Trouble Performax Sand Paper

[John Grabowski]

First of all....Major tool Gloat...I got the Performax 10-20 off of craigslist last week for 300 with some sandpaper. No picture available at this time

My problem is that I was running some Cherry through it last night and I saw a red burn through the middle of a piece of that was run through there. I took off the paper and this is what I found.



Anybody know what may have caused this?? Is it glue or something? I am new to the world of drum sanders and I am a bit frustrated.

Thanks in advance,

John G

[keith micinski]

It may have been old paper. If it was from hitting something in the wood I would think that the stripe of missing paper would be all the way around. I would guess this is an isolated incident.

[Mark Levitski]

John, are you using dust collection? These sanders will not perform real well w/o it. Does the mark go all the way around the drum? Was the cherry raw wood or did it have some glue or finish on it in places? Do you use an abrasive belt cleaner/eraser? Those help. All in all, although these kind of things can be avoided, they sort of come with the territory with drum sanders as well as all sandpaper in general.

Mark

[John Grabowski]

Thanks guys...it was new paper...I am pretty sure that there wasn't anything on the boards bc I had just sanded with 150 and then switched to 220 and this is when that appeared. It is possible that something got stuck to the wood and then moved onto the belt. I am using a duct collector and it seems to work quite well. I appreciate all the information and I will keep on trying to work it out. Also, Mark the mark only went about 3 inches around the drum if that gives off any more clues.

I appreciate it,

John G

[Jim McFarland]

I've had this happen when I try to take off a bit too much material in one pass. I start the board through with the drum well above the surface and lower until is just touches. No more than 1/4 turn (1/64" IIRC) from then on using 100g paper on a Performax 16-32. With bloodwood I usually can't go more than 1/8 turn w/o burning. Haven't tried anything more exotic/oily than bloodwood (usually walnut, cherry, maple, QSWO & mahogany).

[Robert Chapman]

I agree with Jim. Had this happen once and I think I took to heavy a pass. I use the 1/4 turn max rule also.

[Mark Levitski]

Ditto on light passes, espcially if you're moving up into the higher grit ranges like you were.

[david brum]

Don't dispair about the sandpaper. Some woods are more prone to burning than others. I recently did a project using walnut which burned like crazy. Light cuts are definitely a necessity with hardwoods. You can save your sandpaper after it has been gunked up with burned resin. I spray burned marks with simple green and leave the sandpaper in the sink for an hour or so. The resin will then come off with a toothbrush or similar.

[Carroll Courtney]

Like Keith said may be old paper that has been wet at one time,also dust collector is a must w/drum sanders---Carroll

[AL Ursich]

Another tip is to place a strip of fiber packing tape on the back side of the ends of the paper where they tuck into the roller.

AL

[John Grabowski]

Al, can you explain why for the fiber backing tape? Alos, can you give a brand to buy?

Thanks again,

John G

[Mike Cutler]

John

I've run a lot of material through a 16-32,and that is what I call burn residue, I'm surprised that you didn't end up with a burn stripe on the wood. It is caused by an accumulation of dust that wasn't removed by the DC getting between the drum and material. Add a little sap resin, heat, and that's what you get.
The paper is not trash. Roll the paper out along a 2x4 ans clamp it at both ends. Use simple green and a brass brush to clean. Saturate the area with the simple green and let it stand for about a 1/2 hour and it cleans up.
I used to put rolls in a small bucket to soak and clean a bunch of them at once.

[John Grabowski]

Mike, thanks for the tip...I will give it a try.

John G

[Ron Jackson]

+1 for the bite that's too heavy.
Not famaliar with the performax, but my dual-drum has an adjustable rate of feed. Sometimes on woods such as cherry, if the feed speed is too slow, it will encourage burning. Might play with the rate of feed, if you have that capability

[george wilson]

You can't use finer than 120 grit in a drum sander. It won't work. I am surprised that no one has mentioned it yet.