Grits for Jet 10-20

Sven

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Hi, I am about to order a Jet drum sander. I can order the abrasive strips in lengths of 25 meters at the same time, but I have a hard time deciding upon which grits to get.

There's 60-80-100-120-150-180 in the webshop. About 30 GBP each.

Typically I won't reduce thickness by the sander alone, I have a Safe-T-Planer and a bunch of other stuff for heavier removal.

TIA / Sven
 
On my 16/20, I've used 80 as my go to in the past, now its 60, "finish" with 80. I'll switch about .010 out from "sanding" thickness, meaning, if my sides are .080, I'll switch about .100, give or take. Of course, when I'm running stuff through, I'm at full speed and in front of the machine for at least an hour at a time, filling the tables from both ends.

Every now and then I'll hit something with 120, but at that point, a scraper is faster than changing grits (unless I'm in "production" mode).

The key is dust collection, or you'll be clogging and burning - shop vac doesn't cut it. Should be easier with a 10/20 though.

Personally, I wish I had an 18" or small wide belt, but, I'm spoiled.
 
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Sven with the amount of sanding you are going to do pm me for some 120 which I use for finishing. I also use 36 for thicknessing and 80 for roughing. I don't know what I have in my workshop and get back to Wales end of month - don't go buying 25mtrs...

I have a monster shop vac which is great for extraction - it is the key to good sanding
 
Thank you Pete. You're a mate. Since the sander itself is quite costly it'll be good to postpone some of the expenses. The sander will arrive in three weeks or so.

And I'm buying it from the UK. With shipping it's about half the price of that in Sweden. Plus, the swedish dealer wouldn't sell it to me if I didn't buy it through my company. Outrageous! A crap nation filled with morons. (Except me an' my friends...)
 
You get a selection of grits with the machine - 36, 80, 120 and 180. I think I have 80 and 120. If you are using SafeT planer then you'll only need the 120. It's a great sander - mine worked right out of the box but you must get the extraction sorted - it produces huge amounts of noxious dust.

Dave and I have already had words about this - if I ever visit his workshop he's for it and he knows it!
 
I use 36 for thickness sanding. After that it's 80, then 120. The finer grits are a waste of money as they don't last long at all.

(BTW, My Internet's been out for a week and haven't been able to post much. I'm on now but who knows for how long........)
 
My mate works with veneers and uses really fine grits for finishing but you are right Chuck - beyond 120 it's fairly pointless.
 
Thanks everyone, very kind of you to offer advice.

Pete, I'll be in touch (if I don't stumble across some good deal while stumbling through the snow here in Sthlm).
 
I have a monster shop vac which is great for extraction - it is the key to good sanding

Admittedly, I have a small shop vac (okay, mid size), which sucks, but not literally. Here is a +3 for dust collection. My central system works MUCH better. I still wear a mask.
 
Admittedly, I have a small shop vac (okay, mid size), which sucks, but not literally. Here is a +3 for dust collection. My central system works MUCH better. I still wear a mask.

Hey Aaron, I bought one of those Oneida Dust Deputy (vortex system), and it made a world of difference with my shop vac. The filter stays clear much longer, keeping the suction near max for most of a week.
(Of course, if you have a central system, you hardly need a dust deputy!)
 
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