3 Reasons To Upgrade From Belt Sanders To Wide Drum Sanders
A reliable, high-quality sander is an essential piece of equipment for any woodworking workshop, and drum sanders are particularly popular. Simple to use and relatively inexpensive, a drum sander can be used to sand down uneven edges, adjust the dimensions of misaligned joints and prepare timber surfaces for polishing, painting or lacquering.
However, belt sanders have their limitations, and you might be considering upgrading your sanding capabilities and purchasing a more expensive wide belt sander. If any of the following reasons apply to your operation, you should seriously consider investing in a wide belt sander to boost your productivity:
Your Drum Sander Can't Keep Up
If your workshop needs to produce large orders of finished work in a short timeframe, a drum sander can be more of a hindrance than a help. The limited surface area of the sanding drum means a drum sander can only finish a relatively small area of timber with each pass. This can seriously slow you down when finishing larger pieces, especially if your workshop frequently handles flat-panel timber.
Limited surface area also prevents friction heat from dissipating quickly, and drum sanders may overheat quickly in busy workshops. You should also remember that changing the sanding belt on a drum sander is a slow and finicky process and renders the sander completely useless until the new belt is fitted.
A wide belt sander is an excellent investment if your drum sander can't keep up with your workload. The larger surface area of the wide belt sander's dual drum setup can sand larger areas of timber more quickly and can run for much longer without overheating. Wide belt sanders are also fitted with tensioning levers that make fitting and removing sanding belts much faster and easier.
Your Workshop Uses Recycled Timber Sources
Turning old floorboards and other recycled timber sources into new items can be both profitable and environmentally friendly. However, preparing the surface of a piece of recycled timber can be challenging—painted surfaces will need to be refinished with coarse-grit sanding belts, while finer belts must be used to remove scratches and other damages.
Consequently, working on recycled timber usually necessitates frequently sanding belt changes, which can be very time-consuming if you are stuck using a drum sander. Wide belt sanders will make processing and preparing recycled timber sources much more efficient.
You Are Burning Through Sanding Belts
Sanding belts and sandpaper can be remarkably expensive, and if your sander is going through multiple belts in an average day, the cost of replacing them can quickly become crippling. The relatively small surface area of a drum sander means that their sanding belts tend to wear out fairly quickly.
Wide belt sanders may use larger and more expensive sanding belts, but the friction they encounter when sanding materials is distributed across a much wider area. When used correctly, a wide belt sander can run for much longer between sanding belt changes, saving your workshop a considerable amount of cash on replacement belts.
Contact a woodworking machinery supplier to learn more.
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