My under $100 wide drum sander (a work in progress)

Such creativity. Great job Daren.

-- Scott in Texas

Nice job, Daren. This is a great project. You saved yourself a bundle and you got the personal satisfaction from completing the project.

Well done!!!

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

nice. i gotta make me a drum sander too. i like the choice of music also ;)

Very nice job!!!! I want one!!!!

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Daren,

Great looking machine!

Thanks for the post.

I want a 60 inch version.

Do you see one this size in your future?

-- Makin' Sawdust!!!

Sawdust, just playing around I did find if I was taking alot of material I would get visible marks where I stopped to get another grip (I am just at this time pushing the stock through manually, may look at power feed some day). But just a baby bite for the last one and the pieces come out smooth even hand feeding. So the last pass is just barely touching the roller and no problems with the few pieces I have sanded.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

How is the kickback factor without having a conveyer?

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

I felt pretty comfortable that a kickback is not likely….but watch the video again I never stand behind the board, I am beside it for safety reasons. 2 things, one that was just test piece that normally I would have just ran through my planer. I am just going to use this for boards in the 16”-24” range and 6’-12’ long, I am not sure with my holding on the motor even has enough power to throw one of those. I intentionally jammed it one time and was able to hold on and make the belt slip instead of kick back. 2 I will most always have a helper, I will feed in and the helper will pull out…having said that I have already started a conveyor (scrapping a heavy duty treadmill) I will update as that comes along. Safety is always a concern of mine though and I am being very careful as always.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Very cool. Great project but you really need a respirator or at least a good fan for all that dust!

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

Blake that was just a test. I am building a dust hood to hook up to the dust collector…Phase 2…power feed. I got my “free” treadmill parts. I will update when I get the power feed running.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

An excellent tool. I have been kicking around the idea of drum sander or thickness sander around for a while. After seeing this one, I may need to start to act.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

can’t wait to see the power feed. thats gonna be cool. i am looking into making one and it will have to have power feed for smaller pieces. or else it will be a pain. is there any snipe?

This is getting interesting.

Great thus far.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

reminds me of the one in shop notes a couple of years back.
Brian, check on plansNow, I bet they have back issues you can order with the plans.

-- Ned - 2B1ASK1 http://nedswoodshop.blogspot.com

Wow, 25” eh, they get bigger and bigger. And I love that rise and fall mechanism Daren; it’s real Da Vinci!

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems

50” version lol. looks to work well, great proof of concept. I think phase 2 should be the dust collector, unless you plan of sanding outside. Looks great, looking forward to the final phase.

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

great design its simple and looks like it works fantastic. i would not mind building one of these for myself. thanks for the post

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

Looks great, can’t wait to see it finished!

Think I might make one myself

Callum

-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/

Wow, that’ really a great tool to have, and especially since you made it. Great job.

I’ll assume that you have way too much Spalted Maple in your shop ! hahahaa The sander is a great project . How fine would you sand a board for your customers ? At what speed does that motor turn on its own ? Got anymore of that Spalted Maple in stock ?

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Thats a neat idea.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Dusty, yea my “scrap” spalted maple plugs have gotten more than one comment. I am not sanding for customers, just sanding stock I want to sell as surfaced instead of rough sawn. The motor is 3650 rpm, I estimate the drum is spinning 2200-2500 rpm (?) Yes I usually have spalted maple (and other stuff) in stock.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/