How To Use A Belt or Drum Floor Sander (demonstration and theory) 

Good stuff, at some point in one of your videos you say “I’m not a good presenter, I’m not a good speaker” but I find you very understandable and relatable. I think you teach very well.

The airplane landing comment is what I came for. Thank you. None of the other videos really mention this. I was leaving the drum down through my back and forth motions and couldn't understand why I was creating gouges even though I wasn't stopping. But that split second of changing directions is all it takes to create a gouge.

This is an excellent video that covers some of the often missed points of using either a drum or belt sander. The key points presented by this professional, will prove to be a valuable asset in refinishing your hardwood floors. Note: The herringbone pattern flooring used in this video, is an example of top quality wood flooring available. It's of upmost importance to take the advice of this professional when he recommends changing directions throughout progressive sanding steps. We've been involved in this trade for over 30 years, and what he says is correct. This is especially true when it comes to controlling the drum as you approach a wall or other obstacle. Thank you for posting an informative and professional video. Kudos!!

see i really like this approach to the videos. its lots of honesty. not ashamed of asking questions. "are we done?" "can we add something?". intelligent and straight forward. more videos should be like this.

thank you so much for providing your videos! I purchased a very old house, trying to make the most of it for my children and myself. I've been putting work into daily, remodeling, painting, drywalling, woodwork, and my latest task has been to refinish all of the very old, stained, water damaged hardwood floors. they are looking so much better now and I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help. So far I've sanded and refinished a staircase, a hallway and one of the bedrooms. I appreciate all you have shared, and have subscribed. thanks so much!!

Great video! I was at work yesterday (painter) and the floor guy was starting to do a refin on the hardwood flooring. I was fortunate enough to bear witness to the particular splendor that is the Lagler Hummel in action! Very impressive!

You give a lot of value in your videos. I have had many people ask about redoing their hardwood floors and most being diy’ers they think it should be an easy task. I have told them if you want it done correctly you need to either pay for a professional or watch many pro videos on the subject. It is one task that people underestimate what it takes to do it correctly. I’ve learned a ton from you already. Thanks! Subbed to you as well.

I'm here to learn all I can about how to sand and refinish my own floors to save money. I appreciate the tips from your video.

Very well explained, and helpful. The airplane comparison is about the best analogy to tell anyone how to use the machine properly. Thanks, clearly the best video I have watched yet.

Thanks mate. About to do my restaurant floor and this has been a huge help. Great job 👍

Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience and know-how with us!! Excellent content and commentary on video, including your replies in text. Truly nice work. Many thanks.

Great demonstration. Im sanding my 1937 pine floor and its not flat at all. I only sanded forward. Its the first time ever sanding a floor though. But tomorrow I will try diagonally and forwards then backwards. Thanks to your videos. Wish me luck

Thanks for your demo, that cleared up a lot!! We have rentals and the tenant professionally steamed our floors and ruined the finish!! My wife rented the vibrating sander for a bruce 10 year hardwood finish and she spent 20 hours sanding and it is still not complete!! We found out that those pre-finish floors use Aluminum Oxide and it makes it near impossible to sand with the vibrating type sanders. Today I am renting the drum sander to finish the job. She wouldn't touch the drum the sander because of fear that she will destroy the wood. Thanks again!!

i have looked through all your clips ,, i would like to say thank you for your knowledge and top tips,, many thanks ...

My brother lightly sanded our floorboards which run diagonally and used a stain blocker to cover up any mistakes etc. unfortunately the grey stain color we selected turned into a dark brown color instead and me being a novice decide to resand the floors. I watched a few tutorial videos to understand the basics and hired a floor sander from bunnings but it didn't have a lever to lift and lower the sanding belt so you had to tilt and lower it manually. I started with 80 grit sand paper and proceeded to duplicate the amazing results I had seen on you tube videos only to discover my lack of experience and movement of the floor sander caused groves, stop and start marks, scorching, and noticeable scratches in the floor I was sanding but I was sanding diagonally lol. I stopped and have been watching your how to use a belt or drum sander video to get a better understand so I can learn and practice your techniques to correct my mistakes. Thank you for the videos.

Thank you - very helpful information!

Good information, thanks for posting this video.

Very helpful video. Great job, Ben!

thanks for the tricks and tips to operate drum floor sander. first time user and now i will start my DIY project.

Worked like a charm, sir!

Nice to see a professional using a proper floor machine. So many of these so called experts start trying to impress one with their expertise in sanding a floor and they start by using a mickey mouse rental drum floor sander. Sort of using a screw driver for a wood chisel and trying to convince you that they are a craftsman.. Great tutorial from a professional. Yes I have been refinishing floors for over 55 years and I know quality when I see it.!!!

Thank for your help.

This guy is good instructor 👍

Very helpful, thank you so much!

Please do more vids!! Thanks for the uploads also thus far. You really are teaching me great tips to save time and most of all the floor!!! Cheers

on a floor that is slighly cupping would it be better to use 34 grit sandpaper or 60?

great video!

When changing direction, do you go to 90 degrees? When changing direction, is that the time to change to a less aggressive grit, or do you use the same grit for both directions?

top tips. Thanks

heavy, well built !

I could learn a lot, thank you

I spoke to the late Eugene Lagler back in 1988 about his machine (Hummel) .He was a good machinist but had no idea about how to sand a floor . The Hummel has some inherent problems but it is a popular machine and quality in sanding is not a skill that is desired nowadays as there are a plethora of buffers , flat plates & planetary sanders that make up for this deficiency. My father was a floorsander from 1950's and always said understanding is the key to genius.I am know 52 into my 35th year of floorsanding and it really is a skill that is dying.

Parabens meu amigo

Great Video I am doing a pine floor with heavy traffic including a dog,the floor has gaps between the planks,what filler would you use and what finish and how many coats,I want a high shine finish Lynne

good video mate

A lot of what your saying and demonstrating is good!

Awsome. Getting ready to sand and stain and finish in a few weeks.

how would you take a water stain out of a hard wood floor? What would you use, a hand sander on the spots?

can you show us how to change the drum on this machine...

Do you resist the pull of the machine/ slow it down from its "natural" speed along the floor? Also can you cut the room in half at the middle?

short and sweet thanks

Great video. Do you have too change direction on every grit or just when you move up to the next grit?

I really enjoy your videos. Just have a question. Close to end of video you said to change directions to not get same patterns. Did you mean change from right to left?

If you have an old hardwood floor that was made back in the 1920s what grit paper should you use on that floor when you first start

Thanks Guys!!

When do you change the sand paper? Is there a easy way to tell whet it is time to replace with a new one?

Hi Ben. Top video. Have you ever heard of the virtues of using kerosene throughout the sanding process?

Hello from across the pond. Enjoyed your video/explanation/info...is that Hummel 7 horse power?

Make sure floor is clean and check and clean wheels often. also better to sand the same line twice than sand it slowly once. you avoid putting ripples in the floor. also empty bag when its 2/3s full so you dont blow dust everywhere and if you happen to rent a hummel floor should turn out ok. drum sanders are quite aggressive . extra care taken with them.

What a bloody Marvell this guy is

How are you lifting your drum sander is it by mechanical switch or just muscle , or pressing downward on the handle.

what do you mean by "change direction"?

Hi Ben, loving your videos, they have really help me gain some confidence in doing my own Jarrah hard wood floors. Quick question... I had to lift some sticky vinyl tiles up and they have left sticky black glue on the wood. Is there a way to get that off before sanding? Would really appreciate your advice. Cheers

What do you mean when you say to change directions... isn't it necessary to sand with the grain of the wood with a drum or belt sander?

Hi I have 4 areas to sand and they all lead into one another is best to sand all the areas first then then polish or would it better to do one room / area at a time you thoughts please... And what hire shop would you recommend to get all the equipment from especially the finishing in Sander Regards Peter

can you hire these Lagler machines for DIY? if yes where if no what is the best brand to hire

awesome !

Great video! I'm about to refinish wide-plank pine floors that have had area rugs. The floor surface under the rugs is one color, while the exposed flooring is much darker. I've been told this is due to dirt and traffic. Any suggestions on grit sequence and what I should use as surface treatment (i.e. stain, sealer, poly...). Cheers!

Hi there great videos, and thanks for sharing, I've just laid 210 square meters of new wood flooring in my house in France, the wood was direct from.a.saw Mill, I have brought a ex rental drum sander from home in the UK, can you advise what sealant your using for filling the gaps between the boards, and what grade of grits would you advice to use on this new timber. Looking forward to your help. And keep up the great videos thank you

the main difference between belt and drum is quite simply that you're able to take on and off the sandpaper without needing to "release", the drum while in operation has little slits cut into the wheel that expands and secures it onto the drum so there is less slipping - there will be slipping, there will never be as good a tensioner with either of these like your tensioner pulley on your car. Other than that little bit the same principle applies, different models have different ways of operation and as you have the internet you can look up the operator's manual for information that you wouldn't get from your rental company.

Thanks Ben

I've been looking for a belt sander like that but all I can find are drum sander. Who makes the belt sander like that... Please and thanks.

Hi, what is the best way to fill the gaps? Is there a filler or something like the spongy gap filler? And with each do you sand first or second?

Wat is die koste naastenby per vierkante meter, Hang maar seker af van die toestand, waar kan mens n kursus gaan doen om regte praktyke aan te leer, dankie

Great video! Quick question? Have you ever tried sanding belts/discs from Maverick Abrasives? I recently switched over to them from Norton & the belts have been performing significantly better...and their pricing was 20% better, believe it or not

Any good tips for not getting dig marks?

Can you use a 24 grit paper right after 16?

very good! It would be good to see a video on all the types of Sanders and which to used for which floors etc:) If you haven't already done so:)

What machine are u using and what grut sand paper

hi .... I have used the diagonal method to eliminate the ripple effect in floors when varnished... also tried square buff sander and the trio buffer on different grits.... aswell as cleaning the wheels to allow smooth sanding as possible .... do you have any other tips

saw a dude use this like a mop back and forth back and forth never lifting, floor had tiger stripes in the end and on the edges lots of dig marks

Ben, do you have any suggestions dealing with shellac? It keeps gumming up my sander and holding up my refinishing. I'm getting maybe 3 square feet of sanding per abrasive before it's worthless. I've tried denatured alcohol, but that mostly just turns the shellac into a sticky mess and requires me to use up a lot of cloths instead. I've tried using steel wool and denatured alcohol, but it gums up the steel wool after just a few passes.

I am adding more hardwood floor to an already existing hardwood floor. Would you be open to a few questions?

I am somewhat bewildered by the " change direction comment. I just got finished repairing someone's floor that this Client had himself butchered by going across grain. It was painfully hard to remove. I somehow get it with that multi direction herring bone pattern should be ok because I have done them , but on typical installed floor I would not . Did I miss something here ? Thank you.

how do i know what grit to use?

How were you lifting it up before getting to the edge? Couldn't tell

Great videos. I am currently looking at sanding a basket weave parquet floor in my house that I've just moved into. I'm a complete novice but am fairly quick to learn and confident that I could give this a go... One thing I have noticed though is that most of the tool rental places I've been looking at seem to only do drum sanders and not belt sanders; is this a problem, or can the same results be achieved? Also, do you always start at 45 degrees to the grain? Surely if you start at 0 or 90 degrees it'll take big lumps out of it? Oh oh... Do you ever have any problems with basket weave parquet strips coming up/loose or anything as you go over them? Sorry for bombarding you with questions.

Can you sand out water/pet stains out of the wood? I have been over a couple of spots with a drum sander and they are not nearly as light as the surrounding wood. And if I can 't sand them out do I have to use a darker stain to blend in these spots with the rest of the wood floor? I think the space needs a lighter stain like golden oak to brighten it up but I don't think that will work on dark spots on the floor.

Can you explain what you mean by changing direction? I did not see you do that in this video, unless you mean backwards and forwards.

Nice video. How far does the average sheet of paper go?

What abrasive belt manufacturer do you use? VSM?

I bought a rather cheap and soft Malaysian wood floor from floors to go but they do not sell it anymore. I know that this one, as well as many others, has Aluminium in its surface finish. I remembered learning about it 8 years ago or so when I laid the floor because I wished to seal it with Traffex (I think that is a Swedish sealant like Silicon that keeps it shinny and durable) and you should not use that stuff if it is finished with aluminium particles (not sure why). Anyway, I wanted to sand it but unsure whether such a floor could be sanded. it is cheap, but I like it. It has marks that look black from sofas like it has lost its original finish in places. Do you think I could go to Bradfords builders merchants hire, and sand it all by hiring a sander. It is not like a floor of a home but it is 15 mm or so thick. It is not like a 40 quid per m2 engineered or real floor or anything like this.

I'm going to be doing some floors with heavy pet-urine damage. How much is too much to take it down? Are there chemicals I need to apply before the staining to kill the bacteria?

`WTF :P i was like who is this hairy guy !! you are on here for so long ?? dude you must grow :P

I am looking for a heavy duty sander to buy

How much is that machine?

With that machine, do NOT hesitate for even 0.5 second. You will immediately sand own 1/4 to 1/8 inch floor.

Good

Which do you prefer drum or belt?

A belt sander doesn’t leave chatter marks only a drum sander will and is caused by the jaws on the sander. Also remind people to run sander on a board/ board and a half angle then run your last paper or papers straight to cut out cross marks.

What about floor boards?

If you don't have access to a machine like that, will a hand held belt sander be usable? Be more work obviously.

You say we can go backward with the sanding machine, but I’m using an Ez-8 and the location place person told me to NEVER use it backward. Plus, EZ-8 Official youtube channel also says to never go backward

You should do a video on the real shite old wooden floors that have ridiculous gaps - aka my house :)

The best flooring machine in the market Like Porsche among dump trucks REGARDS Ziggy Canada the floor guy

Bu-i-ful!

the hire shop had alot of different grits, which should i be using?

When you say "change direction to eliminate chatter marks"; do you mean change direction at a 90 deg angle-- or change at 20-30 deg angles and keep changing at that rate? Please, tell...I am a complete novice, going 'live' on a floor. I don't have a mock up hardwood floor sample. Any tutorials on making mock-up floor sample to practice sanding would be most helpful.

slowly lifting the drum is called feathering.

Go with the angle of the wood block,leaves a better finish