Drum Sander paper cleaning

[Sean Troy]

How often does one run the cleaning pad through there drum sander to clean the paper? thanks, Sean

[Paul Johnstone]

How often does one run the cleaning pad through there drum sander to clean the paper? thanks, Sean

I lift up the protective cover, turn on the sanding drums, and hold the cleaning stick against the running drums.

It's best to do this at the end of the day when you've used the drum sander. I have no proof, but it seems that if you wait several weeks to clean it, the cleaning is less effective and more difficult.. (I may be wrong, but that is my perception).

[Will Overton]

What's a cleaning pad? Can you proveide a picture or link to what you use?

I do the same as Paul, but sometimes several times during the day.

[Myk Rian]

It's a big eraser. 1.5"x1.5"x8".
http://www.mikestools.com/images/Porter_Cable/Porter%20Cable%2048115.jpg

[Will Overton]

It's a big eraser. 1.5"x1.5"x8".
http://www.mikestools.com/images/Porter_Cable/Porter%20Cable%2048115.jpg

OP said running a pad through the sander. I don't think that's what he is talking about. I can't imagine running one of those through my sander, and it sure doesn't look like a pad. But who knows?

[Sean Troy]

It's a 15x20 pad made of the same material as the stick.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Source? I use the eraser stick several times also. That may be better.. Depending on how much it costs of course.

[Will Overton]

Thanks Sean. I never saw them before.

Have you been using it long, and if so, how are the results?

[John Coloccia]

With the DC I have, I get very little dust on the paper. It just sucks everything off it seems. That said, when I go from dark wood (like ebony or rosewood) to anything lighter, I always clean the drum well or it will embed dark particles in the lighter wood that can be a real pain in the butt to deal with.

[Sean Troy]

I got it from Grizzly and have not used it yet, that's why I was wondering how often to clean the paper being new to Drum Sanders. I sure do like using a drum sander on all the things I used to do with a belt sander:)

[Mike Cutler]

With the DC I have, I get very little dust on the paper. It just sucks everything off it seems. That said, when I go from dark wood (like ebony or rosewood) to anything lighter, I always clean the drum well or it will embed dark particles in the lighter wood that can be a real pain in the butt to deal with.


John

I gotta tell ya' bro', I have a heckuva time with the tropicals and my Dual Drum Sander. I sometimes get "burn lines" on the paper, which subsequently leaves a burn track on the next piece of wood. The Macassar Ebony I used gave me fits.
I take light cuts, clean often during use, wipe the wood with acetone,and still I sometimes get the burning.

What does your DC system for the sander encompass? Mine currently sucks, but not enough.

Thanks Mike.


Sean
I've never seen one of those pads. Cool.:cool:

[doug faist]

Took a look at the Grizzly site and there's the cleaning pad. But $65; come on! The sticks are $5-$6 and I have one that has lasted for about three years. They seem to work fine for me and are quick and easy to use.

YMMV

Doug

http://www.grizzly.com/products/category.aspx?key=100130

[John Coloccia]

John

I gotta tell ya' bro', I have a heckuva time with the tropicals and my Dual Drum Sander. I sometimes get "burn lines" on the paper, which subsequently leaves a burn track on the next piece of wood. The Macassar Ebony I used gave me fits.
I take light cuts, clean often during use, wipe the wood with acetone,and still I sometimes get the burning.

What does your DC system for the sander encompass? Mine currently sucks, but not enough.

Thanks Mike.


Sean
I've never seen one of those pads. Cool.:cool:

I have a Clearvue with 6" PVC. It goes down to a 4" flex tube for the last couple of feet. It does a very effective job of keeping everything clean. I also pass my pieces through at an angle so I'm using the whole drum and keep things as cool and clean as possible. With wider pieces, lighter passes and lower feed rates seem to work better.

Still, I have problems sometimes but it's pretty rare. Usually it's because I've just worn out the sandpaper.

I really only use the drum sander for thicknessing thin stock these days so it never sees grit less than about 80, and often it's got 36 grit on it. You probably have it setup with 80 or 120 on the first drum, and maybe 240 on the second drum? I'm guessing that the second drum is the one giving you trouble. Those finer grits can really be difficult on some woods.

With the finer grits, sometimes I found that it would burn right after I cleaned it, and I never figured out why although it was probably just some gum left over on the drum, maybe.

[Sean Troy]

Took a look at the Grizzly site and there's the cleaning pad. But $65; come on! The sticks are $5-$6 and I have one that has lasted for about three years. They seem to work fine for me and are quick and easy to use.

YMMV

Doug

http://www.grizzly.com/products/category.aspx?key=100130

Mine didn't cost me anything. It was a gift:)

[Paul Johnstone]

Mine didn't cost me anything. It was a gift:)

Ha ha.. An excellent reason to have one :)

[Clint Olver]

If sanding wide panels, I run the stick over the drum after each pass. If sanding a 4" wide piece, I would run it through 6 times moving it over 4" each pass before cleaning the paper. Essentially, once I've run something through in a spot, I don't run it through that spot again until I've cleaned it.

C