Electric Sanders
Orbital Sander
There are a number types of Electric Sanders. The belt sander and the Orbital Sander. The belt sander we will touch on briefly but the Orbital Sander is the one we will be concentrating on.
Belt Sander
Belt Sander
Belt Sanders, used correctly, can be used to quickly level wood, remove paint, glue,etc. If used incorrectly, they can really damage your wood, sometimes beyond repair. If you get careless, you can cause injury to yourself. Make sure the wood you are going to sand is secured otherwise that piece of wood could go sailing, probably into you depending on where your standing. Always start the sander before setting it on the wood. Keep moving the sander! Don’t stop in one place otherwise you could gouge the wood . When you want to remove the sander, take it off the wood before you turn it off. Depending on how rough the wood to be sanded is, will depend on how coarse the sand paper belt you should start with. Then change to a less coarse belt and keep doing so until the job is done.
Orbit Sander
Orbit Sander
Once you have finished with a belt sander, you may find t that you’ll have to use an Obit Sander. This type sander is used for finishing work. The belt sander may have left some lines that need to be removed. Like the belt sander, the sanding pads used on the Orbit Sander come in different grits. The smoothest grit is primarily used to smooth the wood.
Features
The Orbit Sander may be either a palm or grip type. The sanding pads may attached to the sander in one of three ways. Adhesive, hook or loop. The sander also has a couple different settings to cover the type of sanding you need to do.
Uses
When you use an Orbit Sander, it is best to start with a coarse grit and work down to a finer grit. How coarse the grit that you start with depends on how rough the surface is. But as you start changing to the less coarse grit the smoother the wood will feel.
Sanding is not fun. I’m sure I don’t know to many people who enjoy sanding, but unfortunately it is a necessary part of woodworking.
Good Luck!
Brian