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Drum sander hook and loop conversion

11K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  AMZ 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'll be receiving a Drum sander next week,it comes with a cloth backed 80 grit sandpaper already wrapped on the drum,now I'm thinking of buying an extra roll of 100 grit for it.
My question is should I convert the sandpaper to hook and loop?I wonder how many of you have done this conversion and how many are quite happy with the regular cloth backed paper?

I have searched here and it seems there are some who have converted to H&L type and are very happy but some believe the cushiony effect of H&L paper will cause uneven thicknessing of the stock.

It seems to me the main reason for conversion to H&L is that cloth backed sandpaper gets loose due to friction/heat and has to be re tightened often,if this is true ,is it that difficult to re adjust it every so often?

So here I am asking all you Drum sander owners ,is it a good idea to convert a new DS right after is bought or stick to what the manufacturers use.
Please let me know the pros and cons of converting to hook and loop.
Thank you all.
 
#2 ·
I converted my performax, using the Grizzly conversion kit. I like it a lot - no more paper getting loose and burning at the wrong time.
 
#4 ·
No, I just tuck the ends into the same clips they used to go into. Only with the hook and loop they don't continue to slip on out and there's no fiddling for 20 minutes with some silly wrench while standing on my head trying to reach in and get it "just right." I like the drum sander overall, but the idiot engineer who designed those end-clip clamp things needs to go back to wherever he got his degree and ask for a refund.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for your help,I know it's new years eve and unlike me, you probably have better things to do to than answering woodworking questions.but it helped a lot,I'm just going to go ahead and order it now.
Have a happy new year my friend.
Ken.
 
#6 ·
Eh… drum sanders.

Another LJ generously sent me some h&l backer in the
mail. I thought at the time this would be the right
approach for my 12" Woodmaster sander because
that's how it was configured (with a layer of felt
on the drum Woodmaster's h&l paper sticks to). However,
I spent a day digging into the sander's design and
configured it to feed with the regular cloth backed
strip which I already had in rolls acquired for my
Performax open-end sander.

Convert if you want to… I imagine the h&l will reduce
overlapping of the paper when it stretches from
heat buildup (which can tear it up and mark the
work). While it doesn't take much CFM to get the
dust off a drum sander, allegedly more airflow helps
with cooling. I haven't tested this enough to
have a solid opinion.
 
#9 ·
That's a good point Bruce makes.
I had an old performax 16-32. There are a lot of other makers though, and a lot of models. It would probably be smarter to wait until you've got it and see how it works before you go modifying it.
 
#10 ·
Bruce,Joe,I always try to follow sound advice.so you say it is best to use the one that comes with machine just to get the feel of it and how to set the distance/feed rate etc. I do think it is wise to have a roll of paper handy in case I destroy the original one while learning how to use and set up a drum sander.

I wasn't sure whether to buy an extra roll of regular cloth backed paper or Hook and loop type.
I now know when the time comes to change I will use the hook and loop conversion kit,I did the same thing with my 12" disk sander,used the regular sandpaper that came with it for a few months but when I needed to change it I converted it to H&L and it has been a great "upgrade".I just needed to make sure that a drum sander could benefit form H&L the same way.
Thank you all for your help,I can't wait to receive this sander,have a few projects lined up so I could put it to use.
 
#11 ·
Joe is absolutely right! The engineer that designed those clamps needs his head examined and distrbd, definately have a spare roll of sandpaper. There is a small learning curve with Drum Sanders. I have a Supermax 19-38 and it didn't take very long to ruin the 80 grit that came pre-installed on the drum. Here's what I do now that seems to be working. My speed options range from 0-100 and I set it at about 60 for most work. I measure the thickness of the piece I'm sending through the sander and then set the sander higher than that and when the piece starts through, I lower the sander until I hear the sandpaper lightly making contact with the piece. I then know that's my starting point. I only lower the sander 1/8th of a turn when lowering it between passes. Any more than that tends to take too big of a bite and that's when trouble is near. Oh, the first time the sandpaper breaks (always near where it's clamped) it might startle you a little. It did me.
 
#12 ·
Remember it's not a planer. Chant that mantra to yourself the entire time you're using it.
It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The sandpaper should just touch the wood, no more - just the lightest touch. I usually get it running with the drum set so it doesn't even touch the wood, and then slowly lower it until it just barely makes contact. If you try to overdo it then in an instant it heats up, the roll slips, everything burns and you end up with skid-marks that look like some drunk in a miniature motorcycle just popped the clutch and did a wheelie off the end of your workpiece.
 
#13 ·
Rob,Did you ever convert the belt to hook and loop ? it looks like you were/are quite happy with regular sandpaper.
Joe,I'll be chanting out loud, It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer. It's not a planer.I can picture my wife saying under her breath: ,you're an idiot,you're an idiot,you're an idiot,.
Thank you guys,great posts.
 
#14 ·
I love my Proformax 16/32. I use it with cloth backed paper. Spend a little time figuring out how to use those endclips and it will be less frustrating to change paper. I now can do it effortlessly. I don't use their tool anymore.

I also have a Vdrum sander with hook and loop. It counts on the cushy property of the H&L to do it's job. I do not want this cushy on my main drum sander. I would think it would loose some (lots) of precision of thicknessing. I use the drum sander to precisely thickness stuff a lot. Just go slow.

Steve
 
#15 ·
No Ken I haven't converted to hook and loop. When I bought my Supermax, I bought a bunch of sandpaper rolls at the same time. The sander was on sale so I used the savings to buy the extra sandpaper of different grits (80,100,150). Most people don't go as high as 150 and use their drum sander for making things dead flat but I make a lot of cutting boards and it saves me a lot of time. Get them dead flat with 80 grit then 120 and 150 for finishing. I'm usually running 6-8 boards through and find that it saves time rather than using my ROS going through all the grits to 400
 
#16 ·
Steve,I almost bought a V drum sander,the ready made one (Flatmaster) but to tell you the truth I couldn't justify the price for what I would get and still it did not come with a motor,I will consider building one from a kit this Summer.
It would be nice to have both.

Rob,for now I'll stay with one grit,which will be (120g.H&L) and the DS comes with 80g,so I'll be able to compare and chose one,I'm just one type sandpaper- man,lol.
 
#17 ·
I agree with SPalm and I would not convert a drum sander to H&L. I have no experience with that, however after using my 19-38 I don't think H&L would be good on a drum sander. I would want a hard surface sanding rather than a cushy surface. H&L may work, but I haven't had any problems attaching the paper to the drum. The only time I ever burnt the wood was because I tried to take too much off. When I install a new paper I turn the sander on and let it run 2-3 minutes and recheck the paper for tightness. I do think H&L would be ideal for a Vdrum sander.
 
#18 ·
My home made V Sander uses H&L. As you suggest, Ken, a strip of tape at the ends is necessary.
An artifact of H&L no one has mentioned is that as the drum rotates, the paper lifts off the drum a bit. Probably not more than a thou or two, but it does lift. In adjusting the table, I took the lifting into account so that, at rest, the surface of the table and the surface of the paper are even. When running, the lift of the paper is the depth of the "cut".
This may make a difference on a drum sander…dunno. A friend and fellow LJ, Shipwright, built a drum sander and used H&L. His use of the sander is primarily to flatten shop cut veneer. Light sanding is the norm, and he hasn't experienced any problems due to his use of H&L.
 
#19 ·
Bill ,Gene,thank you both ,it is now obvious to me there's no clear answer to the question whether a H&L paper is an upgrade in a Performax type drum sander.

I know I will have to make that decision after I have used my new machine,learnt it's proper set up and adjustments,found the applications that fit my needs ,I have to go through all these steps first before I could conclude I would be better off with a H&L paper or not.

I do realize it will be a personal preference based on what I intend to use the drum sander for,I thank you all for your inputs,your replies have cleared a few thing in my head ,I will update you all later (couple of weeks ) if you are interested.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
#25 ·
I got a Grizzly a couple months ago and really should change out the paper. It's worked really well but on 8" wide stock it really can't get the whole board due to crowning. Hate using it as a planer, but my planer is not hooked up at the moment. Not enough room in the shop to have them both going at once. I'm looking forward to changing it though, plus I can dig out all the saw dust it's accumulated. I've been doing mostly cedar and pine with it. I've probably ran a couple thousand BF through it already and it's still sanding smooth.
 
#26 ·
I set my 16 X 32 Performax up for Hook and Loop
it took one Hour 15 min I just wrapped the Sanding
Drum straight using 3 inch sticky backed Loop I
Cut a piece of paper the length around the Drum
and cut 5 pieces and staggered them around the
Drum then using a Loop backed piece of sand paper
cut at almost the same angle I put it on leaving the
trailing edge not clipped down I was using 150 grit
I ran several passes light to pretty heavy no burning
on Red Oak the trailing edge of the sand paper
seams to move left or right depending on the Depth
of cut below is a link to the Velcro I used

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNL3RMV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Larry
 
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