Drum Sander Completed/Tested

[JR]

It came oiut great, Rags! Excellent job.

JR

[ragswl4]

Excellent job on this Rags. Looks great. I am just having a difficult time envisioning how this would work consistently. Not yours in particular, but entire concept. Is it really possible to run the board evenly across this? Is the table height adjustable, or did you get it just right the first time??

Todd

The table height is adjustable with three set screws at the front of the table. The back of the table is attached to the box with a piano hinge. I have the table top adjusted to where the drum is just minutely above the top. The original concept (not mine) was that air pressure between the velcro mat and sandpaper would lift the paper above the drum and provide the proper level for sanding. This did not occur with the sander that I built.

There is very little wood removed when passing a board over the drum. I don't think there is a concern with making the board uneven. Of course I have not used this to a great extent yet so I'll know in time if this is a problem. As of now I really like using this as it takes little to no effort to sand a board. With the project that I have going I was becoming very weary from sanding with a ROS. Most of the boards I am sanding are 3 ft or less in length and no wider than 12".

In the end I had fun building it.

[eezlock]

wide belt sander

Rags, looks like you did a good job on the wide belt sander there, that is one of those projects that I need to do when I get around to it. eezlock

[ragswl4]

Update: After Some Use

I have used the sander for a while and it is performing as I expected. After jointing and planing I am able to make just a couple of passes on the sander (220 grit) on each face of the board and assemble the project. I do one last quick sanding with the ROS and done. I think I have reduced the time to sand by about 75% so I am thrilled about that.

I have found that if the board I am sanding is not flat then I can tell that right away. Back to the jointer. This is definitely not the tool for thicknessing a board. Also found that if I don't keep even pressure on the board I will get chatter marks on the wood. (Learning curve is getting flatter)

For now it works great but I think I will eventually replace the drum. Either the shaft is not straight or the drum is slightly out of round. I have a slight vibration that I believe to be an imbalance in the shaft/drum. This doesn't affect the sanding.