It’s always best to start a project with a belt sander and then finish it off with a detail sander. Once you have an idea of how your belt sander works, it can easily become your best friend for time-sensitive projects. Choosing between a belt sander vs. Planer is simpler than you think as long as you have an idea of what your project is.
Develops expertise: Another delightful benefit of a belt sander is that it encourages a skill that you might not learn using other tools. Belt Sander: Pros & Cons Pros The durability of materials and high-grade engineering. Both the belt and planer sander are great tools when used specifically for what they are meant to accomplish.
Speaking of smoothly, we’re here to talk about the difference between a hand planer and a sander. Two of the most popular types of electric sanders are the belt sander and the orbital sander. Choosing between a hand planer and a sander ultimately comes down to the type of job you want to do.
I have been considering an electric hand plane or belt sander. Live4ever is actually wrong, even with a belt sander you only remove like.03 of an inch per pass, where as you take.07 with a hand plane, powered planes can actually take up to an 8th in a pass. So unless there is something very specific you need that a belt sander just won’t do, I’d recommend the sander ahead of an electric plane.
If they are already glued up, I’d take them to a shop with a wide belt sander and have them flatten the slabs. Personally, I’d do it with a scrub and smoothing plane, but these take experience, too. I have a 3X24 belt sander, and it’s the least used tool in my shop for a reason.
belt sander vs hand planer Related Question:
What is better a sander or a planer?
Thickness Planers: Produce Boards of Even Thickness Whereas sanders are used to alter the finish of wood, a wood planer is used to even out wood to an exact thickness. Planers produce boards of even thickness. With a planer you can take several irregular pieces of wood and level them all to the same even thickness.
Can I use a belt sander instead of a planer?
The right one for you will depend on your application. If you need to even out a long wooden board, a planer will get the job done fast. On the other hand, if you want to strip away coatings, or make a surface smoother, a wide belt sander will be the better investment.
What is the difference between a belt sander and a hand planer?
The primary difference between these two woodworking tools is that a belt sander uses sandpaper to sand away at the surface of wood, whereas planers use large blades to cut away at a certain depth in the wood.
What is better than a belt sander?
For fine sanding work or rounding edges, the orbital sander is the tool for the job. It has much more flexibility than a belt sander and works well around corners. It can fit into corners, too, although a random orbital sander might be the better choice.
Should I buy a drum sander or a planer?
Answer from Lee Grindinger: “A planer will remove stock much, much more quickly than a drum sander. A sander is built to sand. For surfacing you’d be using a very coarse grit and this means several grit changes to get to the smoothness you’re looking for in a drum sander.
Why do I need a belt sander?
Belt sanders are highly effective tools for removing roughness and preparing woodwork for less aggressive tools in the process like random orbit and finishing sanders. It is crucial to belt-sand with the wood grain rather than across it. Otherwise, the belt sander’s lateral action can ruin the work.
Can you use an electric hand planer to remove paint?
A hand planer can easily remove almost any layer of paint from your wood, as the blade will either scrape the paint off or cut into the wood. However, the planer will need to have the blade sharpened or replaced almost constantly.
How much pressure should the operator put on a finishing sander when sanding?
In general, Uneeda’s air sanders require 90 PSI to run optimally, so if you only have the one machine attached to the compressor, simply check that you’re set to 90 and that the full 90 is reaching the sander.
Should I get a belt sander or orbital sander?
A belt sander is more effective for large materials, while the orbital sander is ideal for small spaces and pieces of furniture. A belt sander works effectively on flat surfaces, while an orbital sander can work with various angles.
How effective is a belt sander?
Because they have a lot of power and can handle coarse grits, they excel at the rapid removal of wood. Also, unlike orbital and vibrating sanders, the sanding action is linear, so even with coarse grits you can sand with the grain and get a good-looking result.
What’s better belt sander or orbital sander?
Belt sanders are notably more powerful than orbital sanders. They are so powerful that it is easy to sand off too much material with a belt sander accidentally. Conversely, orbital sanders are not as powerful, but they are the perfect amount of power if you are worried about sanding away too much material.
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.
Can you sand wood down 1/4 inch?
It is not feasible to sand down a wooden member by a whole half of an inch. If something is too long then cut off the additional half inch using a saw. If something is too thick (wide) by the half inch then rip saw off that extra thickness or use a planer to remove it.
How much wood does sanding remove?
Since normal sanding will remove from 1/64 to 1/32 of the wood surface, the surface can be sanded from 6 to 10 times or more, before the floor needs to be replaced entirely. If the floor is resurfaced every 10 to 20 years, the floor will last for a century or more.
Does a planer make wood smooth?
The planer is a tool for woodworkers who require large quantities of planed stock and who elect to buy it rough cut. A couple of trips through a planer and smooth, surface-planed stock emerges, often at a fraction of the cost of the milled boards sold at your neighborhood lumberyard.