Lathe Drum Sander? Can it be done? & Jigs

[MrAudio815]

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to get your thoughts and ideas. I was thinking of using my lathe as a Drum/Thickness Sander for flat work, as it does have a motor and spins!

Then I would make a bed to attach to the lathe bed and then add DC to the top? What do you think, can it be done?

Does the HF have enough power for this?

Here's a link for a smaller application, But I was thinking more of 25"+
http://www2.woodcraft.com/pdf/77A25.pdf

Here's a Lathe Drum sander a little bigger, but still not as big as I want:
http://www.smithart.us/downloads/Drum%20Sander.pdf

Ah.. Here we go, a little bigger and better step by step instructions:
http://www.stwt.org/drumsander.pdf

Shop made Drum/Thickness sander:
http://www.rockslide.org/drum%20sander.html

Another Shop built drum sander:
http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/...cles_528.shtml

Link for making Large Flat Jaws Bigger:
http://www.laymar-crafts.co.uk/tip18.htm

Also I was thinking of calling Grizzly and ordering a drum from the parts manual and attaching it to my lathe....Then I would get 37" of sanding area, and Grizzly is relatively cheap on there parts:
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/pro...le-Phase/G0449


Thanks again, oh and if anyone has tackled this project, pictures & step by step will be highly encouraged!

[araldite]

To get a really uniform thickness you need a uniform feed rate under the drum. I would think feeding it by hand might result in a wavy surface that would be noticeable on larger flat surfaces. Just a guess, I've never tried it. ShopNotes issue 86 has detailed plans for building one for what they claim is about $200. It sits on your table saw and is powered from its motor with a belt. It uses a hand cranked wide sandpaper belt to feed the stock. You can download the plans for $9.95 if your interested at http://plansnow.com/dn3078.html. You might be able to combine their design with the lathe designs and come up with something that works for you. Good luck.

[mbolt512]

[quote=araldite;229748]To get a really uniform thickness you need a uniform feed rate under the drum. I would think feeding it by hand might result in a wavy surface that would be noticeable on larger flat surfaces.


Can you use a second motor with lower rpm's or geared down with a conveyor belt to get a consistant feed rate? I have a 1hp motor that only turns 12 rpm's.

[MrAudio815]

[quote=mbolt512;229763]

Originally Posted by araldite

To get a really uniform thickness you need a uniform feed rate under the drum. I would think feeding it by hand might result in a wavy surface that would be noticeable on larger flat surfaces.


Can you use a second motor with lower rpm's or geared down with a conveyor belt to get a consistant feed rate? I have a 1hp motor that only turns 12 rpm's.

Hum, Gets me thinking... I wonder if there is a way to attach one of Earl's homemade faceplate's with the 1x8 nut with a gear attached to it before the drum and then have that gear connect to another in the bed at a slower gear ratio to feed the items being sanded? What do you think?

Like how this guy makes all his gears from wood: http://woodgears.ca/gear_cutting/plywood_gears.html & http://woodgears.ca/box_joint/jig.html A truley amazing woodworker, Jig maker... Especailly his Dad and his homemade hinges: http://woodgears.ca/wood_hardware/hinges.html
and door handles: http://woodgears.ca/wood_hardware/doorknobs.html


I am also just trying to conserve space, money, and use something that already has a motor.

Thanks for the ideas, and keep them rolling!

[Tarhead]

I think you'll need a lot more grunt for anything over 12". I can bring my 1hp 16/32 drum sander to a dead stop (and flip the breaker) with a 12" board, a big bite and a feed rate of slightly over a 2 ft/min.

Here's another option which could be easily adapted to your lathe: http://www.stockroomsupply.com/Drum_Sander_Plans.php

It works totally different than the other drum sanders...more like a jointer than a planer. The air-space between the hook and loop under the abrasive creates the depth of cut keeping the abrasive cool. Based on what I saw at the Charlotte WW Show they work well and can be put together with a few spare parts. The Hook & Loop covering for the drum would be the only non-standard item if you adapted it to your lathe. You can cut 2" discs out of scrap MDF with a hole saw and glue them together for the drum.

[MrAudio815]

Originally Posted by Tarhead

I think you'll need a lot more grunt for anything over 12". I can bring my 1hp 16/32 drum sander to a dead stop (and flip the breaker) with a 12" board, a big bite and a feed rate of slightly over a 2 ft/min.

Here's another option which could be easily adapted to your lathe: http://www.stockroomsupply.com/Drum_Sander_Plans.php

It works totally different than the other drum sanders...more like a jointer than a planer. The air-space between the hook and loop under the abrasive creates the depth of cut keeping the abrasive cool. Based on what I saw at the Charlotte WW Show they work well and can be put together with a few spare parts. The Hook & Loop covering for the drum would be the only non-standard item if you adapted it to your lathe. You can cut 2" discs out of scrap MDF with a hole saw and glue them together for the drum.

Um which plan is it on the website? I just get there home page and see many drum sanders, but none for a lathe? And how much material are you taking off when it comes to a complete stop? If I was taking 1/32" or 1/16" is that a small amount?

I see some of there kits for $205 plus... I am thinking more around $20 (Hoping and Dreaming)

[Tarhead]

Originally Posted by MrAudio815

Um which plan is it on the website? I just get there home page and see many drum sanders, but none for a lathe? And how much material are you taking off when it comes to a complete stop? If I was taking 1/32" or 1/16" is that a small amount?

I see some of there kits for $205 plus... I am thinking more around $20 (Hoping and Dreaming)

Look at this one: http://www.stockroomsupply.com/BasicDrumSanderInst.pdf

You don't need all the pulleys, belts, pillow blocks, etc as the lathe provides all this. All you would need is the Hook and Loop conversion roll http://www.stockroomsupply.com/prices/VCDchartc.php#CR to cover the drum. Construct the drum as I said above and adapt it to your lathe. Adjust your lathe to ~1725rpms. Probably will need some type of adapter for each end of the drum. Build a box similar to the plan above. Watch the video here for more info on how to use it: http://www.theonlinewoodshow.com/sho...=1&prod=DVD001

You'll need to think a little out of the box for this but it should work fine.

As far as bogging down my drum sander I rarely take >1/128in/pass on stock over 12" at the slowest feed rate using 100grit paper. Otherwise it gets real frustrating. A planer works better for thicknessing, drum sander for finishing.

[froglips]

I like it. Just don't have any good ideas yet. I'll spare you my ideas guarenteed to leave you in various stages of personal injury.....

You might find something like how the Shopsmith mounts a Sand-Flee interesting.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/c.../sand-flee.htm

Whats troublesome is the basic function of a thickness sander. In theory its like a planer without knives. A planer "should" have the face opposite from the cutterhead flat.

Since a lathe is designed for lateral thrust/forces (i think thats right), it would be a good choice. Unlike say, a drill press.

On suggestion, is look at inflatable sanding drums. You might be able to fudge a lot if you reduce the rigidity and mass of say, a solid telephone pole wrapped with sandpaper

Jim

[MrAudio815]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas I am getting more and more and have started to get my ideas together.

I did read how this guy Blake on lumberjocks made his and where he got a lot of his info for size of drum compared to length and size of sand paper. http://lumberjocks.com/projects/7641

I think I am just going to Buy a roller from the parts list for this machine http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/pro...er-w-VS/G1066Z and buy some sand paper to match, make some sort of jig according to th ideas given and see how it goes.

Thanks again,