Widebelt Sanders

[Darren Zisser]

Hey folks, got a few questions on widebelt sanders. I'm looking at the 37" 10hp single phase version from Grizzly.

One thing I really dislike about my drum sander is the velcro pad. It's squishy and therefore can't guarantee even thicknessing, which is especially problematic when sanding veneered tabletops and panels. Does the platen-head on a widebelt fix this problem at all?

How do cross grain scratches on a widebelt compare to those on a drum sander?

How quick is it to change grits?

Lastly, I want to use this machine to replace final thicknessing on figured lumber and long boards that are more prone to snipe on the planer. How much material can a widebelt take off in a single pass? Most drum sanders cannot handle this task as the paper gets shredded or burned when taking off too much material.

Thanks for your help.

[lou sansone]

I have not used the drum sanders, but went right away to a 37" timesavers wide belt- 20hp I have been very happy with it. I think 10 hp will be too small for a true 37" machine. I used it specifically for surfacing figured wood. it works great. You are on the right track. Most modern machines have platen style contact area and you will find that they give an excellent finish. Due to the demographics here at the creek, you will find most here are using drum sanders, which when used as they are designed give quite decent results. As with all tools they have limitations. The true 37" x 75" wide belt is in another league, but they also have issues. one of them being dust collection, weight and power requirement ( not to mention the cost ).

Grit change = 1 minute
scratches = probably still need to ROS at the end,
dimensions = dead nuts and no snipe
max thickness = 80 grit ~ 0.04"
120 grit ~ .020 "

Lou

[J.R. Rutter]

Agree with Lou's comments on horsepower. If you are patient, the 10 HP will do the trick, but don't expect to remove a whole lot in one pass.

The platen gives an extra smoothing step, not an extra thicknessing step. The wider contact area smooths out any rippling from the contact drum, and the slight buildup of sanding dust means the grains on the sanding belt don't cut quite as deep. So you get a smoother surface that is easier to ROS for final sanding.

I'm currently running a 37" double drum; but if I had had 3 PH avail. when I got it, I would have gone with wide belt instead.

[Darren Zisser]

Lou and JR, thank you for the helpful replies.

The Grizzly model I'm looking at has three 4" dust ports, which has a total combined cross sectional area that's roughly equal to a single 7"... which happens to be the inlet diameter of my Oneida 2hp commercial. :)

So I guess the only thing I have left to think about is power. Grizzly offers the machine in 10hp single phase or 15hp 3-phase. I would need a 20hp rotary converter, which isn't a huge problem. Grizzly's spec shows that the sanding motor draws 36amps in three phase. How much current would be drawn from my single-phase source? I'm estimating at least 60, then add another 8 or so for the conveyor motor. I need to keep it under 75. Sanks.

[Rick Lizek]

35 years ago when I got professionally involved in WW it was stroke sanders and widebelt sanders. The luthier was on his own and would make a simple drum sander to precision thickness his parts. With the proliferation of small drum sanders the stroke sander is largely unknown but for the small cabinet shop my first choice would be a stroke sander. I wouldn't want to get rid of the stroke sander after getting a widebelt. They overlap in some instances but for tables, panels and especially veneer work the stroke sander can't be beat for the price of the machine. Silas Kopf,the famous marquetatian uses a Minimax stoke sander. We always had a widebelt and several types of stroke sanders in the big shops. Stroke sanders are typically around 2 hp so you get the added benefit of smaller electrical needs. It's great for paneled doors, you can get by with a minimal of ROS touch up. We even used to sand the dovetails on drawers with a SS. I've even put a stroke sander in a custom metal fabricatio shop. We did tubing, stainless steel, cast metals, aluminum, etc. Don't underestimate what a stroke sander can do in a shop especially when you can pick up an industrial quality used one for a few hundred dollars. Very simple low tech. Belts are quck to change and inexpensive. Even new SS are affordable.
http://www.proengcorp.com/graphite_accessories.htm#top%20of%20pag

I've used pretty much all the types of sanders through the years (drum and widebelts) and the Stroke Sander should still be considered a viable option. It's just been forgotten.