555948 Shopsmith 2-1/4" x 6" Sanding Drum - worth buying?

[mauka]

Looked but didn't find any direct reviews of this item. Seems there are multiple types of "Drum sanders", this and the shorter one from SS seem more like spindle sanders.

My application is finishing small hardwood boxes from lumber I'm milling from logs. Widest would be 6", and I have the SS Jointer, 12" disc, and a 12" Makita planner. May not even need this. I am concerned about the unsupported end sagging under pressure.

Found some old posts about SS powered DIY wide drum sanders, those looked cool.

[ERLover]

I am not sure what you want to accomplish, but I dont think you need it, the planer will smooth/size what you want and and then sand with a random orbital.

[reible]

This might interest you:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/woodw ... -t863.html

I still use this a fair amount and it makes good use of the 6" sander.

Ed

[reubenjames]

Also, if you are looking for DIY thickness sanders, Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone chapter on Drum Sanding has sketches for one (see Fig. 18-10), and ShopNotes magazine, issue #86, has full plans for a build that uses a belt driven by your table saw arbor. You can build it that way or, if you are clever and tweak it, you can build it to run directly off of one of the SS power drives.

[ERLover]

RubenJames
I am a good judge of people, just like when you posted about your board game and I Googled it and asked if you where a Mennonite, I think you may be an Mechanical Engineer? Or Computer Tech? Just asking.

[algale]

I have the Shopsmith 6" drum sander. I like it, but I haven't done anything with it that I couldn't have accomplished with the 2-1/4 version (if I owned one) and I doubt I will ever need the full 6" length unless I decide to make Ed's jig.

[charlese]

I don't see where drum sanders would be of any use on your boxes, unless they are used with a split fence.

I assume your boxes are rectangular cubical shape with flat sides, top and bottom. If you don't like hand sanding, I suggest you look at a hand held power sander. If you're looking to spend some $, look at the belt sander, strip sander or better yet a thickness sander.

[mauka]

Thanks for the advice, gonna to skip the Sanding Drums for now. I think it's partly that old payday malady, "new tool fever", plus I never did like sanding all that much...

[ERLover]

The problem drum sanding if the head does not oscillate even with finer grits, you have all these little groves that still need to be sanded out.

[jsburger]

The problem drum sanding if the head does not oscillate even with finer grits, you have all these little groves that still need to be sanded out.

SS does sell an oscillator. I have always thought it to be a little hokey so I never bought it. Last time I looked they were still selling it. Does anyone have one and how does it work?