Had a go at the wide belt sander this afternoon. It was not obvious that the dust collector was working, and I ended up covered in fine dust. When I started the machine, several cakes of dust fell out, the cabinet dropped dust when I tapped it, and there was a fine plume coming out the back of the machine while I was sanding.
Is the plume normal? And what is the official cleanup procedure? I did not see an obvious opening to clean out the cabinet and did not want to poke around without instructions first.
I’m interested to hear the answer on this as well. This machine is great to have and I want to make sure I’m doing the right clean up procedure as well.
I can’t speak to the plume aspect, though that does seem unusual. I do see the horizontal belt heavily loaded. And it does dump piles / cakes of sawdust on the floor. I also see that many people just walk away from that. Cleaning up the floor in front and behind is a bare minimum. Vacuuming the belt itself is a recommended, though it takes a little bit of time.
I don’t have an issue if you open the cabinet. It’s a bear to open. Plus, the vacuum can only reach the first 10-12 inches, leaving most of the dust still in there. But I don’t think it needs to be “required” to open the cabinet.
The amount of material being removed and speed of the piece moving through the sander will impact how much sawdust will be left behind. I’m pretty sure we have at least the minimum CFM recommended but more is better with that machine.