Stroke sander belt grits

[Loren Woirhaye]

I acquired a stroke sander. It came with only 1 belt in 100 grit.

I found some sanding belt stock at a bargain at 80 grit, but I'm concerned that this is really too coarse to be of much use.

I suspect 100 grit results will tend to look like 120 grit from other sanders and so forth, with the 100 grit being aggressive enough to both remove planer marks and come close to a finishable surface.

So my question is: should I invest in 100 grit or will I get a lot of use out of the 80 grit?

[Mel Fulks]

I like 80 grit as the 'most of the time ' grit on stroke sanders . It lets you fair out any little chip place ,etc. without having to remove wood all over. Have had occasions to go finer and coarser.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Thanks for the input.

[Ira Matheny]

I use my looong stroke sander [30' belt] to do first sanding on big slabs. I have 60, 80, 100, 120 and 150 grit. The 60 and 80 are both great for correcting warped/bent/twisted big slabs. Gets out the milling marks and starts the finishing process. I proceed all the way thru to 150 to get close to finish. Of course, most of the time I end up hand sanding with a 1/4 sheet vibratory sander, up to 320.

I have found the best product and at an extremely good prices at Supergrit.com I use only the heaviest medium. Talk to owner, Arturo for help. Great guy, great prices, great products.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Thanks. I work in an urban area and mostly with regular boards sourced rough or skip-planed from hardwood dealers. Slabs are not easy to come by. Sanding is still the most tedious part of my process when working with solid woods and I'm hoping that the stroke sander can help a lot. Usually with ROS I go to 150 grit and finish because I don't get paid for the time I put in sanding, only the end result.

have you found that a stroke sanded finish at 150 grit takes a finish better than the same with orbital sanding? Similarly, can I skip grits with the stroke sander due to the wide dispersal of abrasive particles hitting any given spot and save some time?

[Mel Fulks]

You don't say what you you actually make. I've always considered stroke sanders more of a millwork thing than something
for fine cabinets and furniture. For instance on paint grade door or wall panels .If you are sanding to150 grit sponging might be best way to improve finish ,used to be common practice.if you don't want to do that I think sanding with ROS will be needed after stroke sanding.

[Loren Woirhaye]

A manner of things for a small custom shop doing furniture and casework with either mostly outsourced doors or doors with inset 1/4" veneered panels. I have a couple of drum sanders and do not like them much due to their boring personalities and infuriating betrayals. The stroke sander was acquired at auction in a fit of enthusiasm. Mostly I dislike the tedium of sanding and am looking to get from planer to stain grade as quickly as I can without a wide belt machine.