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What do I do with this stuff called wood?

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Rog02:
Bog:

Just like metal fanatics, wood worms tend to gather in groups.  Ask around the shops and see if you can find a local woodworkers club and a contact person for them.  Most of the wood guys are as scared of metal as metal guys are scared of wood and will gladly trade work.  They frequently need things like the pins and sleeves I am making.  Since you have that surface grinder, I can foresee you becoming quite a popular dude, sharpening cutter knives and such.

What you probably need done is a "resaw" operation followed by a trip through a "planer" to bring the material into a standard dimension with straight smooth edges.  If you get lucky and find a well equipped shop they may even have a machine called a "shaper" which is basically a table with a router head mounted underneath.  A "shaper" can be used to cut decorative edges with a great deal of accuracy. 

I agree with the previous postings about the mounted belt sanders being one of the most useful tools in a metal shop.  I bought a 4X36 belt/6"disc sander several years ago (30+ years) and used it daily for everything from deburring tubing cuts to sharpening welding tungstens.  A few months ago I found a 6/48" belt/9"disc industrial cast iron machine for short money and upgraded.  The old 4/36 was sold for about what I paid for all those years ago which was still $5 USD more than I paid for the newer machine.  It pays to watch C-list :coffee:!

As for the hand held belt sanders, I have one as well and use it frequently, to refinish the "brushed" finish on SS counter tops.  Like any other power tool a bit of practice may be required to achieve the required finesse to use it.  Best tip I can offer is to "Keep It Moving" to avoid gouging.  The burned marks you speak of are indicative of a plugged abrasive belt.  An excellent investment for anyone using power sanding equipment is a "belt cleaner stick".  The cleaner is like a LARGE gum rubber eraser, that you simply run across the face of the running belt or disc to remove any debris wedged in the grit.  I have used them for years and they can extend to abrasive life 3 to 5 fold, which can be a substantial cost savings.  Aside from the cost savings, the fact that you can clean the abrasive also means less cross contamination of materials when switching materials from say carbon steel to SS or aluminum.  I am currently buying them from Horrible Fright as I find the cheaper ones they sell to give equal service life to the ones sold through the industrial supply houses.  Whatever the cost, the cleaners are a good investment.

As for woodworking on my metal machines?  AIN"T GONNA HAPPEN!   Yes, it can be done, but the sawdust mixed with way oil is hell on things and terrible to clean off.  The congealed mixture tends to gum up lead screws and eventual will turn to a shellac like substance that will glue everything tight.  Trust me mates, I have restored my fare share of older equipment.  As a matter of fact I actually make every attempt to do any serious wood cutting and sanding outside of the shop just to eliminate the inevitable mess.  When I am required to do wood cutting inside the shop, I rig up the shop vac to suck away the major amount of the sawdust as it is created.

As another respondent noted Red Oak does indeed need a filler to achieve a slick finish.  Talk to local joiners club and I will wager a cuppa they will be able to show you examples of different woods and finishes, so you can get some idea of how to proceed. 

BTW,  Thump and Bump, The Dynamic Duo of Dining and Napping, want me to request that you refrain from the derogatory cat jokes.  If you expect us to refrain from commenting on your outhouse sized shop then please don't make references to animal abuse.

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