Bob Vila explains the different types of belt sanders, and how to use a belt sander for both rough material removal and precision sanding projects.

You don't need any fancy tools to smooth wood. Learn our best practices for sanding with only sandpaper and a simple block.

If you’re removing material from a workpiece, a belt sander or random orbital sander are the two best tools to get the job ...

The next stage of preparation begins with wet-sanding by hand using 600- or 800-grit sandpaper. Alternatively, you may use a dual-action sander with a 3M interface pad and a 1,000-grit sanding disk.