I’ve been doing some research on belt sanders lately and it looks like I can’t go wrong with the Makita 3″ X 24″ model. My question is will this belt sander easily sand off a finish on pre-finished tongue and groove flooring?
Regards,
Buzzsaw
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Gil Bailie
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I have the 21" Makita and love it. It is smooth and powerful sander with great balance and astonishingly good dust collection. I have the shoe for it which makes it a great machine for truing large panels on some projects.
I've never used it to take finish off floors, but i can't se why it (or it's big 24" brother) would hav eny problem with that.
Samson,
Is the shoe worth it? I noticed it costs around $85. I will use this almost exclusively for sanding tabletops.Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
For me it is absolutely worth it. It makes the inadvertant gouge a thing of the past, even near the edges. I also think it does a better job of flattening because it allows you to take such a fine and even cut, as well as providing a reference surface across a fairly wide and long portion of the surface being sanded - i.e. spans hills and valleys. It makes what many think of as a hogging tool into a finesse tool. I know some just have the skills to manipulate it as well by hand, but for me the shoe takes it a step furterh and also makes the process more idiot proof - which is good for me.
I thinnk I'm sold What did you pay for the sander and shoe and where did you purchase them?Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
I get most of my Makita stuff from: http://www.makita-direct.com/ nice knowledgable guys to deal with. You might geta couple bucks off somewhere else (Amazon maybe), but likely sacrifice the service and knowledge. These guys also have all the accessories - i.e. full line, unlike many discount dealers.
Mind you, I have the 9903 (variable speed) 21" - I can't speak to the 24":
http://www.makita-direct.com/cgi-bin/html_web_store.cgi?page=sanders/9903.html&cart_id=20067.25728&refererpage=sanders/catalog.html
Offered for $189 right now. Don't remember what I paid a few years back.
that is exactly the one i want to buy. thanks for the info.Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Samson,
A question for you. I have a bartop at home that has cupped considerably since it was first installed. I think the reason was that the bottom was never finished. Anyway, I was thinking of purchasing a power planer and planing off the high area in the middle and then sanding down the whole thing. Do you think that I could use the belt sander to get down the high area instead of using the power planer? And once I have it flat then sanding the whole thing? I will copy a picture of the bartop. (high in the middle)...
Please use the resized version...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Nice loooking bar.
I think you could flatten it with the belt sander BUT -
It's a lot of material to remove, so it's going to make a mess as far as creating a lot of fine saw dust (the planer might be a little cleaner, making chips instead of dust) - as in will you be working on this in place, or can it be removed to the shop for the "treatment?". The dust bag works well on the Makita, but there is always some that escape most any type of dust producing tool especially if you're using it for course work or for long periods. Of course, you'd have to keep stopping to empty the bag - which would fill up fast on such a big job where you'll be using aggressive grits at first; or you could spend $35 bucks on the hose atttachment for the shop vac or DC. then again, you'd want to keep stopping anyway to test the top with your straight edge / level/ winding sticks. In short, I think you dcould do it with the belt sander, but it's quite a bit of material to remove, so it's gonna be a little messy and take some time - but hey, 60 or 80 grit belts will take an 1/8th of inch or more pretty quick.
Other options you might consider - use a jack plane (or maybe a 7 if you have one) to beat back that hump before moving to the belt sander. In other words, you may not need to invest in an expensive power planer when a good 5 can be had on e-Bay for $25 to $35.
If the top is removeable, you could take it to a cabinet or large woodworking shop with a drum sanding machine and ask them to run it through. The one in my area would do something like that for $20 to $40 in 10 minutes on a Saturday morning.
Yeah, I would love to remove it but that wouldn't be easy. I'll have to work on it with it in place. A few more questions.
The attachment for the shop-vac. Is this a Makita product or are you just talking about an adaptor to get it down to the proper diameter? And what is that diameter? 2"?
Why is it that I can only find grits for the belt sander that go up to 150? Can you get 220 grit for the belt sander? Is there a reason that they are not listed? I was hoping that I could use the belt sander all the way up to 220 and then finish. Can I? I noticed on Amazon I can get the belt sander for $170 where if I go through Makita direct (the link you gave me) it will cost me $190 plu about another $15 shipping. No cost for shipping through Amazon. But it doesn;t look like I can find the shoe on Amazon.
I have access to a power planer but I just have to practice a bit with it before I use it. I have no experience with one. I do have some handplanes that I could also use and I just may.Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
1. Hose: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007ZJBDK/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_3/103-5942653-8524631?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013
2. Grits - 3x21" belts are a common size. I have belts 60, 80, 100, 120, 180, 220 and I wouldn't be surprised if even more variety exists. perhaps you are only looking for Makita brand or something? Any 3x21 belt will work, and indeed, i think the Norton and some or brands are as good or better than the Makita name brand ones. I think I find Norton ones at Home Depot. Woodcraft also carries 220 grit 3x21" belts: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5415 though i'm guessing they are not the cheapest you can find.
3. Finish ready - You could go up to 220 and then finish. You might want to go to a RO or finishing sander, but it's not strictly necessary as long as the belt sander can get into all the corners and edges to your satisfaction. Also, you'd want to finsh with the belt traveling parallel to the grain.
4. Amazon - I'm not surprise Amazon is a bit cheaper. I leave that one up to you. I've given Amazon a lot of my big tool purchase business due to the free shipping and low prices. I guess i just like the good 'ol boys down there in NC that run Louis William & Sons (Makita direct). They're good to talk to and will give you the straight dope on the tools, as well as advice on using 'em and what accessories are good etc. Sometimes I decide to throw my business to those types so they're there when I need 'em.
5. Shoe- I think Amazon does sell the shoe, at least through a third party-vendor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007ZJ6SK/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_5/103-5942653-8524631?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013
thanks Samson,
That is great information and everything I need...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Presumably, it cupped because its moisture is not in equilibrium. Once the finish is off top and bottom, won't you want to let it rest a while to get stable? If you flatten and quickly refinish, seems to me future movement is probable.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
"Presumably, it cupped because its moisture is not in equilibrium."
Depending upon the age of the slab, the correct statement might be:
"Presumably, it cupped because its moisture was not in equilibrium."
The bottom was never finished. That means moisture had an easy time exiting thorugh the bottom. The slab is also very thick, meaning it needed a long time to be dry through and through and through. If it is an old slab, and it's moisture has now reached a point where the moisture is say 12% or less throughout, it may be done with its major movement. Wood will still move with changes in humidity and temperature, etc. BUt inside a climate controlled home and with a coating of good sealing finish - poly, laquer, shellac, varnish, epoxy, etc. - it should be reasonably stable I'd think.
Thanks you both for the info. I will let it stand for a bit before finishing and I will finish on top and bottom this time. I appreciate it...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
While the lack of treatment to the underside of the bartop will not of helped ,I think because the shrinkage is the same amount along each of the annual rings (it looks a fairly fast grown timber)the amount of shrink eight years from centre(pith) is going to be a lot more than four years out so it will always try to cup away from the top. Does that make sense?. Regards Teabag.
Do you think that after I flatten out the top that this could continue to cup in the future? If so, any recommendations to limit future cupping?Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
recommendations to limit future cupping?
I assume you'll coat the bottom this time with finish.
You could cut dovetail slots across the width in the bottom and insert dovertail slats. (may be impossible given its installed state, but it would be invisible)
You could add breadboard ends. (may be impossible given its installed state)
Both these options would entail a good bit of work. I think in your position, I'd flatten it and hope that it's done most of it's drying and cupping in it's life at the bar so far!
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