Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm thinking about biding on a thickness sander on ebay. It looks like a pretty good one. I'm not looking for the best I can get or anything, just something that will do the job for a while. I can upgrade later if I need to. My question is what if it will only thin down to like 3/16" or 1/8" and I need to go thinner. Could I use double sided tape to stick my workpiece to a 3/4" board or something? Would this work? Do most sanders go down thin enough? The seller doesn't know.

Why don't you give us a link to the sander. Folks familiar with the model will be able to answer your questions accurately.

Yes you can build a carrier to make up the differance

Thanks Michael!
Geoff I don't think anybody would have this one. Its a 7-8 year old Ryobi. Like new though, It still has its original sand paper on it. It was only used one time.

Colby, I have been using a Ryobi drum/thickness sander for about 10 years now and it has worked great. I have had a few things wear out such as the original sandpaper feed belt but got it replaced with a rubber one that has been great. Also the gear reduction went out and had to replace the drive unit for the feed but Ryobi service center was good about getting the parts and even the feed belt was no charge. It's not the best unit but it works pretty good and if you take the time to make sure the feed table is aligned with the drum, it will do a good job. Just keep you passes light and it'll do the job. I've been thinking about replacing it but it keeps on going.
I've sanded tops, backs and sides to the tolerances we need in guitar building with no problems. Sometimes I sand small pieces like purflings and such down as much as .020" with no problem and no feed board. As far as I know there is no limitation on lowering the drum so it's dependant on the material your working.John How38895.487962963

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Colby, That's exactly what you do. Make a carrier board, and find a way to afix the piece to it. Carpet tape works well though you need to tape the whole thing or you'll get waves. For example, if you are sanding a side lengthwise, you don't want to use three strips of tape running crosswise because it will raise that area and make it thinner. About .010 for the carpet tape I use which is pretty significant. So you'll want to run several strips the entire length of the side. Be very careful removing the side from the carrier board as it's really easy to crack the heck out of it.

For a carrier board, use a strip of mdf, or ply with sandpaper cemented to the face. No doublestick tape required.

Al

Thanks for all the tips and info guys!

Al, what grit of sandpaper do you use??

100 to 80. Whatever is available.

Al

Colby, good luck on the sander. I bought a Ryobi (never used) on eBay a couple of years ago after finding out that John How was happy with his.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Why Don't you just buy my Delta?...$400 you pay for shipping.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

You still got still got that I am suprised

[QUOTE=MichaelP] You still got still got that I am suprised[/QUOTE]

Hey I paid $1000.00 for it not two or three years ago. Just weighs too much to ship at a reasonable price. Although I am sure someone out there knows how. I just let sit and brush off the dust now and then. I think it needs a new crank belt...not sure I have to take a look one of these months.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave
I didn't know you had one for sale. What model is it? I'd like to research it. Have you put a lot of use on it? What is a crank belt? Is is easily replaced?

Hesh
Do I remember you once saying you have the little Performax 628900? If so, could you tell me a little about it? Does it really do a good job on wide pieces?

Thanks for the review Hesh!
I've read that some people have tracking problems with it. You don't have any tracking problems?

I have the Performax 10-20 and I like it. I did have problems with ridges early on, but eventually fiddled with it enough by setting the open side a little higher. That said, if I had to do over I probably would have gotten the 16-32.

There is a difference in size, but I don't think it's as significant as it might seem. Maybe 6-10" in difference in overall machine width?

In any case, it's a heavy duty (and just heavy) machine, I'm happy with the quality of it and it does the job. Yikes at the price increase on the 10-20, though. I think $500 was the going rate when I got mine, it's at $655 now on Amazon.

Make sure and budget for a dust collector if you don't already have one. This isn't the sort of thing you want to use a shop vac on.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

I've had both the 10-20 and 16-32 machines in the past. Sold them both as I have gone back to using a plane or the wagner for my thicknessing as I prefer a more hands on approach for the small numbers I build. That said I was always happier with the 10-20 than the 16-32 I felt that it was a more accurate machine and produced a more even plate thickness, probably due to the shorter length of the cantilever. Like Hesh said I just ran joined plates through in both directions, in fact all four directions. If buying again I would definitely go for the 10-20 again. OK, if I had the space and money I'd get a wide belt.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Hesh, any of your neighbors ever ask you what your doing there in your bathroom all the time?

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I have an older model Woodmaster drum sander that I run with a sled and I have never had to use sandpaper, or anything for that matter, to hold the pieces as they run through. Surprising, but it works perfect on this sander anyway, so you might not have to do anything but cut a sled, one way or the other it will work.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

I also own a Ryobi drum sander.
no problems but like John said, take light cuts.
I always use sleds when sanding below 1/4" thickness
I no longer use tape or sandpaper on the sled
just a simple stop on the end.
One sled 5"x36" I cut a slot with the tablesaw
across the end 1/8" or so deep. The stop is a
strip of wood 1/8 x 1/4. I don't glue the stop
in the slot. So it is easy to replace if needed.
Your stop sands down to as thin as you sand.
Mine is at .06 Good luck!

Do you ever have trouble with resinous woods (like rosewood) gumming up the paper on the drum and gouging the wood? Not that that ever happened to me...:(

I've got my drum sander set on the fastest feed rate and I have never had any issues with the paper clogging & gouging as you mention.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars