Drum Sander clogging?

[HotRod]

I'm just wonder if it's normal for the paper on a drum sander to get clogged so quick? I'm using a 25" Duel drum sander with 80 grit paper on it, I started with rough pine that was planed down. I'm assuming that it's because I'm using pine but just wanted to check. I'm also using one of those "rubber" de-gumming sticks? to help keep things clean. Should I be changing the speed of the belt?

Also how many people here are washing their sand paper? I was talking to a fellow last week who suggested just pressure washing the sand paper when it was "done", so I took a roll and let it soak in hot water over night and it was still fine so I put it on the shop floor and pressure washed it. Looks good and came out fine,

If you think I ahve a lot of questions about the drum sander just wait until m molder gets in...

[<marierdj]

I had a similar problem with Eastern white pine. The wood contains more resin than the other trees. I had air dried the pine for about 16 months with stringers in between boards. Now the pine has been air dried for close to 36 - 40 months and the sand paper does not get as clogged as before. Also my surface planer table, rollers and knifes are getting impregnated with pine resin. In this case I use wood alcohol to remove the resin. As for the sand paper the best I could come out with is to use a no-fill sand paper and to clean it with a Crepe Block. You should contact Norton, Mirka and 3 M directly and ask for their input. They have reps. that go from one industrial wood shop to another. They may have a better solution especially for a 25" Duel drum sander with 80 grit paper and I assumed that you use it for mass production.

[Pat Barber]

I'm just wonder if it's normal for the paper on a drum sander to get clogged so quick? I'm using a 25" Duel drum sander with 80 grit paper on it.

[HotRod]

I'm actually just using the machine for a house trim project right now but do not have a dust collector connected to it. I've been suing my shop Vac, which seems to be catching 80% of the saw dust because nothing is coming out the other side. With that being said maybe the dust is getting stuck to the paper and not going anywhere.

[Leuf]

On my shop built sander I had problems with some pine, I'm not exactly sure what kind of pine as it was reclaimed stuff from an old piece of furniture, it had a lot of pitch though. I was using klingspor sterated paper and it gummed up real quick. I found the stick cleaner to be pretty ineffective in getting it off by itself, but I could tap on the built up areas with a screwdriver and most of it would flake off pretty easily. Then the stick would take off anything that was loose. Time consuming though. Doesn't happen with non-resinous stuff.

-Leuf

[bf]

you need to get a real dust collector. Why risk ruining that nice machine, expensive paper and your molding? The shop vac isn't doing a good job. Therefore, dust gets left on the paper. Then the drum rolls around and now you are sanding with a layer of sawdust between the board and paper.. It gets ground into the paper.

Look in your manual and see what CFM dust collector you need and buy it. Don't be foolish and try to get by with a shop vac. I'm surprised you haven't seen burns in your paper or wood.

[Pat Barber]

All the larger sanders "require" full blown DC for "any" operation.

Sanders are the "king" of dust creation.

A sh> I'm actually just using the machine for a house trim project right now but

[<marierdj]

I have a shop vac, a dust collector and cyclone. My shop vac will keep up with small job collecting micro dust from sanding as long as the filter is keep clean. More so I bought a special cotton bag to go over the top of the bottom canister shielding the filter to increase its longevity and efficiency. This way the air exhausting out of the vac is not carrying as much micro dust into the rest of the garage or room. As for the dust collecting system its only good to collect micro dust under a well designed hood using 4" flexible ducting.

When he said that nothing is coming out on the other side I suspect that no vacuum action is taking place. Either the vac filter is clogged or the collecting hose/conduits are blocked. The other thing is what is mean by "house trim project". Are the trims on bare wood or painted. Is the paint latex or oil. Latex paint is the worst thing to remove by sanding. It will for sure clog any sand paper. When this is the case I scrape the paint with a sharp scrapper and sometime a heat gun before sanding.

I'm actually just using the machine for a house trim project right now but

[Earl Creel]

Yup pine is bad about loading your abrasive. When I get excessive loading I shut the machine down, unplug it, lift the lid and squirt a little mineral spirits on the buildup followed immediately with a wire brush scrubbing.. Cleans the abrasive real good. I work across the drum doing small areas at a time. When mineral spirits have all evaporated I go back to work. If you try this be careful not to get carried away with the mineral spirits and create excessive fume buildup. Earl Creel

[<marierdj]

Would wood alcohol do the same thing?

[George]

Not really. Alcohol doesn't dissolve resins (or oils) like mineral spirits can. I'd mention why, but I've taken heavy flak in the past for mentioning Chemistry.

Use the brass-bristle flux brushes from the home center.

[<marierdj]

Thanks for the information, I'll try mineral spirit the next time.

[HotRod]

Sorry ...

1) I was using a shop Vacuum to catch the small sawdust that the machine was making and when I mentioned that nothing was coming out the end, I meant the end of the drum sander. The vacuum is sucking up a ton of sawdust and I'm constantly cleaning it.

2) I took everyones advice and when I picked up my ne wplanner/molder I also got a 6" dust collector. Despite all of the vacuum the drums are still clogging. I think it has more to do with the wood and "sap" than anything else.

[<marierdj]

When I am faced with this resin problem with Eastern Pine (unpainted), I try to minimize the sanding.

I use my small 12½ surface planer and only remove the very minimum thinness at one time.

When the knifes are in good condition the results are very good. At the end of the day I still have to clean the sap from the knifes, rollers and table.

When I am restoring vintage lumber or painted/varnished wood. Then I remove all nails and fasteners visible to the naked eyes.

Then I use a hand scrapper (with heat) to remove the finish. Depending on the surface condition of the wood, I check it with a metal detector, use a belt sander or run it through the surface planer. Although I use a metal detector, I still end up with damaged planer blades from time to time.

[<marierdj]

I just finish talking to MIrka sales manager for Canada for my own stuff. At the same time I mentioned about your problem. He states that there is not too much you can do with pine lumber. He suggested that a factory applied zinc stearate coating on sanding belt or drum might help. See

The other suggestion is to try a semi open coat sanding belt or drum.