How to Use a Drum Floor Sander

Whether you are working with a newly laid hardwood floor or an old floor with a worn and dingy finish, you need to use a drum sander to prepare the floor for wood stain and varnish. A drum sander is a large version of a belt sander, which you guide across the floor to take off the top layers of wood. You can usually rent drum sanders at your local hardware store, which can also provide the progressively finer levels of sandpaper necessary for the job. This job is messy and dusty job. Seal off the rest of the house before you start.

Things You'll Need

• Hammer
• Counterpunch
• Drum floor sander
• Sanding belts in progressively finer grit levels (36, 60, 100 and 120)
• Vacuum cleaner with floor attachment

Instructions

1. Go over the floor with your hammer and counterpunch, knocking down all raised nail heads.

2. Set up your sander with the roughest grit level of sandpaper (36 grit). Turn it on. Run the sander across the floor in courses in a diagonal direction to the floorboards, grinding off the top layer of the flooring and dulling any sharp corners between the planks. Don’t let the sander stand in one place while it’s running. Sand the whole floor.

3. Use a vacuum cleaner with floor attachment to take up the dust.

4. Re-load the drum sander with the next-roughest grade of paper (60 grit). Repeat the sanding process, this time going in the opposite diagonal direction as before, taking up the last of the top layer of the wood and dulling any remaining sharp corners on the planks. Vacuum the dust.

5. Load the drum sander with the next grade of sandpaper (100 grit). Run it with the direction of the floorboards to smooth out the surface.

6. Vacuum the dust. Re-load with the finest level of sandpaper (120 grit). Run the sander in the direction of the floorboards. Vacuum the dust thoroughly before refinishing.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear a dust mask when sanding the floor.

References

• PracticalDIY.com: Sanding a Floor.