Is there a trick to winding velcro sandpaper on drum?

[Robert Fuller]

I owned a Ryobi WDS1600 drum sander with spring loaded clips for holding the paper. It was a charm to change the sandpaper, and the end clip had a tension spring that kept the paper tight. However, the end clip started letting paper slip (a known problem with age), so I had to replace it.

Sticker shock on new equivalent sanders sent me shopping for a used one. I thought I found a deal on a Grizzly G1079 for $775, with a Jet 1HP dust collector and a Craftsman 10" bandsaw, and a roll of 100 grit 3" wide sandpaper, so I picked it up. The previous owner apparently did not like the spring loaded clip that held the paper, so he wrapped the drums with Velcro instead.

Got it home, cleaned it up, lubed it, and performed a meticulous alignment.

I spent an hour tonite trying to wind a strip of sandpaper on it. Every time I thought I had it, after looking it over, I found the paper ended up uneven in places. I could never get it to lay flat, which was not an issue with the old Ryobi.

I could peel the velcro off and replace the clips, but the problem is that at the end of the drum there is no mating clip. Grizzly's instruction manual said to fasten the sandpaper down at that end with duct tape. That sounds bogus to me, but apparently that is their method.

Alternately I could cut my losses and just buy a different machine that has spring clips at both ends of the drum.

Any suggestions?

[Sam Puhalovich]

Robert; I once owned a 18" Woodmaster that had velcro on the drum.
Their method was to wind 1/2" filament tape to retain the ends.
The middle area was held reasonably flat by the hook-and-loop.
However; what you need to do is run some material thru and see if the results suit your requirements.
I gave-up on the Woodmaster because I could not get a 8" wide board thru without a .010" crown.
Wider material only got worse because of the flexure of the table.

[Robert Fuller]

Thanx for reply Sam. It is not the table flexing that concerns me, it is the uneven sandpaper. With the metal cylinder and the spring loaded tensioner of the old Ryobi, even a sloppy winding job would self correct, as long as there was no overlapping. But with this Velcro there is no way to self correct, and if you do not wind it flat to start the results of the sanding operation will be compromised. Plus, I think that the thickness of the Velcro and the cloth backing of the sandpaper just compounds the problem.
I ordered replacement clips last nite and will peel the Velcro off to see how that works. I still do not like the fact that tape is being used to secure one end of the sandpaper. I expected more of a Grizzly product.

[Robert Engel]

Robert, I converted my Grizzly do hood and loop and like it much better than the tension spring mechanism which inevitably always loosened.

I just line up the angled cut on the end and press paper flat as is goes, pretty much let it fall where it may. Generally there a 1/4 - 3/8 gap. I tape both ends.

Only downside is I have noticed more burning than before. Another thing I've discovered is the second drum needs to be adjusted down due to the thickness of the velcro.

BTW I still wrap the ends with tape.

[Ed Labadie]

I've have the 36" Woodmaster...

I line up the paper on the edge of the drum & start winding, don't worry about how the first wrap or 2 look. Align the paper as you go across, keeping it tight to the previous wrap. When finished, go back an redo the first un-aligned wraps, working back to the start point.

Put the tape (nylon reinforced type) on the start end and go to work.

Ed