subject: All About A Belt Sander And Its Maintenance [print this page] Belt sanders are most commonly used for the purpose of working with wood. It is considered as a power tool that consists of two drums on its inside portion. These drums are rolled with the help of a motor. As the drums rolls, a continuous loop of sandpaper or a sanding belt comes out that polishes and levels the wood and other materials. Compared to the other devices this product is rougher and is used in certain projects where there is an urgency of leveling the surface quickly.
The most common belt sanders consist of belts that are 3 to 4 inches wide. Since these belts are wide, they can cover a greater working surface on the material. However, as they cover a greater area, it also becomes a bit difficult to control the machine. These machines can easily make avoidable errors as you can lose control on it or remove too much of the material.
The motor size devices also work in the same pattern. These machines consume more electricity and thus they need a lot of power to be controlled. Thus it is advisable for the operators to work carefully and comfortably in order to bring out a good work. But one must remember that it is quite difficult to control these powerful and heavy machines.
The bulky build of belt sanders, however, helps them withstand some pretty serious shop abuse. They are tough and general maintenance is relatively simple. Mostly you just need to be certain the two cylindrical rollers the sanding belt sits on remain in perfect alignment.
In case if the rollers are not aligned in a parallel way then the belt will not stay in the center of the rollers and that will allow the belt to slip off. So, it is advisable that each time you change the belt it is important to adjust the rollers. For convenience, there is a manual tracking knob on the side of the tool.
Sometimes the belt tends to push towards the inner part of the rollers or it just slip off. This can happen only if the drums are not in place. In certain cases, the housing and the belt can also be affected by the damage. This can result in the mal function of the machine as a whole.
