# Sanding a board flat with a belt sander



## NorCal Scot (Dec 31, 2010)

I've been making cutting boards to learn the basics of woodworking. One challenge I have with my cutting boards is getting them flat. Because my wood is sourced from different retailers, the thicknesses are not the same. Once the sticks are glued up, I have one side that has high spots and low spots on one side. I have a belt sander and one hand planer, but I can never seem to get it flat. Are there any tips or tricks I'm missing?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

NorCal Scot said:


> I've been making cutting boards to learn the basics of woodworking. One challenge I have with my cutting boards is getting them flat. Because my wood is sourced from different retailers, the thicknesses are not the same. Once the sticks are glued up, I have one side that has high spots and low spots on one side. I have a belt sander and one hand planer, but I can never seem to get it flat. Are there any tips or tricks I'm missing?


If you don't have a jointer or planer, getting the initial glue up as close to level is paramount. If anything, get one side to be glued flat. Then you have the other side to address. 

A hand held belt sander could flatten out the deviations if you are experienced with using one. If not, it will make it worse. You will wind up with waves and divots. Using a handplane also depends on experience, but, I would use a handplane instead of the belt sander.












 









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## Rick Mathison (Jun 16, 2010)

Whether you are using a hand plane or belt sander the process is about the same. Here is an article.
http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/plane_panel.shtml

Rick


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## ccrow (Jan 14, 2010)

Hey NorCal.. I've been doing the ecaxt same as thing as you...making cutting boards and trying to get them level. I have pretty good with the following time consuming steps.

Get as flat as possible at glue up.

Use my hand plane to take out obvious high spots...(individual boards)

Use my belt sander with 40 grit then 80 grit, but never letting it sit still, always moving it back and forth on the board trying to touch everything exactly the same.

Use my orbital sander with 80, 120, 220 grits again moving the sander back and forth, continually moving it. I try to envision that I'm sanding two pieces of the cutting board at a time, then scott over two the next two and so on until the board is sanded.. then I do it all again. I try to make two passes with each grit.

Seems to work pretty well so far. Good Luck.


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## blackemmons (Nov 29, 2007)

I have two belt sanders and they are by far the worst tools I have. I can never achieve decent results no matter how fast I keep them moving. One is the little 2" PC. The results is a little improved but only because of the tool size.

I'm sure some folks get good results, but that ain't me.

Just my personal experience.

Go with the plane, planer, jointer or even a router box.

Jim


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## TGRANT (Jan 25, 2011)

A belt sander technique that will flatten boards goes like this. Sand 45 degrees across the grain in one direction, then sand 45 degrees across the grain in the other direction (90 degrees from the original sanding). Then sand with the grain. Progress through several grits repeating the process all the way through. It takes a while, but it works, even on large panels. You will have cross grain scratches that will take some patience to get out. Don’t use pressure - the weight of the sander is enough, and push the sander past the end with about half the base plate going over the edge. Rocking a belt sander, using it like and orbital sander and using too much pressure are common causes of problems. It’s a great machine but can ruin a project faster than almost any machine I know. You can finish up by hand or with another type of sander if you have one. 

This technique is described in the linked article above as well.


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

If I had give a clue to the learning curve it would be....start small.IOWs the larger the area to be hit with a belt sander in an effort to flatten or straighten it out,the harder its gonna be.So,start small.......grind off some dowels that were installed proud.....then maybe a through mortise.Then a pce thats equal or less than platen width on belt sander....so on and so forth.

Another "notion" is that you should start with the least intrusive method and work up.So a hand plane may be better because its limited damage,so to speak.

One more aspect is about specific grits WRT sanding.Use too fine a grit and it tends to "follow".IOWs you aren't cutting but smoothing.It follows any waves present.With experience you get just the right "cut".....and no more.Too rough a grit and you'll distort the work when trying to kill the scratches with subsequent,finer grits.Its just one of those skills that comes with lots of patience.Best,BW


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*A must see video*

To fully understand the capabilites of the belt sander you need this:





Then understand that given it's own way, and a long cord, that's what it will want to do. Pushing down on the front or rear of the platen will have different effects. The best approach I've found is let the weight of the sander determine the down pressure and just keep making soft arcs side to side and then rotate the work 90 degrees every so often. A strong wrist will ne needed to keep the platten horizontal so you don't score the surface. End up by going parallel with the grain for the final strokes and of course a finer grit belt.  bill

And finally this:


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