Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT FACTORS AFFECT SANDING OPERATIONS?

A.SANDING BELT GRIT

1.36 grit – Used for very aggressive stock removal, glue removal, or for sanding rough boards. Leaves a rough finish.

2.60 grit – Used for heavy stock removal and rough surfaces, and for truing warped material. Leaves a rough finish.

3.80 grit – Used for general purpose sanding, stock removal, surfacing, and rough finishing. Leaves a marked finish.

4.120 grit – Used for minimal stock removal and for finishing. Leaves a fine marked finish.

5.180 grit. – Used for fine finishing. Leaves a smooth finish.

6.220 grit – For very fine finishing. Leaves a very smooth finish.

For best results, sand first with a coarse grit belt, and work toward a finer grit belt.

IMPORTANT: Sanding progression should not exceed more than two belt grits at one time. Watch for the sawdust loading and dulling of the grit. The extra load will cause the sander to work inefficiently.

B. WIDTH OF BOARD

As board width increases the load on the belt and motor also increases. This additional loading can be reduced by:

a.reducing the conveyor belt speed.

b.reducing the depth of stock removal.

NOTE: The sander will remove stock to a maximum width of 18" in one pass.

C. TYPES OF WOOD

Hardwoods (oak, hickory, cherry), knots, rosin, or wet wood all place a heavy load on the sander. To make your sander work more efficiently:

a.reduce the conveyor belt speed.

b.reduce the depth of stock removal.

D. CONVEYOR BELT SPEED

The conveyor belt speed is 0 - 12 feet per minute.

To control the speed of the conveyor belt, turn the knob counter-clockwise to slow it down and clockwise to speed it up.

Stock can be removed more quickly by using a fast speed, but the machine works much harder, and the wood is left with a rougher finish. Slowing the speed will lighten the load of the sander, and make the finish better, but it will increase the sanding time.

WHEN DO I CHANGE THE DRUM SPEED?

The machine has two drum settings:

a. High Speed (3300 Surface Feet Per Minute). This setting should mostly be used with a finer grit belt with the conveyor belt speed set to very slow. The material removal should be set at a very low amount, with increases not to exceed 1/16 of a handwheel turn. Example: A 1/4 turn is 90 degrees, 1/8 turn is 45 degrees, 1/16 turn is 22.5 degrees.

b. Low Speed (2210 Surface Feet Per minute). Used for general purpose sanding, stock removal, surfacing, and rough finishing.

The machine is shipped from the factory set on the low speed. To change to the higher speed, refer to “CHANGING DRUM SPEEDS/REPLACING DRIVE BELT” in this manual for instructions.

WHAT IS RECOMMENDED FOR DUST COLLECTION

1. It is recommended that a dust collection system be used with at least 400 to 600 CFM capacity.

HOW DO I SAND FACE FRAMES and RAISED PANEL DOORS.

1.Some doors have boards with the grain running at 90 degrees. We suggest using finer grit paper, removing minimal amount of stock, and slowing down the feed rate.