Best tool for sanding large flat area. Belt v Orbital v Elbow Grease

pealy

I've decided to sand down my wooden worktops to re-finish them and wondered what the best tool might be?

I've been using my cheap black & decker sander, it's one that sort of 'shakes' (ie not an orbital or belt sander) and it's not really making the kind of progress I want (6 inches out out of 16 feet in about an hour so far). Would a belt sander or orbital ssander be quicker? I'm using '60 grit' paper so expected it to be pretty quick.

I've never used any other kind of sander so your comments would be welcome.

(I did think about having them dipped like a door but I'm worried about warping etc)

sloth

a belt sander is a lot quicker than an 'iron type / 1/3rd sheet' sander, i assume that is what you have from the 'shaking' description!

i have both and from the sounds of what you want to do a belt sander will definetely help get the job done quicker. just remember to keep the belt sander moving at all times otherwise you may find yourself gouging a dip in your worktop!!

a belt sander will also make more mess! so if you are doing this in situ you may want to bear that in mind

pealy

sloth wrote:

a belt sander is a lot quicker than an 'iron type / 1/3rd sheet' sander, i assume that is what you have from the 'shaking' description!

i have both and from the sounds of what you want to do a belt sander will definetely help get the job done quicker. just remember to keep the belt sander moving at all times otherwise you may find yourself gouging a dip in your worktop!!

a belt sander will also make more mess! so if you are doing this in situ you may want to bear that in mind

Thanks Sloth - that's just the answer I was hoping for. Looks like a trip to machine mart is on the cards..

uncle_buck_3

You can get a cradle type device called a sanding frame that belt sanders sit into for sanding big flat areas. The sanding frame helps to stop the sander digging a dip.

The cheap belt sander that I bought from Aldi when they had them on came with one of these, so make sure you get one with the belt sander you decide to buy.

pealy

uncle_buck wrote:

make sure you get one with the belt sander you decide to buy.

Good tip - thanks.

calmgirl

A belt sander can be quite abrasive so parctise on some scrap first they can dig big hole in the middle of your work piece that then takes twice as long to sand out consider a cabinet scraper then elbow grease with a fine grit paper. You can get liquid sand paper thet may be of some use to you

pealy

Just a quick update - the belt sander was a great idea. I'm glad I went for one with a sanding frame as it is a viscious piece of equipment that can easily (as everyone warned me!) create ridges before you realise what's happening. I found that keeping the machine in line with the grain and adjusting the frame to be nice and low helped.

After belt sanding with 40 grit the wood is very rough so needed plenty of manual effort with 80 grit, 120 grit and then 240 grit paper to get a good smooth finish.

I'm also finding that the belts don't clog up nearly as much as they do with a 'vibrating' sander so I think I'll have an awful lot of spares when I'm finished.

uncle_buck_3

Nice to hear of your successful outcome.

I’m sure you find some jobs for your left over belts, so they don’t go to waste!

Regards.