Belt sanders are VERY aggressive. You may need the orbital sander to smooth out the wood after using the belt sander. Have you tried using a scraper to remove most of the epoxy before trying to sand it off?

 

Belt sander with 60 grit belt,, the step to 80 grit, but you will need to do finer sanding with a random orbit to remove belt scratches. Be sure to sand with the grain, and pay attention...S**t happens fast with 60 grit on a belt sander. FYI, they do make 40 grit pads for random orbit machines, but they are not easy to find.

 

A scraper won't even dent the epoxy. My ROS claims to have a high speed of 12,000 RPM. Guess 40 grit may be better, but now I'm leaning toward the belt sander. The side of the wood that has the epoxy doesn't have to look great as it's not exposed, so guess I should just plan to swap a belt for a ROS at Home Depot? I read somewhere a hair dryer will help melt the epoxy, I may try that too.

First time I owned a ROS, just wondering, if I look at the spinning pad while still turned on, it hardly seems to be moving, seems slow, but maybe that's an optical illusion? Then when I switch it off, it slows down, and then seems to turn slowly in the opposite direction until it stops completely. Is it supposed to look like that? I can tell by the holes in the pad that's supposed to let air thru so it can grab the dust. But still send out lost of sawdust.

Thanks much.

 

Actually, I just tried with a 1200 Watt hair dryer and a utility knife. Actally worked somewhat, the heat loosened some of the epoxy, and then it was softer so I could get the knife under and pull up little pieces at a time. Gouged the heck out of the wood, and still plenty of epoxy on the piece I was trying, but I probably removed more than half so far. Will try more later. Now I have a bag of epoxy chips with some wood splinters for extra fiber. Still wondering if a belt sander will get the rest? Thanks.

 

A belt sander will be much more aggressive. However a ROS is much more versatile. If you ever plan to do any other projects with wood, keep the ROS:yes:

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll probably keep the ROS, but still concerned a question I asked " ... if I look at the spinning pad while still turned on, it hardly seems to be moving, seems slow, but maybe that's an optical illusion? Then when I switch it off, it slows down, and then seems to turn slowly in the opposite direction until it stops completely. Is it supposed to look like that? I can tell by the holes in the pad that's supposed to let air thru so it can grab the dust. But still send out lots of sawdust." Thanks.

 

If you think it's not working correctly, turn it off and immediately set it on a piece of scrap wood and hold it very lightly. You should feel the sander trying to spin.