Open end drum sander rips

By the way, there are arrows underneath the sandpaper. I’ve tried running them both ways, but I still don’t know whether the arrow should point towards the first clip or its telling me to wrap this way as a I go.

I don’t think it matters, but here I am. I’ve see a video where it says it matters only to sanders that use a “sleeve” type of abrasive. That some sleeve abrasives are butt jointed (which don’t matter) vs ones that overlap (these matter).

Are you sure you are supposed to wrap from the motor to the open end? My Powermatic goes the other way- wrap from the open end towards the motor end. On the motor end, the retaining clip is spring loaded on mine (yours might be similar)- the spring is designed to take up any slack/stretch. I find that if I don’t really load that spring tight, my strip will be loose, which at the extreme leads to what you are getting. The way the drum turns, it tends to tighten the open end of the drum and the slack works its way to the motor end.

the arrows are meaningless on a drum sander, in fact you can turn the abrasive strip around and get some sharp fresh edges when it’s worn.

-- The optimist says "the glass is half full". The pessimist says "the glass is half empty". The engineer says "the glass is twice as big as it needs to be"

I have the comparable Jet sander. I always wrap from the end away from the motor as per the instruction manual.. The instructions also say to be certain to leave a gap between the last wrap or so before clamping it down. The paper will expand in use and the spring clip mentioned above is there to take up the slack. However, if you don’t leave a gap the paper can overlap leading to a high spot that will burn the work and/or tear the paper. It looks to me like you have the final wraps tight to each other.

I have the Performax 16-32. Theres a spring clamp on each end of the drum. However the clamp at the motor end has a clamp that also pulls the belt as it closes, tightening the belt on the drum. I also start from the outside end and move toward the motor end. I leave about a 1/16” or so between the belt turns. I run it for a few seconds then check the drum to bee sure the belt hasn’t shifted. After I make a couple passes with stock I check again to be sure. It is important to leave a gap between the wraps.

I have that sander and I always wrap my strips from open end, towards the motor end. Be very carful not to overlap. Hope this helps.

-- Bob in Montana. Kindness is the Language the blind can see and deaf can hear. - Mark Twain

I’m agreeing with what JayCee said about leaving a gap between the wraps. The first time I redone mine I wrapped it solid and noticed it would clog up easier than the original. nexttime around I left that little gap and it last a lot longer now.

-- Dave, Downers Grove, Il. -------- When you run out of ideas, start building your dreams.

Ditto on the advice as to which end has the spring loaded clamp (never seen one on the away from the motor end 8^)

I like to leave a narrow gap as I wrap (1/16” is typical). Sometimes this changes depending on how far from 3” in width the belt actually is. I try to pull up the spring tension on the motor side clip as much as possible before clipping it to the paper. This maximizes the tension.

Power it up unloaded for a few seconds then check to see if anything has shifted.
As to technique, I generally avoid using the last 1” of motor side belt since the transition of the belt into the clip slot will produce an uneven bump when sanding.

Yep ditto on the no overlap. because it gets hot, you need a gap as you wrap.

-- “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain

I have the same sander. The clip at the motor end is different than the open end. It will tighten as the belt sees tension. I wrap from the open end, keeping gaps as already mentioned, and run a small piece through first. Then I check for slop at the motor end, and adjust accordingly. I had the same problem for awhile until I figured it out.

BTW – any accumulation of sap, glue, or other residue can be removed from the belts. Take the belt off, fill a mason jar with mineral spirits and put the rolled belt in the jar, making sure it is fully immersed in the mineral spirits. Let it soak for a few days, remove from jar and using either a brass or SST brush, remove the hardened (now softened) residue. Re-soaking may be necessary for heavy residue. After cleaning, hang the belt from a binder clip until dry, and it is almost as good as new. I have saved myself tons on money and aggravation by cleaning the belts like this. The jar contents can be filtered through a paint filter to remove the crud and reused solely for the purpose of belt cleaning.

-- Ohio Alan

The whole clip method is the best of the worst for fastening. Its junk, but there doesn’t seem to be a better alternative. I’ve found the one BEST way to keep the end from ripping off is wrap either duct tape or even better, binding tape (that white stuff that’s got the strings in it) around the ends a couple times. That way, if you get a board over on either end, it can’t catch the weakened paper and rip it. It can leave some gumminess on the board if you try sanding with tape…
but that’ easier to remove in my opinion that re-wrapping the drum with expensive sand paper…

I’ve only worked with the “closed end” drum sanders, and so if you sand 1/2 of a panel at a time, I suppose the tape method wouldn’t work on the open end, but it sure would on the motor end, which is what seems to be giving you the trouble anyway.

That’s just my experience anyway!!

-- Pete

I have the same sander. The clip at the motor end is different than the open end. It will tighten as the belt sees tension. I wrap from the open end, keeping gaps as already mentioned, and run a small piece through first. Then I check for slop at the motor end, and adjust accordingly. I had the same problem for awhile until I figured it out.

BTW – any accumulation of sap, glue, or other residue can be removed from the belts. Take the belt off, fill a mason jar with mineral spirits and put the rolled belt in the jar, making sure it is fully immersed in the mineral spirits. Let it soak for a few days, remove from jar and using either a brass or SST brush, remove the hardened (now softened) residue. Re-soaking may be necessary for heavy residue. I have saved myself tons on money and aggravation by cleaning the belts like this. The jar contents can be filtered through a paint filter to remove the crud and reused solely for the purpose of belt cleaning.

-- Ohio Alan

Thanks for that tip AlGar .... I’ll be giving that a try for stubborn accumulation.
Normally I’ve cleaned the sanding belt by touching a large rubber eraser to the spinning drum. It usually removes most of the junk that gets stuck, and causes burn streaks on my stock. If you don’t have an eraser you can use the heel off an old shoe.

I have the 19-38 too. I had the exact same issues as you. I got so tired of throwing money away from ruined sandpaper and ruined projects that I bought the Grizzly Hook and Loop conversion kit. It takes two rolls of the velcro to fit on the Supermax and the sandpaper that’s included doesn’t work on the Supermax but it was the best $80 I ever spent (link to the velcro at the end of this post). I’m done changing out Sandpaper in 2 minutes or less with no frustration and no sore fingers and thumb, I’ve never burned any sandpaper, I’ve never had it come loose, and I’ve saved a ton of money. I also bought big rolls of Sandpaper from a different company and cut it myself instead of the pre-cut individual rolls that Supermax and others sell. Another huge savings! The only adjustment I had to make was on the scale since the sandpaper with the velcro underneath it is a little thicker on the drum than before so a little scale adjustment is necessary.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Hook-Loop-Conversion-Kit-for-Model-G1066R-and-G1079R/H5037?utm_campaign=zPage&utm_source=grizzly.com

UPDATE

So I read the comments on here about my abrasive wrap being put on incorrectly. I tried open end to motor end and it was working fine. I still get a small bubble on the motor end where it clips, but after a few tries, i got it flat. It’s really a PITA to get it flat there. Not easy. I do my best to squeeze my fingers in there to pull the abrasive wrap and than let go of the clip

As I mentioned in my first post, I’ve tried wrapping it both ways and kept getting the problem, but it’s working now with open end to motor end. I REALLY HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY.

BTW, thanks for that interesting tip AlGar. Sounds like a great way to pinch every cent out of the abrasive wrap.