Flat Sander - Sand Flea?

[GrampaJim]

Sanding question: I am thinking of getting a Flat-Sander made by Stockroom Supply. Mostly I want it to flatten warped twisted wood to make cutting easier and give me a better fit. I am buying 4/4 wood from my local supplier and its not always perfect or it will warp sitting and waiting for me to use it.

Any thoughts on this or should I invest even more and get a big drum sander?

[Bill WIlson]

It seems to me that flattening warped stock is a bit larger job than what most of these kinds of sanders were designed for.  Traditionally a jointer is used to flatten warped or twisted boards.  It can also be done with a planer, but these tools are designed to remove a lot more material than belt sanders are, making them more effective at the task.  A sander would work, but be prepared to make a lot of passes to get the board flat.

[new2woodwrk]

I have dewalt Planer for that process. Got it at CPO for a nice discount.

I've only used it once, but boy does it shave off wood and send it flying LOL

[GrampaJim]

1 hour ago, Bill WIlson said:

It seems to me that flattening warped stock is a bit larger job than what most of these kinds of sanders were designed for.  Traditionally a jointer is used to flatten warped or twisted boards.  It can also be done with a planer, but these tools are designed to remove a lot more material than belt sanders are, making them more effective at the task.  A sander would work, but be prepared to make a lot of passes to get the board flat.

I considered a jointer, but was warned that it is unsafe for boards shorter than about a foot.  Having never used one, I assumed this was correct.  I have a planer, but again short warped pieces are what I am dealing with.

[WayneMahler]

To flatten a board in a planer you would need to make a sled for it, then support the warped wood with shims or something like that. Both the planer and jointer are not recommended for boards shorter then 12 inches for safety reasons. There is a lot to take into consideration. If I have a board that has warped or twisted, my preferred method for flattening it is winding sticks and a sharp hand plane. It is accurate and quick, then you can run it through the planer to achieve the thickness you want.

[don in brooklin on]

I have a Flat Sander from stock room supply and have used it to flatten some 4/4  boards about 12 inches long recently. It had only a slight cup and so it only took a few slow passes at 100 grit.  I have a planner to look after the other side once you have a flat service.  The board was not too long as the flat sander does not have a very wide surface.  You can do fairly wide too. You just need a lot of passes.  Don't forget that does one side only and so if you do the other side on the flat sander you have no guarantee the the sides are parallel. 

I usually my jointing at the club but it is closed for Covid and these where boards that I had jointed and once in the shop for sometime they cupped slightly so the flat sander worked well.

 

  I do use the flat sand quite often and find it handy in removing fuzzies and it works real well.

[Rolf]

From my understanding the best way to flaten a board is the Jointer, then the planer. 

I have had a Sand flea since 2005, absolutely love it. But not for a larger or longer board. 

I have not seen any adds for it in a while?

[Puzzleguy]

I have a commercial model performax sander for that kind of thing - Thou it takes a bit to get it set up

properly - those sand fleas are interesting -if you get one do a review of it !

Edited September 16, 2020 by Puzzleguy

[Denny Knappen]

I also have a Sand Flee, but use it to remove fuzzies.

[OCtoolguy]

I have kept my eyes open for a couple of years for someone who was selling a used one. I can't see paying that high price for a new one. I'd love to have one though.

 

[Denny Knappen]

7 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

I have kept my eyes open for a couple of years for someone who was selling a used one. I can't see paying that high price for a new one. I'd love to have one though.

 

Yes, Ray it was very expensive.  I bought it at the last SWWC Open House with a small discount.  I use it on almost every project.

[GusGustin]

You see many drum Sanders for sale on Craigslist. Some are very cheap. There's a Delta for 400 bucks I have been watching,  and it's a 36 incher with lots of new belts.  They work great - otherwise I use the one at the club. 

I also have the dewalt 13 inch planer and a delta 8 inch jointer. But boards have to be a minimum of 13 inches the manuals say - for those.

Watch the ads. Someone is always selling something. 

[amazingkevin]

On 9/7/2020 at 6:17 PM, new2woodwrk said:

I have dewalt Planer for that process. Got it at CPO for a nice discount.

I've only used it once, but boy does it shave off wood and send it flying LOL

Some how in the move I lost my DeWalt plastic funnel for the planner . Would have been nice to use it cause it sure makes the wood fly.

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, amazingkevin said:

Some how in the move I lost my DeWalt plastic funnel for the planner . Would have been nice to use it cause it sure makes the wood fly.

I don't know about your planer Kevin but I bought a used Delta from a friend and I took some sheet metal and a floor attachment for a Ridgid shop vac and made a way to hook up my Fein vac to it. It works like a charm.