How hard is it to use a drum sander?

How hard is it to use a drum sander?

A drum sander is a completely different tool in that a loop of sandpaper continually moves around the drum, ripping down the wood as far as you want to go. With an orbital floor sander, it’s hard to go wrong, since it’s difficult to take off too much wood.

What is a drum sander good for?

Drum sanders are great for fine surfacing or sanding wood, especially figured woods that tear out under planer blades, but it is not the best tool for removing large amounts of wood, such as you would do when leveling glued up boards or surfacing stock.” A sander is built to sand.

Can you go against the grain with a drum sander?

Kevin Hancock: Absolutely not. Sometimes it is the only way it can be sanded. Use a finer grit than you usually would as cross grain sanding tends to cut faster. Sanding up to about 320-400 grit will make most of those sanding scratches disappear under the finish.

How do you clean hardwood floors after sanding?

Sweeping with a broom or dusting with a dry mop can leave behind small, fine dust particles that should be cleaned before refinishing a hardwood floor. Mopping with water will be risky to the unprotected wood. Using a water-free solvent such as mineral spirits to clean such soft dust particles will be ideal.

Can you walk on sanded floors?

After my floors are refinished, how long should I wait before walking on or placing furniture on them? Typically, 24 hours after the last coat is applied your floors should be dry enough to walk on and place furniture on. Even though the floors are dry, it will take the finish about 21 days to fully cure.

Is a drum sander worth the money?

A stationary drum sander is a great tool for a smoothing everything from narrow strips to wide panels, while producing parts of consistent thickness. Better units, like the SuperMax 16-32 shown here (with its 16″-wide drum, and open-end design), may cost more than a sander with a drum housed on both ends.

Will a drum sander flatten a board?

The thing about these relatively small drum sanders is the infeed and outfeed rollers that hold the work down don’t really exert much pressure like a planer does, and therefore they don’t force the stock flat to the table.

What happens if you sand across grain?

John Swanson: You may not ruin it, but the surface will have more tear-out. This can be overcome by sanding with the grain on your final, finest grit. Richard Jones: You won’t ruin the wood, but sanding across the grain may spoil the appearance of the piece once polished.

Should you sand in a circular motion?

Sanding in Circles Don’t sand in circles. Circular motions work great for spreading out of coat of wax over a painted panel but don’t work well for sanding on car paint.

How do you use a drum sander?

There are two ways to use a drum sander. One method is to go along the length of the floorboards from side to side. Make sure to tilt the machine before turning it on and off, and don’t stop in one place because the sanding belt can easily damage the floor.

Do you use your drum sander?

The other common use for the drum sander in my shop is making very thin stock (either for shims or edge banding). So any time I need to make something that is less than 1/4″ thick, the drum sander is vital. That also means I am able to make my own veneer.

How do you use a spindle Sander?

It is used to smooth saw marks on rounded cuts, smooth rough curved edges and sand the inside surfaces of deep hole cuts. A spindle sander is often used in finishing woodwork and home improvement projects that include rounded wood such as those found in facings, furniture legs and stair treads.

What does drum sander mean?

A drum sander is a large machine used to sand wood and plastics. This piece of equipment is used on large woodworking projects, and when forming plastics. A drum sander can be purchased pre-assembled or can be created at home, using items purchased from the local hardware store.