When choosing sanding belts, a persons must choose the correct sanding belt for the task that a person must complete with an sanding belt. A person who selects a sanding belt with the incorrect length will find that the sanding belt wont fit the sander that they are using. A person who selects a sanding belt with an incorrect grit will find that the sanding belt will not provide the desired sanding of the material.
Thus, a person need to understand the various aspects of the sanding belt in order to ensure that the sanding belt will perform corectly. One of the first aspect of the sanding belt that a person should consider is it’s size. The size of the sanding belt must match the dimension of the sander that a person will use.
How to Choose the Right Sanding Belt
For instance, many handheld sanders take sanding belts that are three by twenty-one inches in size or four by twenty-four inches. However, many bench top sanders require sanding belts that are of a shorter and narrower size. The size of the sanding belt can impact the performance of the sanding belt; longer sanding belts will allow the abrasive sanding material to remain cool because the heat will be distributed over a larger area.
In addition, those who want to sand into grooves will want to use sanding belts that are of a narrower size so that they can sand within these areas. Once a person has decided upon the size of the sanding belt that will best perform for the task that they are to perform, the person can focus on the grit of the sanding belt and the mineral that is contained within those belts. The grit of the sanding belt typically progresses from the coarse sands to the finest sands; this type of sanding belt is necessary to remove the marks created by each of the previous sanding belts.
Using sands that are too fine for the task will leave mill marks on the wood. Skipping sanding belt grits will create deep scratches within the sanding area that the finer sands cant remove. Thus, a person should sand sanding belts from coarse to medium to fine sand.
The type of mineral that is present on the sanding belt will impact the way in which the sanding belt perform on various types of materials. Sanding belts that contain aluminum oxide are commonly used because the mineral fractures as it wear down and remains sharp with sanding wood and metal. Zirconia and ceramic minerals is stronger than aluminum oxide minerals and are used in situations with heavy pressure on the sanding belt.
Silicon carbide minerals is used in sanding stone and non-ferrous metals but can quickly clog when used on softwood. Garnet minerals are the gentlest type of sanding mineral and those who want to create even mill marks on the wood prior to staining the sanding area use them. Another factor that will impact the performance of the sanding belt is the speed of the sander.
For instance, if a person sands soft pine wood at too fast speed with a sanding belt, the sanding belt may tear the wood. However, if a person uses too slow of a speed on metal with a sanding belt, heat will build up within the metal that could discolor the metal. Thus, the sanding speed should be adjusted according to the material that is being sanded with the sanding belt.
Another factor that will impact the performance of the sanding belt is the backing weight and the joint of the sanding belt. For example, light J-weight sanding belts has a flexible backing material but may stretch when heavy pressure is applied with the sander. Y-weight sanding belts are stiffer and do not stretch and are used for removing weld beads from metal materials.
Additionally, another aspect of the sanding belt are the joint of the belt. When the end of the sanding belt meets the other end, the joint may create a bump on the material that is being sanded. Finishing sanding belts typically use a flat butt joint so that the sanding belt is even and will not create a bump on the finished product.
However, grinding sanding belts use an reinforced tape splice so that the joint of the belt is strong so that it will not come apart during grinding tasks. Finally, the technique with which a person sands the material will impact the performance of the sanding belt. For instance, a person should use light and even pressure with the sander to sand the material.
Using too much pressure may damage the sanding belt. A person should also keep the sander moving so that it dont burn the wood. Using a rubber stick to clean the sanding belt will keep the sanding grains open so the sanding belt can last long.
Finally, a person should never sand across the grain of the wood because this will leave scratches in the wood that will be visible even with the finest sands.
