The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: Trebeck on August 28, 2007, 12:22:04 pm
-
Hey all
I have a palm sander with the highest grit paper I could find, but for some jobs it just isn't powerful enough. What's the next step up? I want to be able to dig into the side of MDF like it was butter.
- Beck
-
Highest grit or lowest grit? A lower grit number is more aggressive and a higher number is smoother.
If you can find 30 or 50 grit it should remove MDF fairly fast, even with a palm sander. A belt sander would probably be the next step up.... I think a simple 3X18 Ryobi one is like $50, the one I have is OK. Again, a lower grit belt will eat more.
-
Sorry , I have the lowest grit. The roughest stuff.
I had to take off about 2mm off of an mdf board and it took me a long time to do it so I'm looking for something that will do the job quicker.
- Beck
-
Belt sander will be more power. It can take off MDF and paint in a hurry. It is what I used to shape the control panel in Dad's Bartop (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=66082.msg674714#msg674714). You can see how much I had to take off in the pics. Time wise it was only about 3-5 min for each corner. Then I finish sanded with palm sander.
TTFN
Kaytrim
-
Buy a 3"x21" belt sander. I have a Bosch 1274DVS that I'm pretty happy with. It's not the most agressive belt sander in the world, but that also means it's easier to control. Be warned that a belt sander can be fairly difficult to control! It's very easy to make the surface you're sanding uneven. Even a momentary hesitation can remove enough material to cause a problem! If you need to sand large, flat surfaces look for a belt sander that has a "sanding frame" as an option. A sanding frame is basically a big outrigger that keeps the sander from digging into the surface... too much. The Bosch 1274 does have a sanding frame available, though it costs around $100! Sadly, every other sanding frame I've seen has a similar price.
Klingspor (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/) sells heavy-duty belts called "planer belts" that go from 24- to 80-grit. The 24-grit belt will remove a lot of material in a hurry! It will also create monstrous sanding scratches in the surface. You must follow it up with higher-grit belts in order to achieve a smooth surface.
-
I would also practice on a scrap piece of wood before you take a belt sander to what you want to keep. As has already been stated, half a seccond in one spot can make the difference between a good piece of wood and a ruined piece of wood.
-Harry
-
Great, thanks for the advice guys
:cheers:
-Beck