Thread: Drum Sander Abrasives

The Sandpaper Man has it

contact ABRASIFLEX , there will be a branch near by, they sell a full range of coated abrasives, which are very good,.

Jeff
vk4

Just be careful making sure the paper can be clamped properly on the drum in your machine....most drum sanders have a fiddly clip thing which grips the end of the paper.

When I was at the Canberra show I overheard someone on the Carbatec stand discussing papers for their smaller drum sander with the Carbatec rep. The customer was complaining that aftermarket papers didn't mount in the clip retainer properly, so the abrasive was moving around on the drum too much. Of course, the official Carbatec line was that only the genuine papers ($$$$ching$$$$) would work with the machine.......

If I were you I'd cut a piece off a used genuine paper, and ask your supplier to match it best they can. Clearly the thickness of the backing cloth and the flexibility of the paper can be issue in getting satisfactory operation. I'm sure The Sandpaperman or others would have something suitable.

These machines can use a variety of abrasives , including paper backed and cloth backed, the main issues are that the backing is flexible enough to confirm to the drum, and that the end angles are correctly cut, and the strips are tensioned onto the drum.
If these critrea are fulfilled, the operator should have no problems.

The best cloth back material is probably "J " weight with Aluminum Oxide Abrasive Grit , this will mean that you will have an abrasive Grit range of 40# through to 320#,. I would not however, recommend going above 180# / 240# as the material will clog quickly and stock removal is minimal .

I would recommend that you invest in a couple of BELT CLEANERS as they will help to clean the abrasive on the drum, and improve it's cutting efficiency, if you see black marks appearing on your timber, the abrasive is blunt and burning, it does not matter how much pressure you put on the drums , if the abrasive is blunt it won't cut , change it asap.

I have recently retired , after over 12 years selling abrasives , so I have some knowledge in this area.
If you have any other questions , just send me an E-Mail and I will answer .

Jeff
vk4

vk4 - a drum sander is next on my wishlist (just waiting for the next H&F sale ), so that's useful info

You're saying J weight alox in the cloth-backed is one option - I'd only ever use 120 or 180 grit, as I've seen the finer grits clog up rapidly in these machines.

Is there anything particular to look for in paper-backed abrasives for drum sanders, and what are the pros/cons of paper-backed vs. cloth-backed for this application?

All grist to the mill - cheers

I will agree with Jeff on the J weight abrasives.

For these machines we supply the Hermes RB346M in the 75mm wide as it has a cloth back and is still flexible enough to wrap around the drum, the 100mm can be a bit more awkward to put on because of its width.

The problem with paper back abrasives is they catch very easy and tear.

Some have tried the hermes RB406 which is the woodturners choice but this is too flexible and curls up at the edges and scores the Timber.

Use the belt cleaners as soon as you put the belt on as it helps in keeping the belt clean longer. Regular passes with the cleaner will help especially with resenous timbers.

No use using it once the belt starts getting clogged as nothing will remove the gunk.

There is no special Paper for these machines ,however there are different grades of backing paper. and paper is a less expensive product , but it's less durable nature must be taken into account. and yes it will tear where cloth won't, .

depending on the material you will be working with , there are several different materials you can use, and they vary from brand to brand.

you will find that Aluminum Oxide will be the main abrasive you will use avoid SILICON CARBIDE, as it is too soft and will wear quickly.

For hardwood I would recommend Zirconia/Ceramic on a medium backing, as it will out last Aluminum Oxide several times over, but remember there is a cost penalty, as these materials will be 30% dearer, .

For oily / or timber with high sap content , slash Pine , cypress pine, teak, I would suggest a STERATED MATERIAL , also called NO FILL. This material is coated with a filler powder that comes away with use and helps to stop the abrasive from clogging.

Jeff
vk4

Jeff, You are a champion mate.

Thanks for your help, & thanks to you other blokes as well.

I have 120 & 180grit on at the moment & it seems to be pretty good. I Have used it for a final finish thickness after running through the thicknesser of course, & It is great. I can pretty much run the RO sander over a project once now & in most cases, I am ready to apply a finish. Even if I want to sand it really fine with the RO, all the hard work is done before I start.

Haven't used it much yet, but I predict it will be a real time saver. I am currently doing a small Pine table & chair for SWMBO to groom our dogs on, & then I have 5 display tables to build, all Jarah, & the tops will be all be glued up from narrow boards. I think my new drum sander will be my new best friend when the time comes to sand them.

Steve

Steve something to remember when using these machines.

When doing door frames or picture frames or any frame sand all the timber first before puting together and always allow more than what you need.

The reason for this is when you put the frame together it cannot be used through the sander without putting scratches is the cross peices.

You will notice it is sanding against the grain and it is hard to get those marks back out

It is the same when thicknessing always do more than you need because if you have to do more later it is really hard to get the timber to the same thickness as generally the head has been moved and trying to thickness or sand to exact dimensions is awkward.

Ticky - can I ask what drum sander you have? I'm still trying to decide what to get.....

There is a huge price difference between the H&F/Carbatec class machines and the equivalent JET. For what I'm doing, a single drum fitted with 120 grit would do the job.

At least I now know what abrasives to use when I do get one !

Cheers

Hey Jim, thanks for the tip. I have had a look at your wep page, inparticular, your J weight sanding rolls. I have a bit of a supply at the moment, but my local supplier didn't have much & I don't think he is planning on holding a lot in the future, so I'll have another look when I need to re-supply.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Ticky - can I ask what drum sander you have? I'm still trying to decide what to get.....

There is a huge price difference between the H&F/Carbatec class machines and the equivalent JET. For what I'm doing, a single drum fitted with 120 grit would do the job.

At least I now know what abrasives to use when I do get one !

Cheers

G'day Mr Brush, (Can I call you Basil? )
It's a Ledacraft DS-25 (635mm).
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f40/i-...terday-140118/

All of my machines are Leda. I started buying Leda when Carbatec & H&F were not interested in the Adelaide market, & I have found them to be great machines & an excellent company to do business with. I always get a good price, I guess they appreciate loyalty. Between me, my brother, mates etc., we have pumped a lot of money over the counter & I have gotten to know the boys down there & the owner so I imagine that helps, but loyalty aside, I love the quality of leda machines & I can't see myself going anywhere else in the future.

If you can find anybody in NSW that stocks them, do yourself a huge favour & go & have a look. I recon you will see what makes me keep going back. JMO

(no affiliation)


Steve

Steve - that's one very nice bit of kit !

Your Leda sander looks about the same as the H&F twin drum jobbie:

L129 | machineryhouse.com.au

I've actually used another version of this machine at a friend's place - I think it was from Gregory Machinery. All of them are Taiwanese-made...a big improvement over Chinese IMHO.

I don't really need the twin drum, and the other problem for me is re-wiring to get the necessary 15A circuit. H&F sell a smaller single drum version (also Taiwanese made) which would do for the size of parts I'm working with (mainly box parts and thin strips for laminating curved items): L1105 | machineryhouse.com.au

I'm just waiting for the annual H&F sale; I've seen this model down to under $900 at times.

Another little tip.

When you have used the belt cleaner it will leave little rubber particles on the feed and rollers. This can cause great problems unless you are into the smell of burning rubber.

Use a hearth brush to clean the cleaner (Irish, eh) gunk off the roller and air to clean the feed.

A cunning plan, m'lord......

I use those rubber cleaning blocks on my disk sander, but a mate with a drum sander swears by lengths of fairly small diameter white PVC pipe to clean the paper.

Good idea or not?