Drum Sanders and Pam Spray

[Lance Chase]

Hey Everyone, I recently was reading my owners manual for my Grizzly Dual 24" Drum Sander and was totally blown away when I saw in the troubleshooting to stop the paper from clogging to spray it with Pam Cooking Spray. My question is this, Has anyone tried this and does it work? I am using 80 grit on the front drum and 120 on the rear. Thanks for looking

[Dave Zellers]

I certainly have never heard of that but that doesn't mean much.

One thing I don't think I'll be doing with my drum sander is spraying Pam into the machine with the paper on the roll. That would build up on the surrounding parts and make a gummy mess it seems.

But I'm open to hearing that it works and spraying it outside before installing it I suppose.

Super Max says you can soak their paper in mineral spirits to remove the pitch from sanding pine.

[Charles Coolidge]

Interesting, I wonder if Bostik Glidecoat would work?

[John K Jordan]

I wonder what Pam would do to some finishes if transferred to the wood.

[Jerry Miner]

I think SOMEBODY should try this and report back---- so the rest of us don't have to risk screwing up our projects!

[Bill Dufour]

I have some old spray oil with garlic. I used to have french bread in a can spray. some sprays have flour in the mix as a pan release.
Bill D.

[Dave Zellers]

I have some old spray oil with garlic. I used to have french bread in a can spray. some sprays have flour in the mix as a pan release.
Bill D.

Come on man! If it worked, how would we know if it was the oil or the garlic?

[Nick Decker]

I don't allow Pam on my cooking utensils, and it certainly won't find its way into my shop.

[glenn bradley]

I have definitely read about spraying bandsaw blades with cooking spray for the same reasons. This was on the blade manufacturer's site IIRC; yeah, here it is:

2. “Pam” spray-on vegetable shortening is a great lubrication for 3/4″ WIDTH AND UNDER band saw blades on vertical saws. (EXAMPLE: Delta, Grizzly, Jet, etc.) Unplug the machine. Spray Pam vegetable shortening on a rag and wipe on both sides of the blade while turning the upper wheel by hand.

BUT, we are talking about operations in the very rough stages of lumber preparation. Way before it starts to resemble something one would begin milling for furniture parts.

[Carlos Alvarez]

I've heard of doing this with floor sanders, which is then followed up with heavy cleaning/degreasing before a re-finish. I guess most of us wipe down our wood before finishing also?

[Lance Chase]

Yeah I don't know if I want to try this. I think I will pass. If anyone does try it Please lets us all know if it worked and or how bad it was to clean up the wood and machine. Thanks Guys

[Steve Demuth]

I would not use Pam - it's an oil based product, and while I don't think Canola oil in the quantities that would come off a sanding drum would affect finishing, I really don't want to find out otherwise. And, like any vegetable oil, it does dry to a gummy consistency, albeit a very thin one. But I do use spray Teflon on my drum sander for the same purpose. Works brilliantly - less sawdust build up, and as a consequence, I burn things much less often when using finer grits on the drum. I also use it on table saw blades, where it significantly reduces the rate at which pitch accumulates, and on exposed jack threads on my drum sander and planer, as a non-stick lubricant.

[Carlos Alvarez]

But I do use spray Teflon on my drum sander for the same purpose.

Which one? How much and how often?

[Randy Heinemann]

Maybe Pam will work as a finish on bowls? When I have a bowl I don't care about I'll try it sometime.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Maybe Pam will work as a finish on bowls? When I have a bowl I don't care about I'll try it sometime.

It doesn't cure, it just goes rancid and becomes a sticky mess. Curing oils change their structure to basically a polymer, while non-curing oils just become a horrible mess.