Hi guys.
I am buying a Bonakemi belt machine.It's the one that can accept 8 inch and 10 inch belts. I currently have it in my van .It's on loan from the Bona rep and he supplied me with Bonameki blue 10inch belts of every grit.

I'd like to try 3M 10 inch belts and would like to know from anyone that uses a 10 inch machine where they are getting their paper from and if they prefer 3M over the Bona . Thanks !

Paul,

Sorry, I have no experience with BONA abrasives or 10" sanders. I use a Hummel that uses 8" belts and I usually use 3M. Sometimes, NORTON but I do prefer 3M. If you're just borrowing the machine, don't bother buying lots of abrasives. You may not keep it. But I heard it was a good one, that Bona belt sander.

I use hummel and 8" belts , I do prefer the bona .. It seems to me that they hold much longer then the 3m .

tried three different manufacturers...I like Bona the best. We've run 2 bona belts for the last five years...good choice they are excellent machines.

Cheers
Steve

ive had 2 bona belts and 2 prosand's (the same machine) all 8" and never had a large problem. Recently bought 2 clarke 8" floorcrafters and my guys love them because of the integrated dolly, also they seem to be a little more aggressive, but nothing like my KT taurus.

We have hummels and the floor crafter. Mostly run 3M paper, seems to track better. But have run bona, norton, and a couple other off brands of belts. Depends on the type of job we are working on. Grinding off old finish that gums up, use the cheapest stuff out there. Looking to do a stain on maple.. get the best. The crafter is more aggresive and that's cause it has around 80lbs of pressure where most the other machines have around 50-60lbs of pressure.

Hi guys. In the way of an update, I have learned a lot about the machine and how to get it cutting its best. The handle moves the whole chassis / drum up and down . It is important on this machine to balance that so that your handle height is where you want it but you haven't raised the drum off the ground higher than it should be.

I also adjusted the cutting angle to be perfectly flat .The rep that I bought the machine from had it cutting to the left a little and this really slowed down the finish removal capability of the machine a lot. Happily, adjusting the cutting angle is very easy on this machine.

Lastly, I've found the Bona papers to be excellent as far as medium to fine grits. The 3M does more work and is slightly faster in the 36 grit range which I use fairly regularly. But at half the price, the Bona paper 40 grit and up is what I'll be using . I'll keep some 36 3M handy as well.

I have used a Hummel with both 3M and the Bona abrasives and i enjoy using the 3M better in every grit range, especially 80