using belt sanders in Shop Class in school. We used to drag race and Demolition Derby them.
I actually learned how to use one in the first cabinet shop I worked in and every one after that.
Mainly used it for sanding faceframes. Getting the joints flush. They always required finish sanding of course. I also used it on all the doors. We did have a statinary one used for the edges. We also used them for making our countertops. Sanded the joints before the laminate was applied. Also sanded the edge banding before the laminate. When installing the tops, a belt sander might be used to snug the top up to the wall where a bow was. Sanding the back of the top.
I always use a belt sander to level all my Chess boards. If you use the right grit, or a prperly broken in belt, you can get good results with a belt sander. It does take some time to learn how to use one though.
Until you do, you can do more harm than good.

[Sawatzky]

The belt sander is an indespesable tool in my shop. I use it for almost all my power sanding - face frames, doors, shelves, getting moldings flush with countertops, and many other uses. It does take getting used to as they can really remove a lot of wood very fast. I have found that a 120 grit belt is a great all around belt. My dad is a cabinet maker and I learned from him. He uses his belt sander exclusively. That is why I use one. If he had used something different I would probably be using that. It is just what you learn on and get used to. I personally can not see not using one in my shop as it it used on almost every project.

[Stan]

Flushing up cabinet carcass corners so the face-frames sit flush, flushing up face frames after attaching to the carcass. Random Orbit would work also, but take a lot longer to complete the task.

As others have mentioned -- you have to maintain control of the sander and make sure it is sitting square and level with the stock being sanded.

[Popeye]

I don't use mine as much as I used to now that I have a jointer and planer but not long ago I had a piece of rough wide poplar (16") that I didn't want to rip, plane and reglue so I took it down with the belt sander. Pat

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Question to Jeff, you say that it is good for “cleaning up dovetails” and “flattening surfaces”. Typically when I do dovetails they are only proud my a 32nd of an inch or so and a low angle block plane or a chisel makes quick work of them. Seems to me on end grain you are better off cutting the wood than grinding the wood. Sanding engrain leaves the wood fuzzy and impregnates dust in the open pores whereas slicing the fibers leaves a much cleaner surface than accepts finish better. So I am wondering why you choose to use this tool and if you have an example or two of when you used it and why.

Ken,

I am not the Jeff who posted the dovetail and flattening surfaces thing, but I might know where he is coming from. Included in his post was the statement, "really use it almost like a handplane.". My guess would be that this person (like myself) just does not have hand plane skills. I can't imagine how in the world I would use a chisel to remove a 32nd of an inch proudness from DTs. I would be afraid of tear out, chipping, being inconsistent in depth, etc. However, I could just sand it right off. I have one plane in my shop which I use to clean up tenons, but I am looking at a new way to do tenons to get rid of even that plane. I don't know how to adjust them, sharpen them, etc.

Having said that I rarely use a belt sander. I have a shop full of other sanders so maybe that is what keeps me from using the belt sander. Belt sanders are for very aggressive stock and finishing removal, or used in the field for minor shaping as noted by other posters. I find very limited use for the belt sander in the woodshop.