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Has anyone tried to use a rolling-pin (off the shelf) with a drill (ala - Chis P's Homemade Side sander) and some brackets as a thickness sander?

Seems like it would be easy to make
* take off the handles
* put the rod into brackets
* put on end into a braced drill
* true it up to a base
* turn drill on
* feed wood


Am I missing something?
Seems you can make something like this to be portable, cheap adequate for the job - BUT, I could be hopelessly nieve
Steve

Steve,
Sounds like a nice little experiment.

It should work on the same principle as the drum sanders you can get for your drill. I do use those for thicknessing bone for bridges and saddle and occasionally binding.

The one thing I'll tell you and offer is that the paper will likely load up fast, get hot and create some potentially nasty little burn lines on whatever you're sanding.

For one build, will probably work (and we all know there's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.)

For the next, think about building a real one with a much larger diameter drum.
I made mine from an old talble saw motor, some $8 pillow blocks and a stee rod from Northern tool, discs cut using a router and scrap lumber. Works like a charm.

Good luck

Dave

Ya the bigger your belt or drum is the longer the paper lasts and the less burn you get. This is why the spindle sander is a limited tool, essential in some situations, but always prone to burning.

Well have you tried it? The hardest part is finding a rolling pin that has a shaft in it that isn't centered into a piece of plastic as a bearing. I bought a rolling pin to see if I could use it before I made my jig to turn my own roller. I didn't see a way to adapt it. Although I bought a cheap one from WalMart.

Have access to a lathe?
Turn one. Make sure it has some mass.....

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