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Posted by on April 18, 2008, 1:11 pm
In general, a belt sander is meant for aggressive sanding. It is easy
to go overboard with a belt sander. I would try an orbiter sander.
Since you already damaged the wood, you will need to start with a
course sand paper (60-80) then sand again with 100-120, then 150 and
finish with 220. If applying poly, than lightly sand with 220 or 400
between coats.
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Posted by SonomaProducts.com on April 18, 2008, 2:58 pm
The belt sander is one mean mutha. The slightest tilt or skew and you
have problems.
Yes, an orbital or other sander woul have been better but now that you
have the gouges, the belt is about the only power hand tool that is
reasonable to remove the problem.
First, you should have started with very light grit, 220 or lighter.
Some times kind of hard to find for belts. They want you to use 100
and remove lots o' material at once.
Second, technique. Get the board held in place so it never slips. If
you have access to a real wood working bench you would use a bench dog
and a vice with a pop-up to clinch it, but rubbarized under sheet can
be used also. Hold the sander with two hands, one at each end of the
bel. Most units will have some handle/body setup to allow this. MOST
IMPORTANT Hold the sander at abou 15 to 20 degrees off axis of the
grain. Always move the sander up and down the board in line with the
grain but the sander is skewed across the grain and is not perfectly
in line. It is spitting sawdust off to the side of the board. It is
much easier to control it even 5 degrees off of straigh then sanding
straight forward and backward in line with the belt. This will
minimize the rocking and give much better control. Finally, use lots
of feel. Let the sander float on the board and keep it moving (as
others said) continuously. You can get near perfect flat if you are
careful.
> I bought an oak bookcase from Wood You and stained the unit and the
> shelves in Fruitwood. While staining the shelves, I stained one side,
> then turned them over (apparently before the stain had full dried) to
> stain the other side. When returning to side one, there were light
> stripes where the shelves laid across two boards I was using for
> support. I decided to attempt to sand the shelves down to the wood
> using a belt sander, but ended up with gouges and deep scratches
> in the wood. I'm using a B&D belt sander that was right out of the
> box. Is there some technique to using a belt sander so I don't roll
> the unit from side to side to create gouges? ( I didn't feel that I
> was).
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Posted by Phisherman on April 18, 2008, 3:55 pm
On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:51:54 -0400, Blockhead
>
>I bought an oak bookcase from Wood You and stained the unit and the
>shelves in Fruitwood. While staining the shelves, I stained one side,
>then turned them over (apparently before the stain had full dried) to
>stain the other side. When returning to side one, there were light
>stripes where the shelves laid across two boards I was using for
>support. I decided to attempt to sand the shelves down to the wood
>using a belt sander, but ended up with gouges and deep scratches
>in the wood. I'm using a B&D belt sander that was right out of the
>box. Is there some technique to using a belt sander so I don't roll
>the unit from side to side to create gouges? ( I didn't feel that I
>was).
>
A belt sander is too aggressive for this task, unless you are using a
light grit (150 or 220), slow speed, careful control especially near
any edges. A better sander would be a random orbit sander, or you can
simply use a wood block and hand sand which will give you the ultimate
control. Always sand with the grain from coarse to fine grit. Feel
the surface frequently and peer at a low angle to reveal any gouging.
Don't fret too much about the shelves, as they will be covered with
books and dinged up a little anyway. There are sanding frames that
fit some belt sanders to prevent side gouging but I haven't tried this
technique. For book shelves allow a full 2-month cure (patience is a
virtue), wax (Johnson's Wax or Butcher Wax is good) and buff, then
load up with books. Sometimes I use a fine steel wool to rub on the
wax, if you want a matt-finish look.
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Posted by Lew Hodgett on April 18, 2008, 3:58 pm
"Blockhead" wrote:
> I decided to attempt to sand the shelves down to the wood
> using a belt sander, but ended up with gouges and deep scratches
> in the wood. I'm using a B&D belt sander that was right out of the
> box. Is there some technique to using a belt sander so I don't roll
> the unit from side to side to create gouges? ( I didn't feel that I
> was).
A belt sander at best can be considered an abrasive cutting tool.
Definitely not for finish work.
Unless you build counter tops for a living, you will have very little
use for it.
I'd try to sell it and get a ROS for finishing tasks.
Lew
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Posted by Robatoy on April 19, 2008, 2:20 am
> "Blockhead" wrote:
> > I decided to attempt to sand the shelves down to the wood
> > using a belt sander, but ended up with gouges and deep scratches
> > in the wood. I'm using a B&D belt sander that was right out of the
> > box. Is there some technique to using a belt sander so I don't roll
> > the unit from side to side to create gouges? ( I didn't feel that I
> > was).
>
> A belt sander at best can be considered an abrasive cutting tool.
>
> Definitely not for finish work.
>
> Unless you build counter tops for a living, you will have very little
> use for it.
>
Absolutely. We have them going all the time. You CAN get a decent
result levelling edgebanded strips on plywood if you are careful, and
that the belt sander is in primo condition.
When we level the countertop edges on a countertop prior to laminating
the top, we use pencil scribbles to indicate where the heel and toe of
the sander is doing the cutting.
A Makita 3 x 24 with a fresh Klingspor 180 grit belt and a fresh
graphite skid pad, is easy to handle and any of us in the shop are
able to do some pretty fine sanding without gouging. (assuming you
don't step on the cord, etc, etc.)
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