old butcher table. belt sander?

[vash]

i have an old OLD table. from my family's grocery store. kept it because i remember it from my early childhood.

thinking of putting it to use, but i need to fix the top. it has just been bouncing from my garage to garage..getting nasty.

i have not rebuilt brake calipers on it, but...you know.

belt sander? i email a company that does big gigantic planing work. i borrowed a belt sander, but staring at 1800 square inches, with that tiny sander is a bit intimidating. 30x60"

i want it perfectly flat to use as it was intended. no meat, but it will be a bread table and such.

i have a good friend that makes cutting boards and he said he would use a belt sander. i imagine a belt sander in his hands and a belt sander in my hands are completely different scenarios.

[ossiblue]

Is the surface deeply gouged or just dirty/stained with some nicks and cuts? Being such a large surface, if you can remove the legs an lay the top on the floor, you may consider renting a floor sander used to refinish hardwood floors.

[look 171]

Find a woodshop or mill shop that has a wide belt or drum sander. They usually take jobs like yours and run it their their machine to get it dead flat. Normally charge down here is about 80 bucks. Mske sure there are no nails and such or oil because they can damage their sanding belt. Look for belt sanding service. Forget the belt sander or using jigs and router. Its just not worth the time IMO.

[rwest]

Vash,

Check around at a few cabinet shops. The one down the road from me has a wide belt sander and charges $30 for a half hour of work. Your top would be perfectly flat and beautiful.

Rutager

[rwest]

Originally Posted by look 171

Find a woodshop or mill shop that has a wide belt or drum sander. They usually take jobs like yours and run it their their machine to get it dead flat. Normally charge down here is about 80 bucks. Mske sure there are no nails and such or oil because they can damage their sanding belt. Look for belt sanding service. Forget the belt sander or using jigs and router. Its just not worth the time IMO.

Great minds think alike, lazy ones too!

[look 171]

Call MacBeath Hardwood. The one down here did little bit of stuff like that. I know there's one in SF.

Not worth messing around with hand held power tools. Need to bring it to the pros and run it through their machinery.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by rwest

Great minds think alike, lazy ones too!

LAZY??? Thank you very much.

[rusnak]

Home Depot rents out floor sanders. I was looking at them when I rented the bucket lift.

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by look 171

Find a woodshop or mill shop that has a wide belt or drum sander. They usually take jobs like yours and run it their their machine to get it dead flat. Normally charge down here is about 80 bucks. Mske sure there are no nails and such or oil because they can damage their sanding belt. Look for belt sanding service. Forget the belt sander or using jigs and router. Its just not worth the time IMO.

This.

It's not lazy, it's the right tool & expertise for the job you're looking for.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Icemaster

This.

It's not lazy, it's the right tool & expertise for the job you're looking for.

Its stupid cheap too

[rwest]

Originally Posted by look 171

LAZY??? Thank you very much.

In this particular case, lazy is probably cheaper and the results much better, got to love lazy!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by rwest

In this particular case, lazy is probably cheaper and the results much better, got to love lazy!

seriously man, I agree 100%

[MRM]

Smarter is not lazy. It's smarter. Do it the easier (smarter) way to get the job done.

[vash]

Thanks guys. Emailed a local mill. I had no idea there was a mill here. I'll follow up with a phone call.

It's pretty beaten down but should be nail free. No oils.




Sent via Jedi mind trick.

[stomachmonkey]

One of my best traits is laziness.

Makes me highly efficient.

[devodave]

Enough of this laziness! Find someone with a hand jointer plane and flatten it by hand. It will be a great workout, quiet, and reasonably dust free. Couple of winding sticks to make sure you are proceeding correctly, and you're home free!

[manbridge 74]

You had me at OLD. Get thee to the mill on time...

[herr_oberst]

Looks like a Boos table?

After they take down the top, consider having them knock down the edge with a 1/2 inch roundover bit.

[Reg]

Originally Posted by devodave

Enough of this laziness! Find someone with a hand jointer plane and flatten it by hand. It will be a great workout, quiet, and reasonably dust free. Couple of winding sticks to make sure you are proceeding correctly, and you're home free!

^^^this

In our shop we do not usually sand used old tops because they're typically dirty, not flat and too time consuming to make look good. Seeing what can be done by skilled hands with the right hand tools is impressive!!

[Danimal16]

When I was doing cabinets I would go to the mill after they had completed a big job. The mill would run my glue ups on the used sander belts and charge me about 50 bucks for a half hour run.