Grizzlys G9983 Wide Belt Sander set up

[Craig D Peltier]

Yesterday I bought a new used 15" wide open belt sander. Meanings its 3 years old but never even had a belt on it.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-W...pen-End-/G9983
I was wondering on any setup tips on this if there are any.
Its the 5hp model. Thing is a tiny beast, weights 800lbs at only 23x30x60.
I still have to adjust the platen and the oscillation side to side and speed of oscillation and a few other adjustments.
One question I have is about setting the depth to sand. On my drum sander I would open top that shows the drum, crank it down till it hit board and free spin it with my hand till I felt it was good to send it through.The depth gauge was just a starting point.
On this one I was thinkign about turning sand belt on an cranking it down till it touches it ( careful not to shoot it at me) and then turn conveyor on?

[Jay Brewer]

The first thing I would do is install a digital readout. I think Proscales are about the best, if you want something cheaper, buy a Wixey DRO. Keep a set of calipers on top of the sander, measure your piece with that, and dial in the sander to match. It saves alot of time and you have the repeatability that would be hard to match with the stock pointer and scale.

Enjoy your new tool.

[Craig D Peltier]

The first thing I would do is install a digital readout. I think Proscales are about the best, if you want something cheaper, buy a Wixey DRO. Keep a set of calipers on top of the sander, measure your piece with that, and dial in the sander to match. It saves alot of time and you have the repeatability that would be hard to match with the stock pointer and scale.

Enjoy your new tool.

Thanks Jay, what does this involve? As far as setting it up?

[Jay Brewer]

Hi Craig, they are pretty easy to install. http://www.proscale.com/products/wwmachinerypics.htm These are pictures of sanders that have had the Proscales mounted to them. If you dont want to spend that much money, you can do the same thing with a Wixey DRO.


To set it up, run a peice through the sander a couple of times and measure the thickness with a set of calipers ). Set the DRO to match your calipers. its really that simple.

Hope this helps