Using the Drum Sander
Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 3:31 pm
This a continuation of the previous Drum Sander for the Shopsmith posts
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 5&p=216409
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... ml#p216413
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... ml#p216986
I am sure that some of you are getting tired of these posts so this will be my last one regarding the drum sander. I will spend most of the time here covering the most fundamental process in woodworking, milling rough stock to accurately dimensioned wood parts. I usually start out with 8/4” rough stock available from my local supplier but I have at times purchased 13/16” stock that has been run through a large drum thickness sander. I like the 8/4” stock because you have the most control over the finished product and it costs less. I usually get a 8/4” x 8”x 10 feet rough cut maple, beech, jatoba, cherry, mahogany or walnut. The first step is to pick out the sections you want to use and cut them to rough finished lengths. I usually allow at least 2” over the final length required. Most of the time the project will call for lengths no longer than 4 feet which is quite manageable but occasionally a 6 or 7 feet requirement will crop up that will make things more challenging. I usually make the rough cuts with my 12” miter saw which is quite manageable but I have also used a portable jig saw with a long blade and even a handsaw. The quality of the cut is not a concern but safety is.
Traditionally, the next steps would be to 1) mill one face flat with a jointer, 2) mill one edge perpendicular to that face with the jointer, 3) cut to the rough thickness desired with a bandsaw, 4) use a planer to mill to the final thickness desired and to ensure that both faces are parallel, 5) rip cut to final width with a table saw, 6) cut to final length with a table saw or miter saw, and 7) sand out any milling marks left usually with an orbital disk sander. That is five separate power tools required of which four of them are fairly expensive and take up a lot of shop space. Other disadvantages include the need for a heavy duty dust collector, the upkeep of all those tools, learning to safely use all of them and having to deal with the tear out that jointers and planers inflict on figured wood. For me tear out is the most frustrating issue because there are few good options to deal with it and it frequently occurs at least for me on most of the woods I mentioned above.
I have been able to simplify the milling process by using just a bandsaw and the drum sander, and a shop vac if you want to count that. If you have a Shopsmith bandsaw it can be mounted at the SPT end of the Shopsmith while the drum sander is mounted on right side which is about as efficient as you can get for milling operations because you don’t have to tear down or set up anything from beginning to end. In my case in addition to the Shopsmith I have a standalone 18” bandsaw that has a 12” resaw capacity which allows me to cut 8 “ wide stock to rough thickness with no additional steps.
The first part of the milling process is similar – 1) using the drum sander sand one face flat using 40 grit paper followed by 100 and 150 grits, 2) sand one edge flat and perpendicular to the face using 40 grit followed by 100 and 150, and 3) cut to rough thickness desired, about 1/16” thicker than the final thickness, using the bandsaw.
In order to perform a planer function some additional accessories need to be added to the drum sander. I made a 14” wide x 36” long sled from ¼” MDF. Even though the MDF is pretty flat I made several passes over the drum first with 150 grit and then 220 grit to get it very flat. I also glued six ¾” x ¾”x 14” aluminum angle stock equally spaced down the length of the sled to prevent any sag across the width of the sled while keeping the sled as light as possible. I then cut two hard maple rails to about 1/32” thicker than the final thickness desired for my milled stock. I used double sided tape to tape the flat face of the stock to be planed to the bottom of the sled. I also used tape to fix the rails on top of the drum sander table and on either side of the stock so the sled can slide on the rails when the stock approaches final thickness. I used 40 grit paper so it only takes a few passes before the stock is totally supported by the sled riding on the rails. I keep taking passes until I feel and hear that no more stock is being removed, usually no more than four or five passes total. The sled will support stock up to 4 feet long and 12” wide. Longer stock can be supported by making a longer sled but the limit will be around 7 feet before things start to get unwieldy. The stock is removed from the sled and now should have parallel faces. I use 100 grit followed by 150 grit paper on the drum sander to sand it down to the final thickness using a digital caliper to check after each of the final 150 grit passes.
Instead of setting the table saw up on the Shopsmith I use the bandsaw to rip cut to a rough width, about 1/32” wider than final width, and then use the drum sander with 150 grit paper to sand it square to the faces and to the final width. Finally, the stock is cut to final length using a miter saw or table saw. The whole process goes much quicker and easier than it is to explain it. The stock is now ready for glue-up, edging, jointery or whatever the next step is in your project.
I don’t think I am going to sell off my jointer and planer since I already own them but I don’t think I will be using them that much. Unless I am working with very straight grained wood with no figuring I am not going to chance the tear out. I hope you have found some value to my long winded posts on this unique drum sander that can be built for your Shopsmith. It is now time for me to start making some productive sawdust.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 5&p=216409
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... ml#p216413
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... ml#p216986
I am sure that some of you are getting tired of these posts so this will be my last one regarding the drum sander. I will spend most of the time here covering the most fundamental process in woodworking, milling rough stock to accurately dimensioned wood parts. I usually start out with 8/4” rough stock available from my local supplier but I have at times purchased 13/16” stock that has been run through a large drum thickness sander. I like the 8/4” stock because you have the most control over the finished product and it costs less. I usually get a 8/4” x 8”x 10 feet rough cut maple, beech, jatoba, cherry, mahogany or walnut. The first step is to pick out the sections you want to use and cut them to rough finished lengths. I usually allow at least 2” over the final length required. Most of the time the project will call for lengths no longer than 4 feet which is quite manageable but occasionally a 6 or 7 feet requirement will crop up that will make things more challenging. I usually make the rough cuts with my 12” miter saw which is quite manageable but I have also used a portable jig saw with a long blade and even a handsaw. The quality of the cut is not a concern but safety is.
Traditionally, the next steps would be to 1) mill one face flat with a jointer, 2) mill one edge perpendicular to that face with the jointer, 3) cut to the rough thickness desired with a bandsaw, 4) use a planer to mill to the final thickness desired and to ensure that both faces are parallel, 5) rip cut to final width with a table saw, 6) cut to final length with a table saw or miter saw, and 7) sand out any milling marks left usually with an orbital disk sander. That is five separate power tools required of which four of them are fairly expensive and take up a lot of shop space. Other disadvantages include the need for a heavy duty dust collector, the upkeep of all those tools, learning to safely use all of them and having to deal with the tear out that jointers and planers inflict on figured wood. For me tear out is the most frustrating issue because there are few good options to deal with it and it frequently occurs at least for me on most of the woods I mentioned above.
I have been able to simplify the milling process by using just a bandsaw and the drum sander, and a shop vac if you want to count that. If you have a Shopsmith bandsaw it can be mounted at the SPT end of the Shopsmith while the drum sander is mounted on right side which is about as efficient as you can get for milling operations because you don’t have to tear down or set up anything from beginning to end. In my case in addition to the Shopsmith I have a standalone 18” bandsaw that has a 12” resaw capacity which allows me to cut 8 “ wide stock to rough thickness with no additional steps.
The first part of the milling process is similar – 1) using the drum sander sand one face flat using 40 grit paper followed by 100 and 150 grits, 2) sand one edge flat and perpendicular to the face using 40 grit followed by 100 and 150, and 3) cut to rough thickness desired, about 1/16” thicker than the final thickness, using the bandsaw.
In order to perform a planer function some additional accessories need to be added to the drum sander. I made a 14” wide x 36” long sled from ¼” MDF. Even though the MDF is pretty flat I made several passes over the drum first with 150 grit and then 220 grit to get it very flat. I also glued six ¾” x ¾”x 14” aluminum angle stock equally spaced down the length of the sled to prevent any sag across the width of the sled while keeping the sled as light as possible. I then cut two hard maple rails to about 1/32” thicker than the final thickness desired for my milled stock. I used double sided tape to tape the flat face of the stock to be planed to the bottom of the sled. I also used tape to fix the rails on top of the drum sander table and on either side of the stock so the sled can slide on the rails when the stock approaches final thickness. I used 40 grit paper so it only takes a few passes before the stock is totally supported by the sled riding on the rails. I keep taking passes until I feel and hear that no more stock is being removed, usually no more than four or five passes total. The sled will support stock up to 4 feet long and 12” wide. Longer stock can be supported by making a longer sled but the limit will be around 7 feet before things start to get unwieldy. The stock is removed from the sled and now should have parallel faces. I use 100 grit followed by 150 grit paper on the drum sander to sand it down to the final thickness using a digital caliper to check after each of the final 150 grit passes.
Instead of setting the table saw up on the Shopsmith I use the bandsaw to rip cut to a rough width, about 1/32” wider than final width, and then use the drum sander with 150 grit paper to sand it square to the faces and to the final width. Finally, the stock is cut to final length using a miter saw or table saw. The whole process goes much quicker and easier than it is to explain it. The stock is now ready for glue-up, edging, jointery or whatever the next step is in your project.
I don’t think I am going to sell off my jointer and planer since I already own them but I don’t think I will be using them that much. Unless I am working with very straight grained wood with no figuring I am not going to chance the tear out. I hope you have found some value to my long winded posts on this unique drum sander that can be built for your Shopsmith. It is now time for me to start making some productive sawdust.