Thread: Building a thickness sander - WIP

Originally Posted by pmcgee

First off I have to strongly register my disapproval of this "saying I will do something ... and then doing it" carry-on.

Frankly, it's making us look bad - and if the other halves ever get wind of the concept ... transformed of course into "she saying we will do something ... and then me doing it" ... we're all completely stuffed.


How, sir, how?! Details please.

I had a thought that if you knew you had the axle parallel to the table, you could stick sandpaper to the table and get the drum to wear itself even.

Paul

No fear Paul, "she" will never actually know when its finished as there will always (wink, wink) be something more to do on it Haha.
And yes to true up the drum I used sand paper on a flat board under the drum gradually raising the table till both weremin sink.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Nice work, Rumnut, it's looking pretty good. Progressing nicely.
Make sure it has a nice, big dust chute. These things produce an amazing amount of dust.

Steve the plan is to put a 5" outlet on it to match the outlet on the dusty.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

how adjustable is the bed, it does not look like you can take a big range in timber sizes?

Dave the max it will take is 60mm which is more than sufficient for my requirements.

Originally Posted by tdrumnut

Steve the plan is to put a 5" outlet on it to match the outlet on the dusty.

That's a nice size. Mine only has a 2 1/2" port. I've been considering making a 4" port to suit my ducting, but haven't got around to it and just use an adaptor for now.

Originally Posted by tdrumnut

.
Power switch $4.00, Bearings X 2 $35.27, pillow block housing X 2 $16.19, Pulley 3 1/4" $20.83, Pulley 2" $12.40, Key steel $2.63, 3/4"steel shaft $8.00 Total so far $99.32
.

Your project has excited me a great deal. It's a fantastic idea.

I've asked the sandpaper man about the Velcro backing, it's not of his site.

May I ask where you acquired the other parts from?

Originally Posted by Evanism

Your project has excited me a great deal. It's a fantastic idea.

I've asked the sandpaper man about the Velcro backing, it's not of his site.

May I ask where you acquired the other parts from?

The velcro is under sheets - hook and loop on the website. Comes in sheets 305 wide i think and you order the length you require.
The bearing & pillow block housing I got from our local bearing supplier (I could have got some cheaper ones of ebay but wanted good quality).
The pulleys & key stell came from Alma engineering & tool supplies.
The steel rod came from a local steel supplier who cuts to whatever length you want.
Everything else came from the shed.
Hope this helps.

Well folks it is finally done, it stalled a bit as I had some other stuff on but the last few bits are completed and it works like a dream. When attached to the dusty there is virtually no visible dust left on the machine. Now I know that there will be minute particles that can"t be seen but given the fact that it will be used outside the shed (as is the dusty) and I always wear PPE then I have declared it safe to use. Following are pics of the final product, the main things being, casters for mobilty, a side cover over the pulleys and belt, a hold down for the motor platform and of course the dustcollector/drum cover. The total out of pocket cost has been $201.90. Given that this machine works like a dream, the low cost and that it could be actually made in less than a week why the hell would someone go out and buy a manfactured one?
Here are the final pics.

very cool, glad you finished it

I have a Jet drum sander. The sanding drum spins anti-clockwise whilst a second motor runs the infeed table holds and passes the timber through, so there is no kickbacks or ripping it straight through.


So I'm just wondering how the timber is fed through your machine as I can't see anything for this action?

Hey there Rod, the timber is simply pushed through using a flat push stick (obviously thinner than the required finished size). I usedvit today to finish 16 coasters & 3 large cheese platters for an upcoming wedding and it worked perfectly.

Well done Rum Nut. As you say, " That's another job jobbed ". A very useful addition to the workshop.

Originally Posted by tdrumnut

The total out of pocket cost has been $201.90. Given that this machine works like a dream, the low cost and that it could be actually made in less than a week why the hell would someone go out and buy a manufactured one?

There are a few benefits to a bought one - variable speed conveyor feed as mentioned, most can handle much thicker timber, (mine goes up to 125mm), and a flatter sanding surface, (cast aluminium for the backing instead of hook & loop). Also, infeed and outfeed rollers keep the timber well held down against the conveyor to prevent kickback.
Still, it's hard to see why they're so expensive compared to other things and if I'd thought of it, I'd have built my own and saved $600 too.

I should add, the extra height is a big advantage - I made clamps to hold a board on it's edge as it passes through, so I can make the sides parallel easily. Works well, although it's a bit dustier when raised to full height. Would be easy to modify your's if needed, too, by the look of it.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Well done Rum Nut. As you say, " That's another job jobbed ". A very useful addition to the workshop.




There are a few benefits to a bought one - variable speed conveyor feed as mentioned, most can handle much thicker timber, (mine goes up to 125mm), and a flatter sanding surface, (cast aluminium for the backing instead of hook & loop). Also, infeed and outfeed rollers keep the timber well held down against the conveyor to prevent kickback.
Still, it's hard to see why they're so expensive compared to other things and if I'd thought of it, I'd have built my own and saved $600 too.

I should add, the extra height is a big advantage - I made clamps to hold a board on it's edge as it passes through, so I can make the sides parallel easily. Works well, although it's a bit dustier when raised to full height. Would be easy to modify your's if needed, too, by the look of it.

Dead right Steve, as mentioned earlier I made this to suit my current requirements but also keeping in mind that with a few changes it could be adapted for other uses. Although it will primarily be used for thicknessing narrow pieces (for box making) I will at some stage be making up a system that replaces the dust collection box with my version of a sand flea. Also the pillow blocks could at any stage be lifted to increase the distance between drum and table.