I recently purchased a Makita 9903 belt sander and the place I bought it only had grits up to 150. Home Depot only has grits up to 150 for the belt sanders. Is it assumed that I should use a ROS for the 220 sanding or is it that I’m just looking in the wrong places?
Regards,
Buzzsaw
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Gil Bailie
Replies
Buzzsaw , The only belts I have ever seen that fine or finer grit were made for sanding the edges of glass products and I don't think the grit is formulated as well for wood . Typically the belt sander is not a finish sander and your ROS or the likes is better suited for the final stages of sanding imho .
good luck dusty
It is available:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=nb_ss_hi/103-5381402-3115046?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=3+++21+220+grit&Go.x=6&Go.y=11
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5415
Thank you both for the information. Samson, do you use 220 in your belt sander for the final sanding step? Or do you goto ROS?Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
It depends on the project. I mostly use the sander with the shoe to dress glued up panels before incorporating them into a project. With the shoe, there is no reason that fine grits cannot be used on a belt sander to achieve a ready for finish serfuce. Indeed, it can be preferable if your ROS leave pigtails - sandning with the grain with a belt sander will not. For me, the shoe makes what others think of as an indelicate hogging tool, into a very efficient finishing tool.
http://www.industrialabrasives.com has them up to 400 grit. Best prices on sandpaper, rolls, belts and lowest minimum custom belt orders. Been buying from them for years. All they do is abrasives. Typically we go to the ROS for the finer grits.
Edited 2/5/2006 9:10 am ET by RickL
RickL,
Can you tell me where your cutoff is? I just bought a Makita model 9903 belt sander. I have always used ROS for everything so I'm wondering where you make the cutoff? 150 grit is last belt sander grit and then ROS from there?Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Pretty much agree with Howie. In one shop we never went past 120 as it wouldn't take stain on the hardwoods. There's some good finishing and sandind books out there. I see Sando has one on sanding and he's usually a good read. Jewitt, Dresden (spelling?), Flexner are worth looking up. I thinkk Jewitt has a finishinf forum on his site. In general all the answers you seek are already out there in books and web stuff. Just find what works for you and keep it as simple as possible would be my choice.
It's possible to get 220 belts but I don't recommend them. They tend to gum up with the heat generated with belt sanders. In fact, sanding to beyond 180 grit can lead to finishing problems no matter what type of machine used. I only use use a belt sander for initial panel flattening so the grits used are 80, 100, 120. Once flat, a 1/2 sheet orbital sander will do a better job of smoothing and keeping the surface flat.
The following is some info that may help. I put it together for a woodworking newsletter for a club I was involved with.
Sanding wood--hard or soft--beyond 220 does little more than burnish the wood making staining difficult. This is particularly true if you are using a pigment stain which sits on the surface and relies on "nooks and crannies" to impart color. Softer more porous woods can be sanded to to 220 but harder less absorbent woods may stain best if only sanded to 150.
A number of years ago a shop I was involved with did series of adhesion tests with various finishes and sealers. As part of this test we explored adhesion based on sanding grit. We found about the same adhesion up to 180 - 220. Beyond 220 adhesion dropped off due to burnishing of the underlying wood particularly when non-linear machine sanders were used. This was tested on birch panels. We also found that the resulting smoothness of the first coat of finish was not materially affected by the smoothnes of the underlying wood for sandpaper grits between 150 - 220.. The smoothest surface substrate for final finishes was obtained by sanding lightly after the first coat of finish was applied and dry. Which makes the case for a thinned first coat of finish.
So our conclusion was that sanding beyond 180-220 was not necessary and could be actually detrimental.
But, most important was that there was a big appearance affect if the surface was not HAND sanded in the direction of the grain using the highest grit used on the sanding machine. A flat pad sander produced a much flatter surface than a ROS. However, both required final hand sanding with the grain for optimum appearence. If not hand sanded, swirl scratches would show. Final hand sanding using a sanding pad in the direction of the grain is a must.
To carry it one step further, sanding at 320-400 grit after the first coat and subsequent coats was the optimum. No improved appearence was noticed by between coat sanding beyond 400 for varnish. 400 was the sweet spot for thinner finishes. Between coat sanding was always done by hand whether for flattening or for adhesion.
I think you will find similar thoughts in the popular finishing books but YMMV.
this place has all kinds and types....but the folks here are not sounding positive about 220on belt sanders .
http://www.klingspor.com/products/default.htm
.....and don't ask me,cuz what I know wouldn't take the place of ONE angel on a pinhead
220 belts are available, Buzzsaw but they are very fine for wood and can load quickly. I only use the ROS like I would the belt sander, for leveling, removing marks and other coarse work. I don't want one touching my projects when it comes to finish sanding. Actually, I'd prefer to use neither whenever possible. The ROS is the worst, though. It leaves little spring like marks and can dish a surface quickly. It takes twice as much hand work to undo the damage done by power sanders, so, I find it quicker to just hand sand.
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