Steel City TITANIUM 50-510, Owner'S Manual

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Page 16
OPERATION
◊ OVERVIEW
This section is only to provide a basic understanding on
how the sander is used. This supposes that the sander
is carefully checked, adjusted and in ready-to-run
condition.
This is not meant to be instructional. Should training be
required, ask your dealer for advice on sources that can
provide adequate training on use of a wide belt sander.
The basic operating procedure is as follows:
1. Place the workpiece on the conveyor belt and
underneath the sanding belt.
2. Raise the table to approximate workpiece thickness.
3. Remove the workpiece. Start the dust collector, the
sanding belt, then start the conveyor belt.
4. Carefully feed workpiece into the sander, supporting the
back of the piece until supported by pressure rollers.
5. During initial pass with a new piece, adjust the table
height so the piece has a very light contact with the
sanding belt.
Determining the depth of wood removal is one of the
most important procedures for the sander. It may take
some experimentation to determine the proper depth,
given the variables of abrasive grit, type of wood, feed
rate, platen position. The ammeter also helps in
estimating the load applied to the abrasive. To prevent
unnecessary wear of the sanding belt, the wood piece
should be surface planed before sanding.
Never remove lots of material in a single pass. As a
general rule, 1/64” (0.4mm) is suggested for coarser
grits and softer woods, while 1/128” (0.2mm) may be
preferable with finer grits and harder woods. For best
results, use scrap pieces of wood to practice on. This
will help you develop a familiarity with the machine
before doing finish work on good pieces.
6. Receive the workpiece from the outfeed side of the
conveyor.
7. If needed, raise the conveyor table by a small amount
and repeat feeding process through the sander.
8. Stop the machine and change the sandpaper to a finer
grit and repeat feeding process.
9. When sanding is complete, stop the sander and the dust
collector; disconnect the sander from the power.
◊ USING THE PLATEN
The sander is equipped with a platen with a graphite
pad. It is used during finish sanding to create a buffed
like look and prepare the piece for final hand sanding
and finish coat.
Please refer to previous section Adjustments/Platen.
◊ GRIT SELECTION
The grit size of the sandpaper designates the
coarseness of the abrasive. The lower the grit number,
the coarser the abrasive. With coarser grit papers, such
as 60 grit, very aggressive material removal and surface
scratching occur.
With finer grit abrasives, very little material is
removed and a buffed like look begins to appear.
The table below shows different types of grit and their
uses.
ABRASIVE NORMAL USE
60 Grit surfacing and dimensioning boards,
truing warped boards
80-100 Grit surfacing, light dimensioning,
removing planer ripples
120 Grit light surfacing, minimal stock removal
150 Grit finish sanding, minimal stock removal
180 Grit finish sanding only, no stock removal
The general rule of thumb is to sand a workpiece with
gradually higher grit numbers, with no one grit increase
higher than 50 (ex. 100-150). The type of wood and the
desired finish will determine the grit to use.