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Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:05 am
by Skarsaune
I mentioned this in a post in "Blog your project" but figured it fit better here....
sander.jpg
Here's the sander I built last winter and have used this building season ( I only have time to work in my wood shop in the winter).
Super handy for thicknessing items precisely that are too thin for my planer.
I've used it on backs, sides, tops, binding, head stock veneers, etc etc etc. The longer I have it the more uses I find for it.

4" conveyor roller from an industrial salvage place. Took it to work and trued up the surface.
Pillow block bearings from Northern Tool.
I used velcro on the roller to attach the sandpaper, which I get from Klingspor.
Table adjustment - looking at the pic, this is before I built the adjustment. The whole table hinges up and there's a threaded rod with a handle to jack it up. I get about .010" in thickness per quarter turn.
Table is doubled up MDF.

And yes there is a hood that goes over the roller and has a 4" dust collection port. Definitely necessary as this guy makes some serious saw dust!

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:05 am
by bftobin
Nicely done! How wide is the drum ?
I use Klingspor on mine too. I tried a lower priced product but it wasn't worth it at all.

Brent

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:09 am
by Skarsaune
If I remember right, I've got 20" usable sanding space, roller is probably 24". Lose a little on each end.

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:15 pm
by Morecowbell
Really nice - love these simple solutions. What kind of rpm is the drum running, what hp motor? And do you just feed stock slowly by hand?

Thanks for posting

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:47 pm
by Skarsaune
Working from memory - motor is 1750 rpm and the pulley up to the drum is 4" to 4".
4" drum at 1750 rpm is pretty close to 1800 surface feet per minute, which from memory is about right for wood.
I can check when I get home to be more precise.
I built it almost exactly a year ago, so it's not fresh in my mind.
I did look at recomendations for surface speed for sanding when I built it to help size the pulleys I used. And I believe I slowed it down a bit from my initial setup.
With the wood frame, it doesn't handle high speed and vibration like the cast iron of my Bridgeport.

It is hand fed, so if you're working on a short piece, you have to use a sled.

One thing I've run into after using it for a while is, it won't accept a very thick piece. I may modify it to open up further, but if I'm working on 3/4" or 1" stock, I'm usually using a planer.

Oh and it's a 1/2hp motor. With it being hand fed, you don't need a lot of hp. It'll just sling the part at you if you try to take too heavy of a pass.

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 9:44 pm
by MaineGeezer
Nice! Can you describe/show how the Velcro sandpaper attaching works? I use the 3M stick-on rolls for mine, and it's a huge pain to remove when I want to replace the paper.

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:34 pm
by Skarsaune
I used this stuff, which I bought at lowes:
IMG_2372.JPG
Works with the sandpaper from Klingspors ( and I'm sure other suppliers) that uses hook&loop fastening
IMG_2375.JPG
Wrap the velcro around your drum, making sure you have a good clean surface for it to adhere to:
IMG_2373.JPG

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:36 pm
by Skarsaune
You do lose a little effective sanding area at each end.
My drum is 24", I can sand probably 22". If you catch the end that is turning the "wrong" way, it will catch, come loose, and generally misbehave.
IMG_2376.JPG
Hope this helps.

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2020 7:22 pm
by MaineGeezer
Very much! Thank you. I'll have to try that.

Re: Shop built thickness sander

Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 7:46 am
by Morecowbell
Would love to see some pics of the adjusting mechanism when you get a chance - thanks!