Sanding Drums For The Drill Press

[cabinetman]

I get a lot of use from the sanding drum attachments for the drill press. How you set it up can improve their use. Would like to hear the "good" and "bad" reports of these little gems.


I've set them up with a piece of wood clamped to the table for passing the stock across the drum. Finding the right speed for the application is really necessary. I've tried both long and short drums and the real wide ones, and have had pretty good luck. Any comments?



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[wardprobst]

I've used them for years and find them handy but I recently had a chance to use an oscillating spindle sander and I can tell you the Rigid combo OSS/belt is in my future. Just haven't caught the right buy yet.
One trick- to clean up a long straight edge- make a fence from solid stock, bore a hole slightly larger than your drum that just breaks through the side, adjust the fence to let the drum just clear the edge of the hole. Will clean up saw marks, etc. very nicely.
DP

[LCHIEN]

I get a lot of use from the sanding drum attachments for the drill press. How you set it up can improve their use. Would like to hear the "good" and "bad" reports of these little gems.


I've set them up with a piece of wood clamped to the table for passing the stock across the drum. Finding the right speed for the application is really necessary. I've tried both long and short drums and the real wide ones, and have had pretty good luck. Any comments?



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

I have a one of those. When I first used it, it caused the taper to break free and the chuck came loose due to the side load i was putting on it.
Overall, I'm a little concerned about the side load placed on the quill and bearings. I don't really think that drill presses are usually designed for side loads, mostly they're designed for axial loads, in-line with the bit.

OTOH, spindle sanders are designed for side load.

Maybe if you keep the side load pressure real low its ok, then the spindle sanding is for finishing but I'm afraid I like to use mine for rounding corners and stuff, so it does get some pressure from me.

Now maybe I'm wrong and I'll admit I am trained as a EE, not an ME and I know enough about mechanics and physics to realize there might be a problem with side load vs axial load but I have not found anyone who can answer the question. I kow some ME's who are wood workers, I'll bring it up with them sometime.

For me its now a moot point, having used both and now owning a OSS, I can tell you the OSS is a much better thing.

[cabinetman]

I have a one of those. When I first used it, it caused the taper to break free and the chuck came loose due to the side load i was putting on it.
Overall, I'm a little concerned about the side load placed on the quill and bearings.

I've had that happen. I had to give the chuck a tap upward to seat better. Sometimes the morse taper fit gets to the point that all it needs is a little nudge, and it drops down. I usually don't put a lot of side pressure when sanding, kinda let the drum work its magic. As in other sanding procedures, it doesn't take a lot of pressure for the abrasion to work, as sanding with a ROS or finishing sander, I let the weight do most of the work and work with slight pressure.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[jackellis]

I think Cabinetman has it right. DPs likely are not designed for big side loads but they can probably withstand gentle pressure. Make sure the distance from the bottom of the taper to the bottom of the drum is as small as possible, then resist the temptation to push against the drum.

I don't have any of these yet, but I already have a disc/belt sander and no more room for tools so I'm in the market for some DP sanding drums.

[vaking]

I have a set of those and use them often. I do not have oscillating sander so my drums get a lot of use. I have a reasonably big DP (14" floor standing Jet model) nd it handles the drums without problems. I use short drums only however. As for setup - I use craftsman DP table with it (it is called Drill Press Workcenter) and it does a good job with dust collection. The drum goes slightly inside the opening of the table and the DC picks up almost all the dust. The fence may also be handy for sanding.
The table is actually easy to make and is certainly not worth $120 as Sears wants for it.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

[Daibach]

Drum Sanders

Lee Valley sells a 'Veritas Drum-Sander Support System'
Their catalogue says that using a drill press is convenient but has two problems: side loading causes quill wear and run-out, and extra long drums tend to deflect as you add pressure.
Their solution is a bearing support on the DP table, that has a live centre which engages their specially drilled drum shafts.
I've been planning to get one as there's a lot of sanding in my future but not the room or money for an OSS.

[LCHIEN]

Lee Valley sells a 'Veritas Drum-Sander Support System'
Their catalogue says that using a drill press is convenient but has two problems: side loading causes quill wear and run-out, ...

See, that's what I said!

[Stick]

Now maybe I'm wrong and I'll admit I am trained as a EE, not an ME and I know enough about mechanics and physics to realize there might be a problem with side load vs axial load but I have not found anyone who can answer the question. I kow some ME's who are wood workers, I'll bring it up with them sometime.

Well, I'm not a ME, just a millwright, but I've had both DP's and milling machines apart and I can tell you there's a heck of a difference in their bearings, to say the least! But the little bit of side load from a drum sander doesn't really hurt much. Where the problem comes in is the morse and jacobs tapers the DP's chuck mounts on. They are definitely not designed for side load! As well as very substantial bearings, a milling machine has a drawbar that is like a long bolt that goes through the spindle and threads into the top of the collet chuck, pulling it tight. That stops the cutter from coming loose when side load is applied.

All that said, I still use one of my DP's with sanding drums and have never had any problems doing so. I made up an aux table with a hole the drum fits down into. That helps a bunch. As long as you don't push hard into the drum, you're fine.

[vaking]

Loring,
I started off many years ago with BS in ME. I shifted later towards EE and by now I forgot most of the stuff that ME is supposed to know but I still remember bits and pieces.
When talking about side load vs axial load in a drill press please keep in mind that drill press is typically driven by the belt and that belt gives you side load anyway. That means side load is present in any drill press whether you apply it or not. The pressure you applywhen sanding is smaller than the belt tension.
You are correct that different types of bearings are designed to handle different types of load but the cheapest type of bearing used in drill presses is a ball bearing and that bearing is actually better at handling side pressure than any other. High end drill press uses tapered bearing at the top to transmit down pressure to the shaft. Tapered bearing is better than ball bearing for axial load but it is also capable of side pressure. Cheap drill press may not even have tapered bearings.
In ME when you are calculating loads in bearings the side pressure vs axial pressure one typically gets ignored if it is less than 10% of the other. Axial pressure in the drill press is quite substantial, sanding operation is not going to create sizable pressure compared to what press is designed to withstand if you do it correctly. The milling operation would create very sizable side pressure and I would not recommend using drill press for milling but I have seen project of converting drill press into milling machine.
And finally - in my opinion sanding is a finishing process. If you want to shape something on a drill press - I suggest you use not a sanding drum but a microplane shaper like the one at the link below:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...press%20shaper

[John Hunter]

I used them for years but then i had the luck of getting an Enlon floor standing oscillating spindle sander. What a difference!

[atgcpaul]

As far as the side loading issue goes, one of my classmates took a drill sander
kit that had a guide bearing in the bottom of it (like the one at Rockler selling
for $20), cut a hole in 1/4 hardboard the same size as the guide bearing, and
raised the drill table up until the bearing was engaged in the hole and clamped
the board down. This allowed her to put a side load on the drum but not have
as severe an effect on the quill since the load was supported from the top and
bottom.

Paul

[LCHIEN]

As far as the side loading issue goes, one of my classmates took a drill sander
kit that had a guide bearing in the bottom of it (like the one at Rockler selling
for $20), cut a hole in 1/4 hardboard the same size as the guide bearing, and
raised the drill table up until the bearing was engaged in the hole and clamped
the board down. This allowed her to put a side load on the drum but not have
as severe an effect on the quill since the load was supported from the top and
bottom.

Paul

solves one problem but still doesn't oscillate ( prevents streaking of the workpiece and uneven wear on the sanding drum)