Official Luthiers Forum!

You are correct about the angled edge running parallel to the drum edge- then roll counter-clockwise. You're good to go!

_________________
Dean

Don't run it clockwise! You will rip the paper right off the machine. Remember, they have sadists that write those instructions, Someone out there is laughing at the thought of your sanding paper and wood flying about .

_________________
Dean

I can relate!

Filippo here is what I do. As mentioned the angled edge goes against the left side of the drum. I can't say if it is clockwise or counter clockwise because it's a question of perspective. Sitting in front of the machine and starting at the left edge roll the paper onto the drum downward while turning the drum by hand pushing the top of the drum away from you. Of course the machine is not plugged in either.

With each wrap leave about 1/8" or less of space between the wraps wrapping it tightly and taking out any slack as you go. When you get to the 2 way spring loaded clip it's a juggling act but with a little practice you can get the end of the roll into the clip with the clip held completely forward so as to have maximum spring travel when you release it. The take-up clip/spring then, in conjunction with the turning of the machine when it's on and the spaces that you left between the wraps can tighten up the belt the rest of the way.

Good luck.

I like my Jet (Performax) 16/32 a bunch, but, do any of you have trouble getting your fingers in to work the spring clamp on the inboard (motor) side when you are trying to tighten up the slack in the belt? The slack in the belt always accumulates at the motor end, but I always give up trying to tighten it there and end up working the slack back around to the outboard end, and work the clamp there. Frustrating. There is some trick that my finger muscles just haven't picked up yet.

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Jim my friend Performax makes a key/tool just for this purpose because it is hard to get one's fingers into the clamp and tensioned properly. Something that I do sometimes that helps is cut about 1/2" off the end of the roll at the motor side. This means that we have less excess roll to try to cram into the clamp and it seems to make it easier.

Counter clockwise. If you were standing facing the outboard end of the drum. the rotation of the drum as you install the paer would appear to be a counter clockwise rotation. Standing at the infeed end the drum is rotating uppward when installing the paper. The paper is install from left (outboard) to right (inboard) but the drum is rotating around its shaft in a counter clockwise rotation.

If you hold your hand clenched and the thumb on top, the tool should sit in your right hand so that it points away from you and the bottom of the L is on the down side of your hand. The little bent piece of the handle is next to you thumb. Once you get it into the clip you can hook it over the drum to hold the spring open while you futz with the paper. The spring is just being held open in this position. You need to hold the paper in place with your left hand and pull back on the spring to get the paper seated as far in as you can get it. Hesh made a great suggestion of clipping off a bit of the paper. Things get crowded in there and it can be difficult to get the tool back into the clip once the paper is loaded. Be careful of torquing things around. You can pop the clip and/or get the tool hung up past the second bend on the bottom. Mine has a few gouge marks from trying to get if off after hanging it up. It was a lesson in patience. Not one I enjoyed.

_________________
Aoibeann

I quit using the dang thing long ago I just put my finger in there and pull the latch towards me and stick the paper in. sometimes it goes easy some times it is a pain in the tush. But for me it was always a pain in the tush when I tried to use the tool.

I have both the 16-32 and a 10-20. On my 10-20 I have converted to hook and loop. I am still testing my results to confirm that I am consistent enough with hook and loop to be happy with it but so far all looks well. I do have to take smaller cuts to creep up on a tight tolerance thickness due to the cushioning affect of hook and loop. But like that is a big deal compared to the aggravation of having the wrap slip as I install the ends.

If you are using Performax or Jet pre cut to wrap paper then I doubt it is cut wrong but it is possible. It would be easy to tell as you hold out board end of the paper at the drum and align the cut edge parallel to the outboard edge of the drum, then as you unroll and wrap the paper the paper should feed at a taper towards the inboard side.

Oh, yeah, that thing! I think I agree with Michael.

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Fillipo that is backwards. The angle cut is wrong and the excess paper as you roll should be in front at your feet not in the back of the machine.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Actually, why backwards? The paper has to pull at one end and push at the other. The way we usually roll it, the slack collects on the motor end. The way Filippo is rolling it, it would collect at the outboard end, which would be easier to adjust as far as I can see. I don't see any reason it wouldn't work both ways.

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Think of it this way: If one is trying to match the non-angled edge of the paper with the edge of the drum you can only roll the paper on itself not unlike a roll of toilet paper.... Now if you match up the angled edge of the paper with the edge of the drum it will unroll across the drum which is the goal.

It looks to me that Uncle Bob is right and the paper is indeed cut incorrectly. Now as to what Jim said, it can be rolled the other way I don't know if the rotation and direction of the drum will work or not the other way. Not saying it won't, just don't know and this is not the machine that I have so it may work.

Anyway here are some pics that I took to show you what it looks like here on my machine. As you can see the angled cut of the paper is on the right side when unrolling the paper downward which is how I install my papers again pushing the top of the drum away from me.

You can also see that although I leave a 1/8" gap between the winds when installing paper once the sander is turned on and the double spring loaded arm/clip engages the slack is pulled out and the gap between the winds closes as the paper is snugged to the drum. This snugging can't happen unless you leave the gap at paper installation.

Uncle Bob and Hesh are right. The paper is cut wrong and fed from the wrong side. The slack will accumulate on the outboard end of the drum, but the spring at that location will not continuously tension the paper.

Filippo did you cut your own paper out of a larger roll? I do this to save some coin, and the first time I did it I cut it just like yours, tracing the old paper on the back of the new paper - then I realized that when I trace it, both papers have to be lying face-down (abrasive side down).

_________________
The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Maybe just bolt the machine to the ceiling and try it that way?

I got that tool hung up in my sander and didn't think I was ever going to get it out. Never used it again.

_________________
"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Okay you guys won't believe this. I have about four boxes of paper from Jet - from 60 to 200 grit or so. The 100 grit box has the paper cut backwards! Check it out. Does anyone else have 100 grit jet paper? I don't understand how a machine that does this cuts backwards?!

Filippo

Note in the photo how one set of paper turns in one direction, and the other turns opposite. One set is the 100 grit stuff, the other set is representative of all the other papers.