Operation - RIDGID R2501 Operator's Manual

OPERATION

WARNING:
Do not allow familiarity with products to make you
careless. Remember that a careless fraction of a
second is sufficient to inflict serious injury.
WARNING:
Always wear eye protection with side shields
marked to comply with ANSI Z87.1. Failure to do
so could result in objects being thrown into your
eyes resulting in possible serious injury.
APPLICATIONS
You may use this product for the purposes listed below:
 Sanding wood or wood product surfaces
 Sanding steel surfaces
 Removing rust from steel surfaces
SANDPAPER SELECTION
Selecting the correct size grit and type sandpaper is an
extremely important step in achieving a high quality sanded
finish. Aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and other synthetic
abrasives are best for power sanding. Natural abrasives,
such as flint and garnet, are too soft for economical use in
power sanding.
In general, coarse grit will remove the most material and finer
grit will produce the best finish in all sanding operations. The
condition of the surface to be sanded will determine which
grit will do the job. If the surface is rough, start with a coarse
grit and sand until the surface is uniform. Medium grit may
then be used to remove scratches left by the coarser grit and
finer grit used for finishing of the surface. Always continue
sanding with each grit until surface is uniform.
NOTE: DO NOT use sander without sandpaper. Doing so
will damage the sanding pad.
INSTALLING STANDARD SANDPAPER
See Figure 2, page 13.
Inspect sandpaper before installing. DO NOT use if torn,
cracked, or defective.
 Unplug the sander.
 If replacing sandpaper, remove old sandpaper. To remove
paper, release the rear paper clamp by holding the tab
and lifting up on the lever, disengaging the lever from the
base, and allowing the lever to lower.
 Pull the front paper clamp open and remove the
sandpaper.
 Holding the front paper clamp open, insert end of new
1/4 sheet sandpaper approximately 1/4 in. under the
paper clamp. Release the paper clamp to secure the
sandpaper.
 Insert end of new 1/4 sheet sandpaper approximately
1/4 in. under the rear paper clamp.
 Making sure to hold the sandpaper tight against the
sanding pad, lift up on the tab to pull the lever back into
place. Apply downward pressure to conform sandpaper
to platen.
 Multiple sheets of sandpaper can be installed at one time
for convenience.
PAPER PUNCH
See Figure 3, page 13.
A paper punch template is supplied with the sander for
aligning and punching holes in sandpaper. The punched
holes must align with the holes in the sanding pad.
An outline of the sander is printed onto the paper punch
to help you correctly position the sandpaper before
punching.
 Install sandpaper on the sander.
 Align sanding pad over the paper punch.
 Push down on sander.
INSTALLING PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE
(PSA) SANDPAPER
See Figure 4, page 13.
Inspect sandpaper before installing. DO NOT use broken
or defective sandpaper.
 Unplug the sander.
 If replacing sandpaper, remove old sandpaper by peeling
it off the sanding pad. If removing standard sandpaper,
see Installing Non-Adhesive Sandpaper.
 Carefully peel adhesive backing from new 1/4 sheet
sandpaper.
 Position sandpaper, making sure front edge of sandpaper
is aligned with front edge of the sanding pad, then carefully
press sticky side of sandpaper on pad.
NOTE: Sandpaper must be aligned with the front edge
of the pad for proper functioning of the flush sanding
feature.
REMOVING PSA SANDPAPER BEFORE
STORAGE
Do not store the sander with the sandpaper installed. Heat
generated from sanding causes the pressure sensitive
adhesive to flow and form a tight bond between the backing
pad and sandpaper.
Removing the sandpaper soon after you have finished a
sanding operation avoids letting the adhesive set up. If the
sandpaper is left on the backing pad for an extended period
of time after use, the adhesive will set up and cause the
sandpaper to become difficult to remove.
PSA sandpaper may also tear when removing. When this
situation occurs, it becomes difficult to clean the backing
pad for the next sheet of sandpaper.
8 - English