Indian Rosewood Sanding issue

[limehills]

Aright so I'm having trouble thickening Indian rosewood, the resins in the timber keep on gumming up the sandpaper on my drum sander and burning the wood. Is there a solution for this?

[Joseph Jones]

Never used indian r/w, but this works for me when certain timber keeps burning...

I set the feed belt to top speed and run it thru taking off the smallest amount you can. I often run it thru 4-5 times before changing the height again.

Hope that helps you somehow,

Joseph

[RodC]

Others more knowledgeable than me may have more/better advice.

With that caveat, I tend to take very light passes (1/8 of a turn on the machine in our shop) and clean the paper between passes).
I also run pieces through twice at the same setting if I think it the paper is struggling and allow 20 to 30 seconds to let the wood cool if it is getting warm.

[WJ Guitars]

As mentioned, I would recommend more passes at a thinner rate and more regularly cleaning of the drum sand paper with an 'Abrasive Belt And Disc Cleaning Stick'. I get my cleaning sticks from 'Carbatec'.

Wayne
https://wjguitars.wixsite.com/mysite-1

[Allen]

Set the timber 30 to 45 degrees across the grain for the bulk of sanding. Take light passes and only go with the grain at the last pass or two.

This is good practice for any timber that wants to burn or clog either on the timber or your sanding belts.

[limehills]

sweet I'll try running it through on an angle, Hopefully that works, And yes I've been cleaning the sandpaper regularly and only just be taking stock off, glad doing something right

[kiwigeo]

What everyone else has said. Also check your vacuum unit is working at full efficiency getting rid of the dust off your drum.

[Fisherman]

Haven't tried the old angling the wood trick, but that sounds like great advice.

I've had the clogging problem with one set of Indian before, for whatever reason, but the sander has been fine with all other sets. I ended up handplaning it to thickness and just running it through for the last pass. It doesn't take that long..... Just check the thickness regularly and chalk mark up bits to avoid planing too far. It made for a very nice guitar, so my sample of one says it's worth persisting!

One other thing to look out for is any wax sealant on the endgrain. That should be removed as it gums up belts very quickly.

[J.F. Custom]

In addition to everything already mentioned;

• Yes, adequate dust extraction is a must on wide drum sanders.

• Cleaning the belt every pass may be required on some timber as resin content varies greatly, even within the same species.

• Finally, what grit are you attempting to use? The finer the grit, the more prone to gumming up and burning. You could try a coarser grit, but of course, that will leave deeper scratches so keep that in mind when aiming for a specific thickness.

Some sets are just better off hand planed! As an aside, you can 'resurrect' gummed paper somewhat too. Soak it overnight in a bucket of water (some use a little detergent or other additives), then lay it out flat weighted down the following day and hit it with a pressure washer. Hang to fully dry and you're back in action. The paper won't be the same as new, but it can be used again without burning your piece... until it gums up again

Good luck.

[TallDad71]

Are you using the sander to thickness or finish. If you’re taking of 1mm+ then course grain (80 or less), run at an angle 30° both ways, for all woods not just oily ones.

Rosewood and cocobolo are particularly difficult to thickness come what may. Be careful with the drum sander that you don’t get resin oil lines on it, if you do remove the belt and scratch the resin off with a knife.

[lamanoditrento]

All good advice above. Only thing I would add is, how old is your paper? Does it need a change? Sometimes dull paper is your problem rather than the wood.

[kiwigeo]

After a session of sanding rosewood or any other dark coloured wood be careful if you're sanding spruce or any other light covered wood. I generally reload the drum of I'm going from dark to light coloured wood