Amp Sander wood/metal usage ?

Brian Chris

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
Posts
1
Loc
East Tawas, MI
I just picked up a Amp/Itw sander.
I've seen several folks are using it for both metal and wood.

Do you use any release agent on the disk when you sand aluminum to keep it from gumming up the abrasive - or not a problem ?

In the old days toolmakers used bees wax to keep aluminum from gumming up tools( lots of new fangled stuff now).
Does the aluminum residue contaminate the wood joint for gluing ?

The Wheel changes easily, if I had an extra Wheel avalible, Mite I keep one for wood & one for Aluminum ?

Or is this a total non-issue ?

thanks,
bcf
Brian Faulstich
East Tawas, MI
 
I am nearly certain the vendor I bought my AMP sander from, at the 2002 Decor Expo, told me I should use separate sanding discs for wood and metal. After changing a disk, I would say that is clearly not practical.

I believe there are better ways to remove a little burr from a metal frame, and I use my sander almost exclusively for wood.

I did sand a metal corner the other day. It was a frame that had been dropped on a corner and the customer wanted to avoid buying a new frame. I was able to "true-up" the dinged corner enough to get it to close, but I don't plan to make a habit of this.

That being said, I don't think a little metal sanding will make the disc less suitable for sanding wood, though it would probably shorten the life of the disc. I keep an air hose nearby and use it to clean the disc between frames. For me, that works better than the rubber thingy that came with the sander.
 
I used one in an old shop where I made a little trough with a circle cut in the bottom. The hole had a shop vac hooked up to it. So after a few cuts I would turn it on and suck down the dust. If I needed to do a metal I would sand it, then dettach the shop vac and vacuum the pad along with my shirt, pants, shoes, bald head, floor, and table it was on. Those dang metal thingees!!!
d
 
I use my sander just for woods, because it would seem that the metal would scrape some of the abrasive off the sanding disc, creating low spots that would affect results with woods. However, what about shifting the metal chop's contact point with the wheel toward the outer edge which is rarely touched except by the very widest woods? This could be accomplished by using a shim block of known and accurate parallel-ness between the fence of the sander and the metal chop to be sanded. Now that I think of it, this could be a handy way to get more usage out of your sanding disk for narrower woods too, between disc changes.

:cool: Rick
 
I've used it for metal 2 or 3 times it works fine but I'm glad I don't have to do it much, I think it would wear the sand paper out.....not that the sand paper is expensive, it's just a pain to change.

A better long term solution would be to true up your saw.
 
I use my Amp/Itw sander for metal and wood.

I also remove the burrs using my Amp/Itw sander. (?) This works great.

If I only have one metal frame I use the current sanding disc, if more then couple I change to an older disc.

Works great!

Yes, the disc don't last as long but the trade-off is really nice fitting 45's with little effort.

best
 
Seems like Clif and I are in the minority. I also use the ITW to sand metals. While and emery board or razor blade work OK, I've (really) been able to join "seamless" metals using the ITW.

This includes store-cut chops as well as vendor-supplied ones; I don't use alot of pressure, just a light sanding, 3 or 4 turns of the disk. That's usually sufficient.

I've also found that very light pressure with the metal helps clean off stuck gesso and things that clog the disc. Certainly shortens the life of the disc, but we don't do very many metals anyway.

Tony
 
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