Thickness sander? (Woodshop Companion)

[paulrussell]

I am considering building Nick Engler's thickness sander from the "Sanding and Planing" edition of Workshop Companion.

As designed, it uses glue-on sandpaper. I was curious if it might be better to go the hook-and-loop path. Seems that the number of times I would want to change grits might make this a good option. But since I know next to nothing about thickness sanders, I figured I'd ask here. The drum is made from Schedule 80 PVC in case that matters.

Thanks! Paul

[JPG]

Controlling 'thickness' is unreliable using a spongy abrasive.

Now if actual thickness is not a desired result, I would think so.

Perhaps two(or more) drums, one with velcro, the other(s) with stick on paper.

Seen Shipwright's version?

[beeg]

Seen Shipwright's version?

Which wood be here.

http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/26701

or

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/57158

[cooch366]

Seen Shipwright's version?

Which wood be here.

http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/26701

or

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/57158

I just looed at Shipwrights sander ((Outstanding job and piece of equipment). And it got me thinking about an SPT for this.

My initial thinking is could I take a thickness planer and modify/convert the cutter head with/to a sanding drum?

Pros would be a adjustable thickness feed for the workpiece, dust collection

Cons only 12" wide

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Would it work? Ideas? Problems? Any discussion would be appreciated.

Thanks.... Steve

[Gene Howe]

Been thinking 'bout the same thing, Steve. I have a non operational Delta that maybe could work as a sander. My concern would be how to change the speed of the cutter/sanding head and maintain the feed speed.

I also have a treadmill converted to a 105"X14" sander. Been racking my, admittedly small, brain on how to make it in to a thickness sander.

I've used Paul's (Shipwright) and it's a great tool for 3/4 and less stock. Don't know how it would work for much thicker stock. Maybe he'll chime in here.

I just looed at Shipwrights sander ((Outstanding job and piece of equipment). And it got me thinking about an SPT for this.

My initial thinking is could I take a thickness planer and modify/convert the cutter head with/to a sanding drum?

Pros would be a adjustable thickness feed for the workpiece, dust collection

Cons only 12" wide

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Would it work? Ideas? Problems? Any discussion would be appreciated.

Thanks.... Steve

[algale]

Even if this could be done, why ruin an excellent/expensive planer, which is not replaced by a drum sander (as I under stand it), when the same functionality (other than automatic feed) can be obtained very, very cheaply using Shipwright's design?

If I were going to build one of these, I would use Shipwright's design for the sanding drums. I might experiment with spraying the inside of the drum with expanding, rigid foam to make the drum more rigid and less likely to flex under power.

As for the rest, I would want to create a table that fit right into the Mark V carriage and which could be raised or lowered just like the main table using the hand crank.

I would obtain two of the tool rest posts (p/n 514416) (same p/n for lathe tool rest post and lathe duplicator table post) and two of the table supports from the lather duplicator (p/n 514697) to create a melamine surfaced table (preferably torsion box design) of any size I wanted that would simply drop into the carriage.

Come to think of it, why wouldn't the main table (with a drop over/clamp on melamine surface) suffice?

You might have to temporarily remove the tie bar cover to get the necessary depth to sand thicker pieces. Use of the main table and its trunnions would have the added advantage of being able to fine tune the tilt of the table exactly parallel to the angle of the drum (it should be parallel without adjustment, but who knows).

Just my $0.02.

With any of these set ups you could use an adjustable stop collar to micro adjust the height of the table as needed.

[benush26]

.....

[paulrussell]

I noticed that Shipwright used hook-loop so I hope he will chime in here as well.

I have to admit his design has me thinking. The advantages to his design is a wider capacity than the Nick Engler design and slightly lower cost. The advantages of the Engler design are that it is essentially an SPT: It can be used on the Shopsmith OR can be used stand-alone. In addition, it has an added safety feature of an anti-kickback mechanism. (Though that concept could be in turn applied to Shipwright's design.)

[cooch366]

Even if this could be done, why ruin an excellent/expensive planer, which is not replaced by a drum sander (as I under stand it), when the same functionality (other than automatic feed) can be obtained very, very cheaply using Shipwright's design?

If I were going to build one of these, I would use Shipwright's design for the sanding drums. I might experiment with spraying the inside of the drum with expanding, rigid foam to make the drum more rigid and less likely to flex under power.

As for the rest, I would want to create a table that fit right into the Mark V carriage and which could be raised or lowered just like the main table using the hand crank.

I would obtain two of the tool rest posts (p/n 514416) (same p/n for lathe tool rest post and lathe duplicator table post) and two of the table supports from the lather duplicator (p/n 514697) to create a melamine surfaced table (preferably torsion box design) of any size I wanted that would simply drop into the carriage.

Come to think of it, why wouldn't the main table (with a drop over/clamp on melamine surface) suffice?

You might have to temporarily remove the tie bar cover to get the necessary depth to sand thicker pieces. Use of the main table and its trunnions would have the added advantage of being able to fine tune the tilt of the table exactly parallel to the angle of the drum (it should be parallel without adjustment, but who knows).

Just my $0.02.

With any of these set ups you could use an adjustable stop collar to micro adjust the height of the table as needed.

Good point, once again I'm over engineering a solution to a problem.

I was also thinking of a "feed" for it a like the " treadmill " idea. Maybe on a smaller scale?

I'm going to look in shipwrights design, maybe with a smaller drum to allow thicker pieces, I like the idea of the main table with a drop over top this would allow adjustments, and am thinking of maybe some sort of sliding top (thinking draw slides) to feed the top that could have a end stop to hold the piece as you feed it thru the sander?

Hummmmmm thoughts are one thing, implementation is another....

Steve

[shipwright]

Just to clear up a few things........
-Hand feeding is not difficult or dangerous. It takes a bit of practice to get a smooth feed with no "ripples" but it is not hard to master.
- hook and loop is the only way to go. I have taken several passes on 1/32" thick veneer and not sanded through. Accuracy is bang on.
- mine is ABS pipe and has never had flex problems.
- using the main table would make very fine adjustment much harder than the threaded rod that I have on mine.
- I can change grits in about a minute.
- my sander is an SPT. It drops on and runs from the powerhead. There is no modification of any parts. Just drop on / lift off.
- the dust collection is excellent. I can sand MDF with no dust in the air at all.
- my sander is three years old now and I've used it a lot. I can't think of much I could do to make it work better. If I made another one, it would just be to make it prettier.

I'm not selling anything here. Do as you like but this is a proven worker. The only drawback is it's capacity which is around 1 3/4". I have a 24" dual drum sander back home in Canada and I have very seldom used it for thicker stock. I don't see that as a problem and the advantages in both ease of construction and economy of my SS sander depend on using the lathe setup, which dictates the available thickness.

If anyone has questions about it I will be happy to help. Just PM me.

Paul