"Gramp's shop" wrote:

My glue-up of the coffee table top was a tad awry and I took the
piece to the local guy I use for cleaning up my mistakes on his 42"
wide sander, only to learn that he never lets his machine touch
reclaimed wood. Surprise!

I understand where he's coming from. I wouldn't want to risk a big
buck machine on a $10 job either.

So now I'm doing my own cleanup with my 3x21 belt sander. It's
gonna be a long night. I've gotta learn how to surface a panel with
a hand plane.

--------------------------------------------------
From the boat builder, consider a long board for fairing a flat
surface.

Use a piece of 1/2"-3/4" plywood, 4" wide and 36"-48" long.

Mount a handle on each end and use rubber cement to glue 24-36 grit
paper
to the ply.

Sand on the 45 degree bias, first "+" then "-".

Use a 3/4" aluminum angle as a fairing batten. The knife edge of the
aluminum
angle will leave black lines on all the high spots so you can use the
long board
to knock them down.

Those damn belt sanders are a disaster waiting to happen IMHO.

Have fun.

Lew