If you need a floor sander, you're probably about to refinish a hardwood floor. It's not an easy do-it-yourself task because the sanders are heavy and in some cases will require two people to lift. It's labor-intensive in that regard, and strength and endurance are needed to operate the sanders. But when you compare that to attempting to sand an entire hardwood floor by hand, it's easy to see why electric floor sanders are clearly the better choice.

Not only is it much more difficult to sand a floor by hand, it's much more difficult to get a good finish. Electric floor sanders are designed specifically for that job and do a very even job, while sanding by hand varies depending on the pressure and the speed with which you do it.

There are several different types of floor sanders that you might use in the course of sanding your hardwood floor. The type of floor sander that you need the most and should probably not do without is a drum sander. This is a large, heavy piece of equipment that uses a drum that's covered in sand paper. You'll typically need to buy the sanding paper at the place where you rent or purchase the equipment because it's a special type of sand paper.

A drum floor sander works fast and can remove a lot of wood. You'll need to be very careful when you're using a drum sander because not only will it smooth the floor and remove things like stain or paint, it can also make your floor thinner if you overuse it. Used incorrectly, this floor sander can actually scar your floor.

Some people opt to use an orbital floor sander instead of a drum sander. An orbital sander is easier to control and is less likely to damage your floor. But it also takes longer to use, so companies who do this often choose a drum sander because they can get through more floors, more quickly.

A vibrating floor sander has a dust bag like a drum sander to catch the sanding dust, but it works more slowly and is used for finishing off the surface after the drum sander. It takes less physical strength to operate, as well. Some people use an orbital sander at this step rather than a vibrating one.

Then an edge floor sander is used to finish off the edges where the other sanders can't quite reach. This is a handheld sander that is actually orbital with its own small dust bag. It's is a good piece of equipment to use if you just have a very small area with a scratch that you want to sand away rather than redoing entire floor because it's small and easy to control. And it is also necessary when you're doing your entire floor to make sure that the edges look the same as the rest. The only exception would be if you use a slower square sander instead of a drum sander because it reaches the edges as it goes.

Photo Credits: Qole Pejorian

Originally posted 2010-04-10 03:47:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Flooring, Handy Man, Project, Tools, Wood Floors

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drum floor sander, drum sander, dust bag, floor sanders, hardwood floor, orbital floor sander, orbital sander, sand paper, sanding paper