Official Luthiers Forum!

[QUOTE=Arnt]
Dave, what kind of power feed system ary you planning to add to your
sander?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure. The the bed on the sander now tilts to adjust the thickness,
so it would seem that a conveyer system of some sort would make the
most sense. On the other hand, converting to a raising/lowering bed and
using feed rollers might not be too bad.

I was poking around one of my favorite haunts on the web, and actually
found some literature on the Kuster machines that Don mentioned. There
are some good ideas there for anyone building a sander. I might try to
retrofit something like their feed roller system to my sander.
Here's the link.


Good luck Arnt!

Here's a pic of what I use. Home made drum sander with feed rollers. I love it. It won't take a big bite on a single pass, but it gets the job done smooth & safe.
It runs on a 1 HP drum motor & a 60 to 1 reduction, 1/4 HP gear motor for the feed rollers. (a steal on Ebay)
If I was doing it again, I'd get at least 2 HP for the drum motor.

Dave, thanks for the link! I read the instructions a bit, and they recommended a 3 hp motor for "light use" or 3 - 5 hp for "heavy use" (for the 24" drum length, which is what I'm building). Most DIY 24" sanders I have seen typically have motors around 1 hp, but judging for this and what Daniel M is saying too that is not enough. I got a 3 phase 1, 1 KW motor (1, 5 hp) for this, I'm starting to wonder if I should I get a bigger one?

Daniel M, about the feed rollers: How do they adjust to the slope of the table when it is raised or lowered? Or are they fixed and the table moved up and down parallel to the plane of the bottom of the rollers (and the drum)?

My sander is taking shape, the drum / shaft is done, the frame for the stand is half way done, hopefully I can put it all together tonight...

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Collin, I like your idea....thanks for sharing!

Daniel, your heme made drum sander looks awesome....but it looks harder to make than a guitar itself
great job

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Colin was kind enough to send me one of his disks and it is a fine tool, which I keep finding more and more uses for.

The sander wasn't that hard to build. Much more forgiving than a guitar, & you don't have to finish it to a pore free, high gloss shine!
Arnt; The rollers are mounded on spring loaded beams which are fixed to the carcase. The table goes straight up & down rather than hinging. The table base is a wedge shape which rides on angled plywood tracks. The up & down motion is achieved using a single threaded rod which forces the table back & forth causing it to ride up & down on the tracks. A realy simple system.
The throat is adjustable from 0 to 2 5/8".
If you are making a hinged table, a feed belt would work fine... Or you could make the roller height adjustable.

I just bought the new Shopnotes magazine and they have plans for a thickness sander powered by your table saw. I am going to give that a try as I have been looking into options myself. here is a link so you can see a small pic of it: http://www.shopnotes.com/

[QUOTE=dgalas] I was poking around one of my favorite haunts on the web, and actually
found some literature on the Kuster machines that Don mentioned. There
are some good ideas there for anyone building a sander. I might try to
retrofit something like their feed roller system to my sander.
Here's the link.



Good luck Arnt!
[/QUOTE]

That's cool, I uploaded that Dyna-Sander document to the old wood working machinery site ages ago, I wonder how many have downloaded it since....it's an amazing place this cyberspace

Cheers

Kim
larkim38794.9050810185

I designed a thicknessing jig that is used with a router...fast and easy for a monotonous task, no worry about changing belts or sanders bogging down.
Craig
CT Holden Luthiery and Supplies, Inc.

That's very cool CT.
I assume the channels are for vacuum to hold the plates flat?

That is very clever, especially for those with small shops! Thanks Craig!

I learned from CT Holden that the channels are indeed for vacuum to hold the workpiece, and that it uses an ordinary Shop Vac, which is a really nice touch, everyones got a Shop Vac. He said any router with a 6" base will work. This is an interesting looking thicknessing jig. Has anyone used one? I'd love to hear some reviews. I saw some plans to build something similar on a woodworking site, but I'm too lazy to build stuff, and it takes some special talent, and extra effort. I'd rather spend a few more $$'s for something already built, if it works.

CrowDuck

_________________
Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

[QUOTE=Arnt] [QUOTE=dgalas] Arnt,

I would advise engineering your sander with some thought as to how to add
some sort of self-feed in the future. Hand feed works fine, but as I push/
pull wood through my sander I am constantly mulling over how to add a
feeding mechanism! Other jigs will take priority, but I have a feeling I'll be
adding this feature to my sander before long.

Cheers,
-Dave

[/QUOTE]

Dave, what kind of power feed system ary you planning to add to your sander?[/QUOTE]

Arnt, I have been giving it thought also since I built mine. Power feed would be nice. I've looked at the gearmotor mechanism and they are commercially availaable and will be the biggest expense. They (Perfomax) uses a 1/10 Hp, hihg recuction drice. The conveyor rollers are 1" steel rod with the drive roller covered in rubber lagging (to add "grip"). The diameter of the drive roller is 1" INCLUDING the lagging. The conveyor belt is a commercial sanding belt and my be available from Perfomax. Add a method of tensioning and tracking and you're in business.

Regards, Steve

PS I work for an industrial distributorship and design conveyors.

Steve, we definately share more than one thing in common, could you show pics of your drum sander please?

And do you know if anyone could buy some length of conveyor belt from the company you work for?

Thanks

Chris...Check your pm.
Craig