My new sander

[Magpie]

is a belt sander with a disc. OK, I read the manual and now..umm..how do I use it? ;p I am shaping pieces of intarsia with it. I'm as scared of this noisy thing as a rattlesnake, although I did gingerly touch the belt with my finger to see if it would actually pull it off--nope, I feel a bit better now

For instance, I'm doing Judy Gale Roberts' Intarsia Workbook right now. For the bow and ribbon, I have to sand a flat piece of wood about 4 inches long from 3/4 inch thick to 1/4 inch thick. I did part of that against the backstop on the belt, but that seems a bit harder to control. I did part on the disk, and that was much easier to control but not as easy to see. I finished it up on the round part of the front of the belt, which was good, but not as easy to get smooth. I'm not a tool user by nature so I just want to make sure I start out right.

And don't let my nervousness fool ya; I'm already in love with the thing. I cut and hand-sanded the first one and it took me about 2 days--this one took me about an hour from start to finish. Any advice will be gratefully received!

[Rivari]

New tools/toys are the best, I only have one bit of advice and that is buy yourself a sanding belt cleaning tool, they really do add a bit more life to those things. Enjoy!

[Gill]

Hi Magpie

It sounds as if you're using the machine properly. Forgive me if I'm teaching granny how to suck eggs, but I hope you're sanding the top of the intarsia sections and not the bottom, otherwise you'll have problems getting a tight fit.

If it's got a tension release lever on the belt, don't forget to release it when you've finished. If it hasn't got one, don't worry about it .

Todd's made a good suggestion about getting a sanding belt cleaning tool - you'll extend the life of your belts ten-fold if you keep it clean. A cheaper way to clean it is to take a plastic bag (such as a supermarket carrier bag), fold it up very tightly, and hold that against your abrasive surface whilst it's in operation. It'll clean the abrasive a treat .

Gill

[CanadianScroller]

If you have an old pair of shoes with crepe soles, then you don't even need to spend money on a belt cleaner. It could however be more expensive if you use a pair of shoes that belong to a spouse

[Daryl185]

Originally Posted by CanadianScroller

If you have an old pair of shoes with crepe soles, then you don't even need to spend money on a belt cleaner. It could however be more expensive if you use a pair of shoes that belong to a spouse

doesn't it depend on wether or not the spouse is in those said shoes or not