American Sanders EZ-8 Floor Sander

• 8″ (20cm) wide sanding path
• Externally adjusted leveling control
• Powerful 1½ HP motor rotates the drum at 1800rpm
• Mechanical relay with momentary start switch
• Handle assembly is removed in seconds for easy transport or storage
• Paper changes are simple with the easy access drum door and expander style drum
• Professional style drum lowering lever allows for excellent control
• Vacuum-ready dust pipe accepts 1½ or 2″ vacuum hose as well as patented quick-release dust bag
• Toggle style on/off switch has a safety drop-out feature
• 2 cubic foot (56.6 litre) dust bag capacity
• Full range of 8 x 19″ sanding belts available from 16 to 120 grit

Are your customers renting a drum sander for refinishing hardwood floors or redoing decks?…perhaps both? Since 1984, Deltaquip has provided Rental Drum Sanders for more than just these applications. Keep in mind, we’ve specialized in hardwood floor refinishing products since our inception in 1973. Visit our Hardwood Floor Refinishing pages and you’ll see just what we’re talking about. The slide on belt system of the 1990’s revolutionized the rental sander industry and has become the standard. With virtually seamless paper, smoother sanding equates to little, if any, chatter. With an expandable sander drum, centrifugal force causes the rubber segments to push against the inside of the sanding belt for a firm grip. The EZ-8 is a very well engineered sander, with the added feature of enabling the drum to be raised or lowered from the floor with a lever next to the handle (which is required at the beginning and end of every pass one makes as they’re sanding a floor). This allows the operator to better control the drum’s ‘attack’ on the floor, without coming down too hard or fast.

But what about deck sanding? Decks can be a bit of a challenge for drum sanding machines, as the boards are spaced, which makes it even tougher to end up with a nice smooth result. For these reasons, users will often use oscillating sanders such as the American Sanders OBS18 in conjunction with the drum sanders. 

What’s the difference between waves and chatter marks? Both run perpendicular to the direction you’re moving the machine. If they’re caused by sanding, waves will space themselves about every 6 to 8 inches. This is usually a result from flat spots on the sander’s truck wheels. Waves can also result from sanding floors that were not initially installed correctly. Sections of the floor may rise and fall ever so slightly, as the machine passes over them, causing unevenness. Chatter marks, on the other hand, are usually spaced about ¼” apart. These spaces should correspond to the operator’s walking pace. The faster one moves forward, the wider the spaces. Chatter can be caused by bad bearings, out of balance drum, motor or fan, or worn drive belts. Paper can even cause chatter, although this rarely occurs.

Have your customers empty the dust bag when it reaches the 1/3 full mark and tell them never to leave debris in the bag for any length of time. Spontaneous combustion can result from this, especially if the material being sanded is damp (ie. decks).

Upon return, inspect the power cord for defects. Check your sanding drum for gouges or grooves, often caused by nails or staples that weren’t removed during floor prep. Damage can be concealed by leaving a belt or sheet on the drum. When transporting, keep sandpaper in place for added drum protection from debris.

Check the cogged drive belts occasionally for proper tension and alignment. These stretch over time. A loose belt may contribute to excessive vibration resulting in chatter marks, while a tight belt can cause premature motor, drum or fan bearing wear.

These machines are precision engineered, so whenever possible, store them off their wheels by either making a support jig or by tilting the machine forward and resting it on its drum guard. You can also lay the machine on its side. Storing on its wheels for periods of a week or more, may cause the soft rubber wheels to develop flat spots which may cause waves on the flooring being sanded.

The machine should sand more on the left side of the drum, then taper or ‘feather’ toward the right; the reason to work from right to left when sanding. How does one know when to replace the sanding drum? This can be determined in several ways. Lines that appear on the floor in the same direction you’re sanding, indicate the drum likely hit a nail, resulting in one or more gouges. This means replacement is necessary. Other irregularities such as high and low spots may be seen on the floor, across the span (left to right) of the drum’s footprint. Although rare, this calls for a recovering as well. It also means the drum rubber is likely out of round, which often leads to chatter marks which are another cause to have the drum recovered and balanced. Other reasons for drum exchanges are excessive sandpaper belt slippage, drum edge wear (to the point where there’s only a slight amount of sanding pressure on the sides of the sanding belts), or any signs of rubber material missing or separated from the drum.

Drum removal is easy when using an impact wrench to loosen the nut, then by gently persuading the drum up with crowbars. If your drum core is in reusable condition,  recycle your old drum to save the core charge! We can even ship you a replacement drum before you return the used one, to help reduce down time.          

• The EZ-8 is sold in both expandable (using 8×19″ belts) as well as clamp-style drums that use 8×19½” notched sheets
• Both styles of sandpaper (belt or sheet) are readily available