Double Drum Sander Grits

[Jason Philip]

Hello creekers, I just bought a used double drum sander (grizzly 1066). It came with a roll of 60 grit and 150 grit on the rollers, as well as an extra roll of each. Before having the drum sander I sanded stock from the planer with a PC 4x24" belt sander at 100 grit, then usually worked up through 120, 150, 180 (and 220 usually when just clearing with lacquer) with a RO sander. I'm hoping this DS will be a big timesaver. Those of you with drum sanders, what grits do you use? I'm leaning towards 100 and 120 for stock from the planer, and when thickness sanding; 60 and 100 for figured/difficult grains. Also has anyone made any improvements for the dust collection off the 2nd drum? Thanks.

Jason

[J.R. Rutter]

I always ran 120/180 on my (not Grizzly tho) double drum, and that is what I run on my widebelt now. I didn't like changing abrasives and that combo worked for all but heavy duty sanding for me. I think that if you have good planer blades, then 100 would be too course, IMHO.

[Joe Chritz]

100/120 here. Works well if you don't hog it. I start at 80 ROS for cross grain scratches on doors and at 120 for everything else except end grain cutting boards.

Also I bought some very long stroke sanding belts from WW supply (I think) and cut them into paper for the drums. HUGE improvement. I got three rolls from one belt with about 2 feet left over.

I have been thinking about the DC from the drum. It looks like that is static or the rollers that keep the dust on there. I thought about a sweep, like on a door to keep out drafts but I think it would just deposit it on the conveyor and then the floor.

Joe

[Mike Cutler]

Jason

My Steel City 26" came with 80/120 installed, which is about the max grit change step I would want to see. 60-150 seems like too big of a step to me.

Drum Sanders put out a butt ton of dust. Short of getting a larger DC, or modifying the drum sander pickup hood. I can't think of anything else that would improve dust collection

[Tom Cowie]

80 - 100 works for me . I finish sand with my hand held sanders. Dust is a big issue with these sanders . I need help in this area also.

Tom

[Joe Chritz]

Maybe I should ask what you are getting for dust on the last roller. Are you getting airborne dust that is escaping or a layer of dust on the boards? The dust attached to the boards is going to stay unless it is physically wiped off.

I don't get any perceptible airborne dust at all. I do get some that falls off the board onto the ground right at the exit of the machine. I don't know what can be done to fix that. The manual says it is normal and I can see why it would be so.

Joe

[Joseph N. Myers]

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Drum Sanders put out a butt ton of dust. Short of getting a larger DC, or modifying the drum sander pickup hood. I can't think of anything else that would improve dust collection

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Dust is a big issue with these sanders . I need help in this area also.

Tom

Mike, Tom,

I have a Woodmaster 18" 4-in-1 and yes, like a lot of the larger floor units, DC is a joke. I do however have a solution that works, cheap (free?) and quick to install. And it is so simple that it definitely fits in the "why didn't I think of that" category. I've only used it for the planing option, but it should be also be applicable to the sanding option.

Do I have your interest yet?

Check out “Planer/Molder Choices??”, http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18624&highlight=woodmaster in particular post #8.

HTH, Joe

[Jason Philip]

Maybe I should ask what you are getting for dust on the last roller. Are you getting airborne dust that is escaping or a layer of dust on the boards? The dust attached to the boards is going to stay unless it is physically wiped off.

Yes, the dust that I'm getting is stuck to the board after it comes out. The dust seems to come from the 2nd drum and gets compressed under the last roller. Its about 1/16" thick and covers the entire board. I would like to be able to see the board as it leaves the drum sander. The DC seems to do a good job of taking care of the airborne dust. I can't see any dust escaping in the air. I have been looking at a way to fasten a baffle of some sorts to help concentrate the suction of the DC. On a side note, I was in a shop were they were using a 36" Beach oscillating dbl drum sander with big 12" drums, and they had no DC whatsoever, that thing would fill the shop with dust in a matter of seconds. That was usually the last machine used for the day because it would take an hour for the dust to settle down.

[Jason Philip]

Thanks guys, I'm going to try 100 and 120. I appreciate the help.