Oval Sander

anmius · Post by **anmius** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 5:19 pm

I have had luck with the shaper fence in conjunction with the drum sander to sand straight areas between curved sections. It takes careful set-up of the spacing of the shaper fence but it worked jsut fine on a number of boxes I made last year.

bffulgham · Post by **bffulgham** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:19 pm

JPG40504 wrote:Why not? Raise the quill, place the workpiece/pattern on the table, lower the quill and sand the inner edge.

Yeah, it will work as long as everything fits on the inside of the oval. "Everything" being the guide attached to the miter slot.

The "32 x 20" would work just fine.
A 6 x 10 prolly not so well.

beatnik · Post by **beatnik** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:01 pm

But what you're saying I would still have to make a pattern right ? That would still take the same free hand steps I'm currently doing for the pattern wouldn't it ?

Cnc router would sure be nice sometimes.

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:35 pm

beatnik wrote:But what you're saying I would still have to make a pattern right ? That would still take the same free hand steps I'm currently doing for the pattern wouldn't it ?

Cnc router would sure be nice sometimes.

Yep, you got it. That's why I asked if you were making multiple ovals.

I like your sander concept. The french curve of belt sanders.

But I wonder about the belt friction on a curved platen like that. It is a bit like a band brake, so low-friction coatings might be essential in order to make it practical.

A CNC router sounds good, but if you have to write custom programs for one-offs, would it really save you time?

Your curved belt sander sketch got me thinking about some cool vintage tools that I have -- I lucked into a big toolbox full of pattern-maker stuff along with a 10ER purchase. Among the tools are a number of small spokeshaves. Some have flat bases, but most have convex curved bases. The curve radius varies amongst the spokeshaves. I haven't really used them yet, but I do believe that they must have been designed for exactly the sort of work that you are describing.

Here are some modern ones. Maybe some of the hand-tool gurus can weigh in on these. It seems that the old-timers had some effective techniques that have been largely forgotten in the power-tool age.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:37 pm

beatnik wrote:But what you're saying I would still have to make a pattern right ? That would still take the same free hand steps I'm currently doing for the pattern wouldn't it ?

Cnc router would sure be nice sometimes.

Assuming you are using the SS and the pattern sizing guide, yes. One for inside and one for outside.

beatnik · Post by **beatnik** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:38 pm

My dad was a pattern maker in the aircraft industry here in DFW. Wish I had all his tools, but sis took care of that. I do have his oak box though !

Everything I build here is a one off custom. Very few jobs have more than one arched window opening the same because sheetrock work is all over the place.

I was thinking of covering the platen much like a handheld with a replaceable sheet. This all depends on what I find.

beatnik · Post by **beatnik** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:47 pm

Has anyone seen these Rigids in person ? Looks like nothing but plastic ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ridgid-Oscillat ... 43ccb765ba

Jack Wilson · Post by **Jack Wilson** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:33 pm

I have one, and yes it is mostly plastic. But for the $125.00 I paid for it, the thing works pretty well. I have had it for about four years and it is still going strong.

beatnik · Post by **beatnik** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 8:54 pm

I was thinking. Since I would be gutting the thing down to the belt sander and mounting it under a table. Maybe if I could find a 3x21 hand held that the whole roller assembly was a removable set up ? Or just chop a Porter Cable down because I know they last.

beatnik · Post by **beatnik** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:23 pm

Here's a shot of what I'm working on, the sander I need for the panels oval rail.