Shopsmith Forums

Having recently found a cheap SS thickness planer in need of a feed rollers and some electrolytic rust removal on many parts I'm facing complete dis-assembly.
While this type of thing doesn't bother me to tackle, I'd prefer not to go in blind.

Since the unit did not come with a manual, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of of a downloadable manual or exploded views that are larger than those on the SS site.

Also, and here's the real question that I'm pondering, As I look at the straight forward design, and since I already have a benchtop planer, I'm wondering if anyone has converted or contemplated converting a thickness planer to a 12" drum sander. It seems, on the surface at least, a matter of modifying/sleeveing or replacing the cutter head to end up with a sanding drum instead.

The separate variable speed feed motor coupled with the SS RPM adjustment, seems to make it a natural conversion. This seems so simple that I must be missing something...and that what forums are for, right? So?

trainguytom wrote:Having recently found a cheap SS thickness planer in need of a feed rollers and some electrolytic rust removal on many parts I'm facing complete dis-assembly.
While this type of thing doesn't bother me to tackle, I'd prefer not to go in blind.

Since the unit did not come with a manual, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of of a downloadable manual or exploded views that are larger than those on the SS site.

Also, and here's the real question that I'm pondering, As I look at the straight forward design, and since I already have a benchtop planer, I'm wondering if anyone has converted or contemplated converting a thickness planer to a 12" drum sander. It seems, on the surface at least, a matter of modifying/sleeveing or replacing the cutter head to end up with a sanding drum instead.

The separate variable speed feed motor coupled with the SS RPM adjustment, seems to make it a natural conversion. This seems so simple that I must be missing something...and that what forums are for, right? So?

What is the SandFlee?

dusty wrote:What is the SandFlee?

http://www.rjrstudios.com/

Its a drum sander that you pass the piece over the top rather than the bottom.

trainguytom wrote:Having recently found a cheap SS thickness planer in need of a feed rollers and some electrolytic rust removal on many parts I'm facing complete dis-assembly.
While this type of thing doesn't bother me to tackle, I'd prefer not to go in blind.

Since the unit did not come with a manual, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of of a downloadable manual or exploded views that are larger than those on the SS site.

Also, and here's the real question that I'm pondering, As I look at the straight forward design, and since I already have a benchtop planer, I'm wondering if anyone has converted or contemplated converting a thickness planer to a 12" drum sander. It seems, on the surface at least, a matter of modifying/sleeveing or replacing the cutter head to end up with a sanding drum instead.

The separate variable speed feed motor coupled with the SS RPM adjustment, seems to make it a natural conversion. This seems so simple that I must be missing something...and that what forums are for, right? So?

This is totally viable in my opinion...the real issue is probably cost for most. The planer was so expensive to begin with that there just aren't that many out there. There are commercial planers that are designed for converting from planing to drum sanding and back, like the Woodmaster and the Foley-Belsaw.

Assuming I had an "extra" planer then yeah, it probably would work. One issue is that most drum sander designs are for about 4" diameter drums. The planer cutterhead is much smaller. You certainly could make a replacement drum that was larger, but it would reduce the capacity and perhaps require other modifications. The smaller radius could introduce heat problems or clogging of the sandpaper too fast.

I hope to see some shots of your successful conversion though, its a neat idea.

One issue that needs to be considered is the relationship between the cutter head and the feed rollers. These need to be on the same plane, or at least close, so that the wood can be fed into the sanding drum so that only a small amount of material is removed with each pass. In that regard, you're likely stuck with a sanding drum that has a diameter that closely matches the current cutter head plus knives.

Also, you'll need to be able to secure the sandpaper to the cutter head. A possibility here is to simply add some hook-and-loop material to the cutter head. Grizzly sells an hook-and-loop upgrade kit for its 24" drum sander. Klingspor also sells hook-and-loop rolls. Perhaps just adding the hook-and-loop material to the Shopsmith cutter head would be sufficient to match the cutter head to the rollers.

trainguytom wrote:Having recently found a cheap SS thickness planer in need of a feed rollers and some electrolytic rust removal on many parts I'm facing complete dis-assembly.
While this type of thing doesn't bother me to tackle, I'd prefer not to go in blind.

Since the unit did not come with a manual, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of of a downloadable manual or exploded views that are larger than those on the SS site.

Also, and here's the real question that I'm pondering, As I look at the straight forward design, and since I already have a benchtop planer, I'm wondering if anyone has converted or contemplated converting a thickness planer to a 12" drum sander. It seems, on the surface at least, a matter of modifying/sleeveing or replacing the cutter head to end up with a sanding drum instead.

The separate variable speed feed motor coupled with the SS RPM adjustment, seems to make it a natural conversion. This seems so simple that I must be missing something...and that what forums are for, right? So?

The planer cutter head and the available room it takes really looks much too small for any type of sanding drum and its attached sanding belt. You need room for the round sanding drum and belt to work. I believe you need at least a 3"-5" sanding drum so the sanding belt can be contoured around the sanding drum and allow room of expansion when operating. There are several homemade sanding setups discussed on other web sites and some were previously discussed on this Forum. I find the planer is too expensive and does an excellant job to convert to any other type of machine.

A Sand Flee type drum sander appears to be a much better solution for a Shopsmith mounted drum sander which a constructed model was previously posted on this Forum.

See, I knew it just seemed too simple...and yet you know how it is sometimes when someone says that it can't be done...

Are we really comparing the acts of thickness planing and Surface sanding here. I have both tools and find each does its job well. For removing significant thickness from wood the planer is the best solution. For final sanding the sand flee is terrific. However the Sand Flee was never designed for reduction of thickness. Jim

fjimp wrote:Are we really comparing the acts of thickness planing and Surface sanding here. I have both tools and find each does its job well. For removing significant thickness from wood the planer is the best solution. For final sanding the sand flee is terrific. However the Sand Flee was never designed for reduction of thickness. Jim

Nope. I was just looking at alternatives to refurbishing the planer I found, since I have another planer but have kinda wanted a wide drum sander.