Official Luthiers Forum!

Just a reminder to folks who have drum sanders, & work with oily wood (coco bolo, african blackwood...).

Yellow can Easy Off is your friend. It will remove that build up. (turns wood oils into soap)

Trick is to stretch paper out (between two saw horses, use some clamps). Spray, wait, and rinse with water. Use shop air to blow off the water, let sun do the rest. No paper curl. I can clean and re-use the paper in about 40 minutes. (I'm thinking about 80 grit mostly)

Mike

Well if I ever run out of paper I guess...

This paper is not cheap. Not sure what brand you use. But one back and side set of coco can ruin an 80 grit wrap. Then again, maybe you can afford it. Technically, I could too. But I'm not throwing out something I can fix. Or maybe, you didn't read my post closely?

I think it is a useful tips. I've got one of those cleaning stick's and they don't work on the oily stuff. I can concieve of having a 'used' box o paper and just throwing oiled up sheets in there till there is enough for cleaning day when you just get a bunch done at the same time.

Ernie Kleinman mentioned he used orange cleaner to clean sawblades. I wonder if it would work for cleaning sanding belts ?

I cut out the clean pieces of the belt and use them on sanding sleds for the thickness sander and stick them to blocks for various uses.

I think this is a good tip, When I am working with Rosewood a belt lasts one guitar. I always do my back and sides first on the old roll before changing to the new roll.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I should point out that I am having a difficult time finding Easy Off. There seems to have been a run on it.

I used to use oven cleaner on my green 60 grit belt for my old 16 in performax. I quit using it , as it stunk up my garage workshop. It does work. well followed by brushing off the burnt bits with a cheap dollar store steel wire brush or brass brush from HF. I now just use a large rubber crepe against the sandpaper., and do my best. It simply is not worth the time to spray wait. and clean . I used to do it when it was over 70 deg . The oven cleaner seems to work faster over 70 deg f , Have not yet tried the orange cleaner . I also use the rubber crepe block on my large 36 in woodmaster sander. It seems to do a good job. For those looking for large HL sandpaper rolls Woodmaster may be cost effective . I also buy from Keystone abrasives in PA.

Well, the crepe bar will absolutely not remove the embedded oils from coco bolo and african black wood. It will for dry woods. Using easy off on paper used for dry woods would indeed be a waste of time. What the easy off does is turn the oils into soap. Can't do that to sawdust. I do it outside. Letting it air dry would also take too much time, I agree.

I have pulled the oils out of the surface of cocobolo wood using liquid laundry detergent (full strength). I wonder if it would also work for cleaning belts? It would be less caustic than oven cleaner.

Mike,

I hope you don’t think I was disparaging this tip.

As I often come perilously close to running out of belts, it will be on my radar if I run out

I wouldn’t say that I can afford to casually chuck out belts, but, I can less afford problems dirty belts can provide.

I do find I do my bulk thicknessing at 60 grit. I find the paper dulls, or streaks in a linear fashion down the length that can be deeper than intended final thickness, before it oils up.

I use a brand called Fintech, and it works out to about 4$ CAD landed per wrap...

So the time spent rescuing used wraps has to be considered as well.

But it’s always good to have a trick up one’s sleeve, so thanks!

I just looked at Fintech. That's a pretty good deal for drum paper. And only a little hassle of cutting your own lengths. And added bonus is being able to cut off a piece for any other sanding task. Thanks!

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Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Med, do you use the Zirconia?

Pat

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Pat

Rolls from Supergrit appear to be less expensive. I've been using them for years.

No, just brown aluminum oxide...

Is the supergrit 2x60”? The fintech is 2”x60’ for about 17$ or something...

One thing I have found about the cloth backed paper is that you can rip it to the width you desire. My drum sander takes 3 inch wide strips using the typical angle the ends are cut at. If I find a good deal on 6 inch wide rolls I will buy them and rip them down the center to make 3 inch wide strips. I'm sure you could also rip them into three 2 inch wide strips.
You could probably change the angle of the end cut and use different width strips on most drum sanders, but so far I have been able to find 3 inch and 6 inch wide stuff.

Most fasteners/clips I’ve seen are pretty restrictive in the width they will accept...

Most of the drum sanders I have used have the ends of the belts cut at an angle (to wrap around the drum), so you can adjust the width of the belt going into the clip. Since the cloth belts can be ripped to width even that is not a consideration. When I buy 6 inch wide rolls I rip them down the middle to create 3 inch wide belts, which is what the drum sander normally uses. If I bought 2 inch wide rolls I would adjust the angle cut of the ends and length of the belt to make them work.
Another thing you can do if you find the belt is too short is use some gorilla tape (or similar) and tape another piece of sanding belt to it. Although it is not a perfect solution, it does allow you to get some use out of the end of the roll.

No, my sander uses 3". Looks like 2" x 50 yards is $25 (60 grit) at Supergrit.

Yes, from Klingspor (blue). My 80 grit (most common used) comes in a large roll, with angled cut markings on the back for various commonly used drum sanders. Just cut along correct line and wrap it.

For serious, gum free sanding, I use the 36 grit. That stuff is beast!. Never seems to wear out. Trick in using it is knowing when to stop and switch to 80 (or you will have score marks).

https://www.woodworkingshop.com/categor ... DRUM+ROLLS

for my 22" drum, the 80 is 14 wraps or $6 per wrap. For the 36 grit, i get 10 wraps at about $11 per wrap. Increase in cost means nothing as the 36 seems to last forever.

Mike

I cannot imagine it would. But try it and let us know. Easy Off is Sodium Hydroxide (or similar). That is used in making soap. For it to work, you need sodium or potassium hydroxide and some kind of oil or fat. The deposit on the rolls is wood oils. Compressed. Easy Off turns it into soap. Doing this outside is the key. Clamp between two saw horses. Spray down. Wait 20 minutes, rinse, and apply again if needed. Blow off with shop air and in 30-40 minutes your wrap is ready. Do not air dry hanging on wall... it will curl up.