Abrasive Troubleshooting

Many belt sanding problems can be alleviated by observing the proper belt speeds, tensions, and feed rates as listed below.

Measurements:

Belt Speed: Surface feet per minute (SFPM)

Belt Tension: Pound per square inch (PSI)

Feed Rate: Feet per minute (FPM)

Horse Power: Per inches of belt width

Application Belt Speed Belt Tension Feed Rate Horse Power
Rough lumber sanding and planing 6000+ 70-80 30-125 3 to 5
Abrasive finish planing

3800-7500

5000(common)

65-75 45-50 1 to 3
Intermediate wide belt sanding 3000-6000

75-90 (poly/coarse grits)

55-70 (cloth)

45-55 (paper)

20-70 1 to 2
Man-made board sanding 6000-7000

75-90 (poly/coarse grits)

55-70 (cloth)

45-55 (paper)

80-200 100 to 250
Cross belt polishers 4000-8000 N/A 20-60 15 to 30

List of machinery that the table applies to:

  • AEM
  • Anthon
  • Boere
  • Bogma Bridgewood
  • Burlington
  • Butfering
  • Cemco
  • Costa
  • DMC Heesemann
  • Jet
  • Powermatic Ramco
  • Sandingmaster
  • SCMI
  • Steinemann
  • Stemac
  • Tannewitz Timesavers
  • Viet
  • Weber
Application Belt Speed Belt Tension Feed Rate Horse Power
Mold sanding

1800-4500 (most common)

3000-4500

30-40 20-50 N/A

List of machinery that the table applies to:

  • Anderson
  • Bouligny
  • Critz
  • Crouch
  • Delle
  • Diehl
  • Fletcher-Tolbert
  • Oakley
  • Taglibue
  • Timesaver

Back to Abrasive library