Pattern sanding using a pin fixture

[reible]

Just posted the information on a pin platform and this is a follow up to that.

Way back in the day when I was looking through the PTWFE I saw this cool picture of a drum sander being used as a pattern sander. The idea is simple but it had not been anything I ever heard of much less built or used. But a good idea is a good idea so many many many years later... an improvement perhaps???

What happens is you put made up an insert (saw insert) for the main table then drilled a hole to mount the guide to the table. The guide needed to be the same size as the drum sander. As long as the guide was centered with the over head drum sander any pattern you ran against the guide would allow the sander to remove just the material the was excess.

This was great until I re-adjusted my main table and found the center of the insert was not the center of the main shaft anymore! There was no way to move things so they were aligned again san redoing the whole alignment and including this as one of he factor's in the alignment... no way was I going to deal with that. So you make another insert etc etc etc.

That was then and now is now. After I came up with my platform for drilling using the pin idea the next thing that came to mind was the old pattern sanding problem. Of course this platform was adjustable so no matter if the main table is adjusted this way or that it can still be put back in alignment with the pin and the platform.

So I set out to make a guide/disk that would make use of the pin or the threaded insert. I made both and I still can't say I like one better then the other???? Oh yes I have pictures... all the better to see then just read about this right?


As in the drilling operation you line the pin to the main shaft of the shopsmith. Having done this you mound a sanding drum and add the insert to the platform. The sanding drum needs to be very near the disk but not touching. The pattern and the part to be made are connected together, double sided tape, nails, newspaper and glue... however you want to do it. Then you run the pattern against the disk and the new part is sanded down to size... and you're done!


Now some pictures.


Platform that centers over center line of shopsmiths main shaft. Used for any number of operations.
Shown is 1/4" pin and disk with 1/4" hole and same outside dia. as sanding drum.
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Disk is put on pin, if you don't want it to turn then use some double side tape to keep it in place. Other wise it turns with the template.
Warning if you are going the wrong direction you might un thread the pin after a while.
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Disk is in place and ready to use.
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Note that drum sander is lowered so it just clears the disk.
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More to follow.


Ed

[reible]

didn't have a project to do at this moment using this but I wanted to present it anyway as maybe someone else is working on something that this idea would help. What I did was take a cut out from another project and made it into a pattern... so if you are wondering what you are seeing it is really nothing but a prop for this posting.

On the right is the pattern, on the left is a piece I cut out on the band saw leaving the line plus a bit... If you leave to much it is more work to do this operation so keep it close.
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Pattern and new piece are stuck together with double side tape.
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You can see that the corners were not close at all...
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Another of the corners, maybe just a little better then the first.
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The stack is then sanded. Keep the pattern on the bottom against the pin and the workpiece on top where the sanding is happening.


Note the pile of sawdust. That is what it took to get the pieces to be the same... I guess I should have added a dust port... maybe next time.
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Still more to come.


Ed

[reible]

This is the final part of this post so if you made it this far you are almost done.



I also have a disk that uses a 10-32 screw to mount the disk. I was trying out both methods and I still can't decide any advantages or lack of them for either method.
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Disk in place. If you look close you might have noticed the head is above the disk height, that is only because I didn't screw it all the way in.
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Not shown but important is that you will end up wearing out just the area of the drum that is doing the sanding. To add life to the sanding drum you can add something to space the pattern from the workpiece so the sanding will be done a little higher on the drum. Or you can also flip the sanding drum over and use that part of the fresh sandpaper. (I have even seen really cheap people who slice the sanding drums in half so the have two more fresh sanding areas to use.) (Maybe some one want to make it into thirds or forths???)

So there you go yet another thing you need for your shopsmith.

Ed

[a1gutterman]

Very cool, Ed.

[reible]

Yes, and it was made in American by an American using a shopsmith.

Very cool, Ed.

[a1gutterman]

Yes, and it was made in American by an American using a shopsmith.

And from my wife: