Thread: Belt Sander Help

Originally Posted by woodPixel

I saw a video where some dudes had a monster slab.

They did as you did Auscab, but to get it all dead flat they glued a cut-open huge belt (1220mm) onto a steel bar and slid that back and forth like slaves on the oars!

Ha Ha "Like slaves "
I know what that's like. I did a BIG solid Jarrah board room table top like that. About a 600 long board holding the sand paper with a handle I made up on top. I felt like a slave.

Originally Posted by Damienol

The main reason I want one is on some of my finer pieces, especially when dark stained, i can see ROS swirl marks. I want to finish these pieces using the belt sander so as to remove any swirls.

Often I cant see them until after the finish is applied.

Also, i find when using a ROS you can feel a slight wave across the surface. No matter how good the technique and quality of the sander the finish is never perfectly flat when you have to work through the grits

The final reason is related the woodpixels post and Ramon’s love of them

I would not look at a belt sander as a fine finishing tool. I use mine for the agressive bit at the start. Never used finer than 120G with mine.
After the ROS get rid of any swirl marks by hand sanding with the grain.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

I would not look at a belt sander as a fine finishing tool. I use mine for the agressive bit at the start. Never used finer than 120G with mine.
After the ROS get rid of any swirl marks by hand sanding with the grain.
Regards
John

I do it by hand now however on a 4m2 table it takes to long

Depends on what quality of finish you want, a belt sander will not produce a high grade finish, they are not designed for that, there is not a sanding machine of any type that will produce the quality of hand sanding, this why all top quality furniture etc. is finished by hand.

Damien, I would have argued almost the reverse of what you have said. First, a little background.

We returned to Australia in 1983 after 15 years overseas and suddenly we had a house but no furniture and zero tools (literally); my wife is an academic so we needed bookshelves and desks, quickly and cheaply. I am typing this at a temporary desk that I made then.

I went to Roger Linnel's sawmill and bought a ute load of rough sawn, air dried celery top pine boards from 150 to 300 mm wide and up to 50 mm thick, all hand selected by Roger and me. Good stuff! My desk top is 2300 x 750 x 32 mm and is made from three boards 250 mm wide.

I borrowed a router with a 50 mm straight cutter, and using a sheet of plywood as a straight edge I routed the edges of the tree boards, then epoxied them together, giving me a rough sawn desk panel. I then bought the 100 mm Makita belt sander, some 60 grit belts and sanded both sides until seemingly smooth. Sanding marks were very visible - grit lines - so I bought some 120 grit belts and resanded - finer grit lines. No finer grit belts stocked! Then I was in the right place at the right time and managed to buy a big Rupes half sheet orbital sander cheaply and sanded it with 120 grit - lighter sanding swirls. Then 200 and 400 grit and the sanding swirls got less obvious, almost invisible. Then I hand sanded and applied a couple of coats of Danish oil.

I still use that desk daily, finsih is still good but worn, and when the light is right you can still see undulations in the top. But it still works well; it is very functional.

Originally Posted by Damienol

The main reason I want one is on some of my finer pieces, especially when dark stained, i can see ROS swirl marks. I want to finish these pieces using the belt sander so as to remove any swirls. ...

You just cannot get a fine finish with a belt sander - its a big brute of a tool and you cannot buy fine grit belts. If you can see ROS swirls then you either have not sanded enough or have not gone to sufficiently fine grit. I now stop at 400 if dry sanding.

... Often I cant see them until after the finish is applied. ...

Wet the surface with metho and those swirls will be magnified (turps, water or any solvent works, but metho dries much faster)

... Also, i find when using a ROS you can feel a slight wave across the surface. No matter how good the technique and quality of the sander the finish is never perfectly flat when you have to work through the grits ...

You will also get this with a belt sander, probably more so because it is heavier, more brutal, and harder to control. It is visible on my desk, if you know how to look. But who cares? Almost no one else notices. [The only people who have commented have had very high levels of woodwork skills! Trained eyes.]

... The final reason is related the woodpixels post and Ramon’s love of them

They can speak for themselves.

These are available down to 400 grit: POWERTEC 110980 3 x 21" Sanding Belts | 400 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sanding Belt | Premium Sandpaper For Portable Belt Sander – 10 Pack : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

As Graeme says, its a broadsword, not a scalpel.

BUT, I did use my old Festool BS75 in non-traditional ways: upside down as a linisher, a polisher (using a felt belt, which I'm having trouble re-finding) and with a couple of fences/jigs it made a handy desktop tool.

I find any belts finer than 120G is hard work with the big Makita sander as the grits clog too quickly. I do keep few well worn 120G that I sometimes finish with before switching to the ROS. Maybe its the weight of the sander because I remember with my brothers olD B&D belt sander 240G did not seem to clog as much.

Thanks for all the advice guys. Some good pointers in all of that. Definitely confirms that a belt sander has a place in a furniture makers shop.

The question still stands, what is the next best option over the BS75?

Looks to be Makita as there isnt a lot of strong competition, however which Makita?

I have it down to these 3: 9403, 9404, 9400.

There is a big price difference however I cant tell where the value is

Originally Posted by Damienol

Thanks for all the advice guys. Some good pointers in all of that. Definitely confirms that a belt sander has a place in a furniture makers shop. ...

Not so sure that that was the concensus, Damien; it had a role 40 years ago, but that is diminishing with the advent of the ROS.

In my view, there is a limited role only for a belt sander as an improvised linisher. Otherwise use a ROS.

Graeme hates the belt sander Such passion

Damienol, when I was looking I based my search on the videos and Instagram of Ramon Valdez.

I very much enjoy his insta and videos as he has a no nonsense approach to getting the paid work done and out the door. It interests me as that's what I TRIED to do for about 8 years (I'm pretty hopeless and it's amazing the family hasn't starved).

He's used one for as long as I can remember. He uses the 9401, which is old, but still available in England and somewhere in Asia (Philippines?). Some come up second hand here.

I looked at all the various machines available here, before doing as you did and decided upon a bs75.

My main thought came down to belt speed. It's my opinion that lower is better, but the more expensive models are always faster and faster....

Why, I can't tell you.

But I love the fact the BS75 and BS105 are multi speed. That sold me in the end.

Before I bought, I did up a small speed chart so I could compare.

The Makita website shows 4 sanders

9400 @389 m/s
9402 @500 m/s
9910 @270 m/s
9924 @400 ms

Based on this I would be looking at the 9910 (slowest belt speed) for your purposes.
Its is also by far the lightest (2.6kg) being less than half the weight of the heaviest (5.9kg)

BTW I could not find the 9404 on the Makita website - perhaps its an older model?

Have'nt come across this one before the Rockwell, possibly Chinese made dust collection might need thinking about if connecting to DC Quite low speed range 150-270rpm speed.

Rockwell 920W Belt Sander | Mitre 10

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Graeme hates the belt sander Such passion ...

No, I don't hate it - just don't use it because there is now better technology around.

I find it hard to believe that the belt sander doesn’t have a place in every makers shop!

Ramon V is at the top of his game and he loves them.