Getting the best finish with a drum sander

[Justin Crabtree]

Hi Guys,

I just got a Jet 16-32 drum sander and am trying to figure out the most efficient way to get the smoothest finish. I am making some cutting boards and would like to get that *glass* look when i'm done with them.

So far, i've been using 120 grit on the drum sander, but it still leaves very fine lines in it. I then followed it up with a finishing sander going with 150 grit to 220 grit. After I did that, the wood was smoother, but you could still see those fine lines from when I used the 120 grit with the drum sander.

My question is, after using the 120 grit on the drum sander, should I follow it up with something like a 180 or 220 grit on the drum sander as well, and then finally finish it up with a higher grit with the finishing sander?

Would something like a random orbital sander be better than a finishing sander?

Any help would be appreciated...still trying to get used to sanding :)

[Chris Tsutsui]

I would use a random orbit sander and 220 grit. I believe that's what I have and it will smooth things out and get rid of the fine lines.

If you want a glass look, then you'll need to ask that in the "finishing" forum. Use some sort of FDA approved coating and lots of polishing.

I use very fine steel wool which burnishes well.

I just made some hard maple cutting boards a couple months ago. One of the 4 split in the middle at a bad glue joint but I repaired it and it hasn't split since. :/

Oh, I finished mine with "The Good Stuff" by the maple buctcher block company. My cutting boards were end grain style with a running bond pattern. The board that split was one that was left in the sink wet a lot. The board first started to cup, and then it had a small crack at a glue joint. I used TB-III.

[J.R. Rutter]

You are stuck with the sander lines. I never found it worthwhile to go beyond 180 on a drum. Then I got best results by going to a random orbital sander and grit one step coarser than the drum. Then finish sand as fine as you want.

[Leo Graywacz]

Usually to get rid of the straight line scratches from a sander you need to go down one grit. If you are using 120 on the drum then you need to start your RO sanding at 100 grit. I would go up as high a grit as you can with the drum. I assume it is somewhat a pain to change grits, but it would be easier then sanding with a RO.

[Justin Crabtree]

Thanks all. So the ROS will be the better choice to go with over my 1/4 sheet vibrating sander?

[Brad Wood]

Thanks all. So the ROS will be the better choice to go with over my 1/4 sheet vibrating sander?

I don't have any experience with drum sanders, but I do have experience with the vibrating and RO sanders.

I've used the vibrating sander for years as a homeowner doing odd jobs around the house, and I think it does fine. It however can not hold a candle to a ROS when doing woodwork.... by orders of magnitude

[Jim Rimmer]

If you want the "glass" look on your finished project it is a long process but worth it. Follow all the sanding advice you have already receieved first. Others may have other methods but here is what i did:
1. Stain as desired and then applied poly varnish diluted 50/50 with mineral spirts. (Wipe on poly was either not available at the time or I didn't know about it)
2. Multiple coats sanded lightly in between with 220 grit SP (put on twice as many coats as you would without diluting). I applied with a rag rather than brush.
3. After final coat, rub with 0000 steel wool and then work your way through two grits of pumice and then rottenstone with a felt block and parrafin oil.

If you take your time and rub well, you will have a finish that flies will slide off of when they land.

[Charlie Plesums]

I have a very good wide jointer and planer so ran my drum sander at 150 or 180 grit only. And had a lot of problem with burning, not just on maple and cherry but even oak and other woods. And 220 grit was guaranteed to burn anything.

I was chastised at our woodworking club for using such fine paper (150 - 180 is fine?) The people happy with that drum sander then started a debate whether it should be run at 80, 100, or 120. So I am wondering what to do with my 50 meter roll of 150, and am trying coarser grits.

The ROS takes over where the drum sander finishes. There is a huge difference in sanders. Unfortunately my best sander is a Festool, and the worst sandpaper is Festool, so I have a 3rd party pad that allows use of other paper on the Festool sander.

[george wilson]

Anything finer than 120 grit on my drum sander just burns and doesn't work,as it is too fine. Be more diligent about your final sanding.

[Leo Graywacz]

Faster feed, lighter touch. Should keep the burning away, but also do little sanding.

[Peter Quinn]

The cutting board is edge grain or end grain? Doesn't make much difference, but end grain is going to cross grain scratch no matter what you do with the drum. Edge grain is going to scratch but the scratches will be easier to get rid of with the ROS.

If edge grain, I would sand on the drum at 100G, call it a day, start sanding with the ROS at 80G until the scratches are gone, then go up through the sanding schedule from there with a final hand sanding at 220.

If end grain I would drum sand to 120G, then step back to 80G on the ROS and sand until the scratches are gone, then move forward through the schedule to 180G, hand sand at 220. I don't even buy paper beyond 120G any more for the drum sander as I don't find very fine scratches any easier to get rid of or any more attractive in the final product.

[Justin Crabtree]

Hi all,

I went out and purchased a Bosch ROS. I kept the 120 grit on the drum sander as it seems to be an all around good grit for my needs.

I then tested out the ROS starting with 120 and it didn't seem to get the lines out, so luckily the ROS came with 1 disc of 80 grit. It worked perfectly.

So 120 on the drum > ROS 80 > ROS 120 > ROS 220 > then maybe finish it with the finishing sander at 300+ grit (i'll test that out tomorrow to see if there's a notable improvement).

After the fine lines were taken out with the ROS 80, the ROS 120 & 220 went pretty quick I loves me some ROS now :)

Thanks again, and hopefully this thread helps some others in the future.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You'll definetely need to use your new Bosch ROS after the drum sander..... That's what I got. It was actually a promo, and I got the ROS free as a rebate with the Performax. Oh sorry, now it's the Jet. I hate to admit this, but I used the ROS a LONG time before I noticed that the speed was on 3. I was thinking that was "fast". (No, I don't read instructions) One day, I played with it and WOW! It goes FASTER! LOL

You do make the cutting board end grain don't you? Looks uglier, but WAY more functional. Side grain is for display. Or chess boards.

[david kramer]

I have a Jet/Performax 16-32 drum sander and I use 220 grit all the time. I don't think I've had a problem with burning. Obviously I work up through the grits to 220, and don't try to take too much off with any one pass (maybe 1/8 of a turn). Still, it leaves vertical scratches, I think they're inevitable. Usually it's just a touch-up with the ROS after that.

If you're using very hard wood you might be able to get a glossy-ish finish, but I wonder why you'd want to. It's a cutting board after all! One thing I would do is sand it, then spray it with distilled water, and after drying knock down the grain again. If you don't do this, then the first time the board gets washed it's going to look like 40 grit!

David

[Justin Crabtree]

Hey David,

When would be the best time to spray it with distilled water (after the drum sanding?). Does it need to be distilled?

[Rob Cunningham]

I sand up to 150 on my drum sander without any burning. As Leo said, faster feed and lighter cuts, seems to work well. I skew the boards slightly and try to use the whole width of the drum. This reduces heat build up in any one area of the sandpaper. Also, I'll run the boards through several times before changing the height of the table. They still need to be finish sanded with a ROS or a sheet sander after the drum sander.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I made a bunch for Christmas. In my first batch, I ran them to 220. To avoid burning lines, I ended up taking 1/128" passes... and it took FOREVER.

Here was my final approach:

Run an 80 grit belt
Switch to a belt sander to remove the sanding lines
ROS @ 80, 120, 150, 180, and 220
To finish, I tried the GF Salad b stuff. Works well... but doesn't keep a wet-look. In the end, I just used mineral oil. Looks great and it is very easy to reapply.