FLSO Handheld Belt Sander
A belt sander is a hand-held device used in shaping and finishing wood and other materials. It consists of an electric motor that turns a pair of drums on which a continuous loop of sand paper is mounted. A hand-held Belt Sander is started with a trigger switch in it’s handle, and then, placed down on a surface or against an edge, and moved over the material to be shaped or smoothed.
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1. Place the sander on its left side. Fig.1
2. Pull the lever (A) out toward the rear of the tool to retract the idler pulley and release tension on the abrasive belt.
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5. Engage the front pulley by pushing the lever (A) back to its original position.
To Start and Stop the Belt Sander (See Fig.2)
1. Make sure that the switch is “OFF” and the power circuit voltage is the same as the voltage shown on the specification plate. Connect the tool to the power circuit.
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2. Squeeze the trigger (A) Fig. 2to start the motor. Release the trigger to stop the motor.
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3. To allow the motor to run without constantly holding the trigger, press the trigger switch (A), push the lock button (B) Fig. 2, and release the trigger switch.
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VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL (Models 360VS and 362VS Only) Models 360VS and 362VS have Variable Speed Control. The operating speed is adjustable between 1000 SFM (surface feet per minute) and 1500 SFM. Adjust the speed by turning the thumbwheel (C) Fig. 2. Thumbwheel position #1 provides the slowest operating speed (1000 SFM) while position #6 provides the fastest operating speed (1500 SFM). The speed can be changed with the motor running or not running. A C B
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1. Turn the tool over, rest the tool on its front handle, and grasp the rear handle with your left hand. Rest your ring finger and little finger on the trigger (Fig. 3).
2. Start the motor by squeezing the trigger.
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3. Turn the belt aligning screw (A) Fig. 3 in either direction until the edge of the belt is even with the outer edge of the rear rubber covered pulley. The edge of the belt will extend beyond the edge of the front pulley.
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Depress the dust bag spring clips (A) Fig. 4, and place the dust bag spring (A) between the ridges on the spout (B). For most efficient operation, empty the dust bag when it is half full. To remove, squeeze the dust bag spring clips (A) and pull the bag straight up. Unzip the rear of the bag and shake out the dust. Every so often, turn the bag inside out and brush the accumulated dust from the inside.
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To smooth a rough surface quickly, use a coarse grit abrasive belt. With the belt positioned diagonally across the grain, move the tool in the direction of the grain (Fig. 5). Overlap the strokes and cover the entire surface, working from both sides of the board (angle left and then angle right.) Smooth the surface by guiding the sander back and forth with the grain. Change the belt to medium grit and follow the same procedure. Finish by thoroughly working the grain lengthwise. Change again to a fine grit and repeat. Always finish sanding with the grain.
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Getting to know the sander is most important in obtaining smooth results with a minimum of labor. Operators will quickly learn how to start a stroke with a sweeping motion to produce the best results. Use a long even stroke without additional pressure on the tool. Overlap each stroke and vary the length of movement so the results will be even. Always lift the tool from the work before starting and stopping the motor.
BE CAREFUL when sanding at the end of a board. Keep the tool level and flat on the work surface. Don’t let the front of the tool drop. (Fig. 6). If this happens, it will round the edge.
The sander will work very fast and can do a thorough job in a fraction of the time required by hand sanding. Do not rush the job. Give every surface a thorough sanding with each grade of abrasive before changing to finer grits. Always use the abrasive material and grit size recommended for the particular job.
The Belt Sander in the SOA is typically used for general shaping and rapid removal of un-even surfaces. Then, other sanding tools are used for finer finishes.
Clean-up
When you are finished working with a Belt Sander, clean the area before leaving the workstation. There are 4 Trash barrels in this room, and each one has a broom, bench brush and dust pan attached. You must use these items to clean up your work areas at each machine, when you are finished working there. Also, there are scrap barrels at each workstation to deposit scraps of material, which may be useful for someone else. Please do not put materials with stray hardware or glue on them, or food/drink items, only re-useable materials.