Drum Sander Pros:Drum Sander Cons:It takes longer to change the sandpaper. Wide belt sanders usually come with a platen, which is used to give your wooden stock the final finish before you apply a random orbit sander or stain the surface. If you need premium-quality sanding rolls for your drum sander or wide belt sander, our experienced abrasive technicians are here to help you realize the maximum return on your investment.
Belt sander machines look similar to a traditional drum sander. Differences between a belt sander and drum sander Recognizing what grit to start with Proper grit sequences. First we have a belt sander that rental centers offer, but far and wide a traditional drum sander is the choice of most professionals as they tend to have more power or torque in getting much older finishes off the floor like this heavily waxed and shellacked example.
According to Wood Floor Business, the shift towards belt sanders came several decades later: “In the late ’60s, big machines on wood flooring job sites were all drum sanders, which were prone to chatter and had to have sheets of sandpaper carefully inserted just so into the slots on their drums. Belt sanding machines existed at the time, but only in large-scale industrial applications. The belt sander was invented by Eugen Laegler in 1969 in Germany.” So now comes the question of why most contractors prefer to work with belt sanders. Drum floor sanders and belt floor sanders for sale so all of your equipment needs are covered.
Greater depth of scratch takes much more time to sand out with Random Orbital sander. Less scratch depth means faster hand sanding with Random Orbital sander. These old machines can be as cheap as new drum sanders but with much more versatility and less cost per piece.
09-10-2013, 5:43 PM #1 I am interested in adding a sanding machine to my shop and would like to know the pro’s and con’s of both the drum sander and the wide belt sander. 09-10-2013, 6:45 PM #5 After considerable reading about drum sanders, i skipped the drum sander and went with the Grizzly G9983 small wide belt. All the wide belt sanders I’ve seen are really made for commercial production environments not the home shop like mine… it would be really nice if someone like Delta or Powermatic would make a wide belt sander for hobbyist – something along the lines of a 25″x48″ belt and run it off 120v with 1.5hp would be more than sufficient – what I have now is overkill for my needs, but there’s really no alternative.
belt sander vs drum sander Related Question:
Is a drum sander better than a belt sander?
More complex to maintain, as wide belt sanders have more moving parts. Larger space between hold-down rollers, so smaller pieces must run end to end. For wide belt sanders to last longer, they need extra care and attention. Compared to drum sanders, they have more delicate parts, such as the abrasive belt and platen.
Is it worth getting a drum sander?
The drum sander is an incredibly useful tool that will have a huge impact in your workflow. It will also open up a bunch of doors for you, especially when it comes to the world of home-sawn veneer. Although they aren’t inexpensive, I do consider them to be a worthwhile investment.
Can I sand hardwood floors with a belt sander?
A belt sander for finishing a wood floor should be a hand-held one so you can move the tool around on the surface of the floor. Belt sanders will do a good job of leveling out the floor and preparing it for a finer sand.
Is a drum sander hard to use?
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.
How much material can a wide belt sander remove?
As mentioned earlier, abrasive belts can only remove a certain amount of stock dependent on grit size. With a three-head sander you can run a grit sequence of 100-150-180 and remove approximately 1/32 inch in one pass.
What is a wide belt sander used for?
The wide belt sander is used to machine stock flat and to specific thicknesses. It can be used with solid wood and composite boards such as plywood and MDF. A rubber conveyor carries your stock through the machine while a wide abrasive belt removes material from the top surface.
What is a drum sander?
Definition of drum sander : a cylindrical wheel with abrasive (as sandpaper) mounted on its outer curved surface and used for sanding flat surfaces of decorative stones.
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 sandpaper is the roughest?
Sandpaper grit is sized by a gauge number, with lower numbers signifying larger, coarser grits. For example, #24- or #40-grit sandpaper is a very coarse, rough sandpaper, while the #1,000-grit paper is extremely fine with very small abrasive particles.
How fast should a drum sander run?
18″ drums should have a motor running at 1725 RPM (the balanced drive system will cause the speed to encrease to 2250 RPM). the 24″ and 30″ drums require a 1/2 HP motor running 1725 RPM. Under NO circumstances should the 24″ or 30″ drums run any faster.
What’s the best sander for wood floors?
Unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime, your best choice of floor sander is the random orbital sander from one maker in particular. Unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime, the best choice for do-it-yourself floor refinishing is the random orbital sander.
How long does it take to sand a floor with a belt sander?
It can take 1-5 days for a professional and 2-15 days for a DIY enthusiast, depending on the size and condition of the floor. For planning purposes, it would take 1-day per room for a professional and 2 days per room for a homeowner doing DIY.
Which is better orbital or drum sander?
Orbital sanders are much easier to control. They can sand both the field or ‘body’ of the floor and the edges, which a drum sander cannot. Once you work up to the finer grits, orbital sanders produce a much smoother, less scratchy surface. They are cheap.
How heavy is a drum sander?
These two rollers, also called drums, spin extremely fast. That spin speed is what makes belt sanders so powerful. Belt sanders used on flooring comes in handheld and walk-behind belt models. Handheld belt sanders weigh approximately 5 to 14 pounds.
Can you use a drum sander on plywood?
A drum or floor sander can help you achieve the best quality for your plywood subfloor in a weekend. Prepare your subfloor for an amazing hardwood floor.