What to Expect from DeWalt Belt Sanders
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Once you have finally made the decision to refinish that large solid wood table in your dining room you are going to have to assemble the tools you need for the job. While you can get away with a hand sanding block for parts of the legs, this is not the most practical method for sanding large areas. The most common tool for this type of work is one of the many different DeWalt Belt sanders. This is by far the most versatile type of electric sander for large flat surfaces.
While today DeWalt belt sanders are among their line of revered power tools the company’s founder Robert DeWalt is credited with inventing the first radial arm saw in 1923. Today there are over 200 different power tools in the DeWalt line up. Professional and hobby carpenters consider them to be among the finest tools in the industry and their bright yellow colors make them easy to see while on the job.
A belt sander is really only designed for one task and that is to rapidly sand flat surfaces. In general the finish is not left smooth enough to stain or paint as this tool is designed for rough sanding. A belt sander can be used to strip paint or varnish from the surface and to take the wood down far enough that minor gouges, scratches and imperfections are removed. Once this is done you can go back over the surface with an orbital sander and fine grit sandpaper to give it a smooth surface to which you can apply the finish of your choice.
The majority of Dewalt belt sanders use a 3 inch wide belt that is 21 inches long and comes in a variety of grits ranging from very coarse for fast removal of material to finer ones that will leave the wood ready for finish sanding. You can buy models that come with a dust collector to keep the amount of dust in the air to a minimum. Some of them come with a case to store your sander in and protect it while it is not being used.
The size of the motor determines how fast the belt is going to spin and what type of work you can perform with each of the DeWalt belt sanders. The most popular models have a heavy duty 8 amp motor that has built in thermal protection designed to shut the motor off if it overheats. Rubber grips make it much easier to hold onto your sander while you are preparing your table top and reduce the vibrations to your hands. These sanders are rated to be among the top of line models available on the current market and will perform admirably no matter what you plan to use them for.