G0459 Grizzly 12" Baby Drum Sander Thickness sander

[Mad Max]

I bought a G0459 Grizzly 12" Baby Drum Sander.
It has hook and loop(velcro) to hold the sand paper on.
The spong-e-ness of the hook and loop does not sand flat, I have to make about 6 passes without changing thickness to get it flatter.
has anyone took the loop off the roller and glued the sand paper to the drum?    

[snapper1d]

That little sponginess will help you not to screw up when sanding.Those sanders have a fiber gear that will strip out if you get into a big bind and without that give you can tear up something.You are supposed to go slow when sanding and take off just a little at the time.

[snapper1d]

I meant nylon gear not a fiber gear!

[Roy from Pa]

Never seen that with my sander.

[Mad Max]

All right Roy, be serious and help me out   :rolleyes:
Just sanding a 3" wide piece I get(done got) a dome in the middle .
does everybody make 4 5 6 dry passes to flatten it out?

[snapper1d]

If it is getting domed you are trying to take off too much at a time.Remember its a sander not a planer.

[snapper1d]

Oh and you can crush the velcro pad if you run it in a bind also and you may have to replace that pad.Been there and done all that! Those pads are not the easiest to align up when replacing either.

[Mad Max]

I going 1/4 turn at a time.
How much do you turn?


Thanks   let's keep this going

[bornofmud]

I've been doing a half to 3/4 turn, running it through 2-3 times, then another half to 3/4 for getting the lams down to size, then go much milder as I start getting close to the target thickness.  The last 3-4 passes I don't adjust the height at all.

[Roy from Pa]

Mark, what grit paper are you using? I use 60 grit, many guys use 36 grit. I start a piece through and adjust so the drum starts taking off material, maybe not the entire width or length but the drum makes contact with the wood, I then keep adjusting the belt up till material is being taken off the entire piece of wood. I usually adjust the handle up one complete turn after running the board through twice. The closer I get to my finished project, I will run a board through 3 times without any further adjusting to the machine. I have never had any problems with a dome in the center.

[Mad Max]

Roy 60 grit
after 3 4 passes without turning the handle, it's flat

It's kind of like machine work, you can sit down while it's cutting. take it slow
Thanks