wide belt grits?

[James Boster]

I just got a 15" open side Powermatic wide belt. (Gloat). What grit belt do most of you finish up with? Will be used for staight sanding of stock and finish sanding of doors and drawer fronts. Thanks.

[John Renzetti]

Hi James, That's a nice gloat. We pretty much have the same one. Mine just has the Northstate label on it. For belts, I've just used the 120 and 150 and depending on what it is, the 220. I don't know if you got your belts as yet, but I got mine from Klingspor. The size is 17 x 54. Great belts.
Also if you need mobility. I have mine mounted on Zambus casters.
take care,
John

[Joe Chritz]

I just had a bunch of cabinet doors done on a wide belt with 80 grit.

It took very little time to remove the cross grain scratches. If I wasn't paying by the minute I would have done one pass at 80 and 1 at 120.

Someday I will have my own big kid sander. :(

Joe

[James Boster]

Thanks John. I really like your caster set up. Where did you get them? I had been looking at the Northstate for a while because I wanted the 54" long belt instead of the 48". I think it will run a little cooler and last longer. I purchased the Powermatic two weeks ago when Amazon had them for $2800 with digital readout! could'nt let that slide. I use Klingspor on everything else but didn't know what grits I should go with. They don't have them listed as a standard size so I will have to call and get price. What did they cost when you got them and is there a minimum # you have to order? Thanks again.

[John Renzetti]

Hi James, You do have to call Klingspor for the 17 x 54 belts. No problem as the person at the other end of the phone knows exactly what you are ordering. I think the belts were about $25/ea. They didn't have a minimum order.
The Zambus Carrymaster casters are great. A friend of mine on the Felder group told me about them about 2 yrs ago. I know some guys here have put them on their machines. I have them on 5 machines now and will put them on the used Powermatic 1150A I just got from an auction. I have the AC300S (for stem) on the WB. website is www.zambus.com The company is in NJ. I usually call first and tell them I am faxing in the order. Shipping is real quick. I've got them the next day.
take care,
John