Another thickness sander

[bhacken]

I like to make small boxes. The sides are usually about 4 to 5 inches long and 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. Getting stock that length to those thicknesses can be tricky and dangerous with conventional power tools. I had a real need for a thickness sander and this is what I came up with for the Shopsmith. It's similar to gr8mesquite's but should be easier to make.

I used two 3 inch faceplates, a live tailstock and a headstock spindle adapter. I mounted a 14 inch long by 4 inch square piece of oak between the faceplates and turned it in to a drum with the lathe.

I glued a piece of sandpaper to an 8x12 piece of 1/4 inch plywood and with the table under the drum slowly raised the table while sliding the sandpaper back and forth until the drum was perfectly round and the same thickness its entire length. I next sanded the drum with 220 grit sandpaper, applied 2 coats of polyurethane then 2 coats of Johnson's Paste Wax (before you start to sand the drum make sure you have a dust collector in place, it makes a LOT of dust).

I bought a roll of 4 inch x 10 yd adhesive backed 220 grit sandpaper from a local industrial supply company and applied it to the drum. I haven't had to replace it yet but it should peel off without too much trouble because of the wax.

I made this for a 10ER and have been using the drum on it. It is very accurate and runs as smooth as silk. I just upgraded to a Mark V and haven't had a chance to re-size the dust collector for it so I can't show the dust collector mounted.

The sandpaper cost about $35.00 and I bought all the lathe parts from Amazon for just under $65.00. The oak for the drum and plywood for the dust collector were just scraps I had laying around. For about $100.00 I have a 14 inch (the width of the Shopsmith table) drum sander which is dirt cheap compared to a commercial unit.

Parts List:
PSI Woodworking Products CF3J Faceplate 1-Inch by 8TPI 3-Inch Diameter
(Requires 2)

PSI Woodworking Products LTCA18 Live Tailstock Chuck Adapter 1-Inch by 8TPI Male Thread Mounting to a 2 MT

PSI Woodworking L5818 Headstock Spindle Adapter (Shopsmith 5/8-Inch to 1-Inch 8tpi chuck)

[JPG]

Another good use of de noggin!