Stationary belt sanders work very well. However, even though the belts oscillate up and down on most machines, you end up wearing out the lower section of the belt long before the upper half is touched. That’s because the work always sits at table height, and the belt can’t be reversed. To use the fresh abrasive on the upper section of the belt, I raise workpieces with a simple auxiliary table. Make the table as thick as you like, and add cleats to the bottom to stabilize it on the machine.

—JEFF COLLA, Glenwood, Minn.
Drawings: Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking #310.