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Being lazy, I though I could finish sand tops in the drum sander if I used clean paper dedicated to only tops/soft wood. New 220 paper quickly plugged and pretty much ruined the top because I did not realize what was happening and I tried to keep sanding out dark streaks until it got way too thin. It seems that maybe all the plugged area is aligned with the rosette, so maybe glue from the manufacture or installation of the rosette is the cause. Rosette was installed with white glue. Rosette was store bought, so I do not know the glue used to make it.

Any advice?

Use super light passes

I use a much lower grit 80. but I scrape after the rosette is put in , with a non water based glue

I agree with Earnie. I bought a bunch of 220 roll and only used it once. Pain.

Don't use 220.
I will level sand tops with rosettes with the drum sander using 120 and light passes, but leave enough thickness to do the final sanding after the box is assembled. Inevitably the body picks up dirt and fine scratches during construction that need to be sanded out and I often fine tune the top by perimeter sanding, so there is no advantage to try to finish sand the top with the drum sander.

I do my final thicknessing at 150 grit, primarily for the inside surface. The rosette side will inevetably get dirty as Clay said with glue from the binding, dust from levelling the sides etc.

So I think you’re wasting time not saving it at 220.

I leave 80 grit in the drum sander. I have a good downdraft table and it's easy enough to clean up with the ROS.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Same here... 80 grit on the drum, ROS for final surfacing. I finally switched from my third Dewalt 5" to a Festool 6" (3mm movement) out of pure desperation. I just couldn't stand the horrible experience of sanding any longer, and the inconsistent results from a cheap, small sander.... and the dust... the numb hands... the loooooong sanding sessions. I think I feel your pain in trying to find a way around your surface prep.

In any case, now that they introduced a less expensive vacuum that's designed for sanding and not larger volume chip collection it wasn't *quite* as painful. I resisted the green stuff for all these years, not seeing the value, but now that I found a case where it was worth the money I'm glad I did it. Also, Abranet Mesh sanding discs... pure gold on a good sander.

I actually don't mind sanding any more. I get quick results, very little mess and great surfaces.

FWIW, I "final" sand my backs after getting the top close on the Drum Sander, then install the rosette, then final thickness with 80 on the drum, then use the ROS to get the top to a "final" surface before bracing the top. Then I hit the top with 400 and 600 Abranet one more time right before sanding sealer, pour filler, etc.

The Festool ROS makes life easier.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've always wanted to make room for a down draft table, but honestly with the ETS 150/3 and that little CT 15, I really feel like dust is enough under control. Of course, I will never buy 100% dust control, but I think my other tools, with dust collection in place make way more dust than my sanding setup does now.

I don't really have the space but I wouldn't be without it now primarily because this one works very well and only because it is right next to my Oneida Dust Gorilla cyclone. I am allergic to dust and if I sand anything without dust collection I start coughing. By using this I can sand parts, guitar bodies, and whatever as long as I want and not have any issues.

The Dust Gorilla will handle a 7" duct for about 10 feet so the downdraft table is close enough to the cyclone to use the 7" duct. That translates to a lot of CFM which is the key for a decent downdraft table.

Anyway, it's a big deal for me but maybe not as important for others.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've tried going from 80 to 150 grit, but if the top gets any marks or scratches, it's big trouble. It's a PITA to have to put on a protective 'mask'. For me, it's easier to finish sand the top just before finishing the top. Just my method.