Abstract: A belt abrading device including a pair of laterally spaced rollers over which an elongate endless abrasive belt is trained. One of the rollers is mounted for shifting toward and away from the other. An exhaust hood is disposed adjacent the movable roller for shifting toward and away from the roller and the belt trained thereover. The exhaust hood is mounted on a lever arm which is operatively connected to a motor for shifting the hood toward and away from the roller. A sensor is provided for sensing continuity of the belt. Under usual operating conditions, the motor maintains the exhaust hood a preselected distance from the roller. Should the belt break and the sensor sense such discontinuity, or when desired by the operator, the motor is operated to shift the hood away from the roller.

Abstract: In apparatus for abrading a workpiece including a central support member having a power-driven contact roll and an idler roll mounted thereon, and an endless, abrasive belt trained over the rolls with an air space being defined between inside surfaces of the belt and the central support member, an improvement which includes pressurizing the air space for maintaining same at a pressure greater than the prevailing air pressure adjacent the outside surfaces of the belt to substantially prevent inflow of abraded debris to the air space.

Abstract: An apparatus for sizing and finishing batches of lumber including a sizing station and a finishing station. The sizing station includes at least one pair of opposed, power-driven belt abraders operable for dimensionally sizing the lumber to a predetermined thickness by abrading opposed, first and second lumber faces. The finishing station includes additional belt abraders which are staggered on opposite sides of the path of lumber conveyance.

Abstract: Abrading apparatus including a frame, a workpiece support and an abrasive belt mounted above the support further includes an assembly combining a workpiece hold-down shoe and an entry duct movable with the shoe for exhausting debris during abrading action. The shoe extends transversely of the workpiece relative to its infeed direction of travel and also includes a member extending upwardly therefrom which forms a rear wall of the entry duct.