LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Project Information

I have FINALLY completed my drum sander project. I had been wanting to make a drum sander ever since I saw one on lumberjocks. The only problem was I didn't know if I wanted to make a finish sander or a thickness sander. So, I decided to make both! Its a 24 inch finish sander and thickness sander. The overall construction took close to a year because I never had the parts I needed and I never wanted to spend any money. So, I slowly started to accumulate some components that I thought would be useful. For the most part, almost everything was either found at a tag sale, or was stuff I had laying around the shop. I did have to purchase a few key components on ebay; like the conveyor belt, electric DC motor, and the potentiometer.

I originally made a scissor jack design, but it had disastrous results. My drill press and jigs just could not hold the tolerance and there were too many degrees of freedom to lock down. So, I reverted back to a typical piano hinge design. For the jack screw I simply flipped a shop fox veneer press upside down. The self aligning head on the press made it perfect for the tilting conveyor. The only problem with it is that the thread is rather corse so I can only do little turns. I think it would have been better to go with some threaded rod, but I really liked the handle on the veneer press.
Photobucket

The conveyor belt has a torsion box core with a mini torsion box that slides inside the larger one. This allowed me to put the conveyor belt on and then add tension. The bolts on either side of the belt act as tensioners and tracking screws. I just loosen or tighten one side and the conveyor belt shifts slightly form one side to the next. The bolt is held on by a right angle metal bracket I found at Home depot.

Photobucket

Because the top is so thin, I added some angle iron to stiffen it up. I then built a box around the drum and put a dust collection hood on the side. It is currently connected to a 5" dust port and does a good job eliminating the dust. The drum is a bunch of MDF disks epoxied together with velcro similar to other drums you find on LJs.
Photobucket

The conveyor is infinitely adjustable from 0-15 ft/min with a knob that is attached to a potentiometer. I found a great site on ebay called www.wondermotors.com that sells the whole setup pre-wired for reasonable prices. I connected the motor to the conveyor with a cain and sprocket setup. I made the motor mount out of some scrap UHMW. I also used a cutoff of UHMW for the chain tensioner. I made the guard from 1/4 inch thick plexiglass I had laying around in my shop.

PhotobucketPhotobucket

The drum was attached to a hinged motor with a powertwist belt with two 3 inch pulleys. Like the chain, it was covered with 1/4 plexiglass.
Photobucket

After I built the frame (mostly from scrap hickory beams), I placed it on an old Ryobi table saw stand. It wasn't until after I put the whole thing together, that I realize how heavy it was. So I decided to build a mobile base. Considering that it was just an after thought, I'm very please how it turned out. I used a 2X3 I had laying around and some 3 inch casters. A simple door latch ensures it doesn't disengage when rolling. When disengaged, it sits on two rubber motor mounts and the two fixed wheels.

Wheels disengaged…
Photobucket

Wheels engaged held in place by door latch
Photobucket

In the end it was a very fun project. Its kind of funny now that its done, I'm not really sure what to use it for. Just for fun, I tried it out on a cabinet door. First I flattened the bottom side with the finish sander. Then I walked to the other side of the machine and put it through the thickness sander. It worked like a charm.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
Joined
·
147 Posts
really nice idea.
haven't really seen a finish sander before though. wouldn't you want fine grit on it to … finish sand it?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
967 Posts
Double the tools for the same footprint is always a good idea with shop space being limited. Great idea.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
103 Posts
Now that's cool.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
215 Posts
Really nice job. Since you're not sure what to use it for, I would be happy to take it off your hands. :)
 

· Registered
Joined
·
6,114 Posts
Relly really nice!
I love the thinking part.
I'm sure you will get plenty of use for this.
Best thoughts,
MaFe
 

· Registered
Joined
·
34 Posts
Very cool!!!

If you wanted, you could send it to me and I could use it for you until you came up with something <grin>. I've always wanted (and needed) one.

Seeing projects like your is one of the main reasons I joined LJs.

Thanks,

Jim
 

· Registered
Joined
·
7,502 Posts
wow! you are an engineering top notch engineer! one h_of-a-project
 

· Registered
Joined
·
3,089 Posts
A very well engineered project and a great description to go with it! I am interested in a little more information about your conveyor belt.

What material is it? Rubber, canvas or ??

Where did you find it?

Thanks for sharing!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
196 Posts
Very impressive work. Thank you for sharing all the details.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,487 Posts
now that's sick, this is just what i want to build. Very nice idea and great execution. ;)
 

· Registered
Joined
·
194 Posts
Even if I didn't know that you're an engineer, I would have guessed that with this project. Your precision and technical skill made this project a success! I'm sure you'll enjoy having this sander to use on future projects!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
100 Posts
That's awesome! Can you build one for me????
 

· Registered
Joined
·
167 Posts
Man, that is sweet !

I'm in the middle of converting an old craftsman table saw into one of these and have been noodling how to make the conveyor motor driven rather than hand cranked.

Could you share a few more details on that side of the project ?

thanks
tony
 

· Registered
Joined
·
104 Posts
Thanks everyone for the kind comments!
I'll try to answer some of you questions…

sras - Its a rubber belt. Its actually a replacement belt for a 24" performax belt sander. I found it on ebay for about $40. However, if you go to www.grizzly.com and go to the drum sanders. They give you a part number and price for the replacement parts. You can easily order them for any size sander you are trying to make.

TMcG - I have plans for converting a table saw into a sander. I used many of the same concepts by studying the plans. I'd be happy to send them to you if you'd like. Just PM me. The conveyor is a torsion box with a solid piece that slides into one side. This allows you to install the belt and add tension. The rollers are just 2" PVC pipe. With a circle cutting jig on my band saw I made 12 disks out of MDF and expoxied 3 on each end with a piece of drill rod going through it. The plans I have show it step by step. I used bronze bushings from Lowes. The sides of the torsion box have grooves cut on the table saw. The tensioners are just right angle brackets from home depot.
Here are some pics
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket<img><a href="http://s357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/wingstress/Sander/?action=view&current=IMG_3119.jpg" target="_blank">Photobucket

I got the gear motor on ebay, but its really www.wondermoter.com It comes ready to plug into the wall with a knob. You don't need any electrical experience to hook it up. The owner is also really nice, he would be happy to help you out.

Its a 115v ac to 230v ac input, permanent magnet, brushless gear motor
with reversible, on/off, speed adjustable controls. Speed range varies depending on the shaft load.
Motor's maximum speed is 38 RPM. Rotation is reversible by a signal wire. This combination will be
described in two parts: brushless dc gear motor and power adapter.
Photobucket

Here are the links for the sprockets and chain.

http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/25B14%208mm%20Sprocket--25b14-8mm-sprocket-for-use-with-25-chain-14-tooth-sprocket.html

http://www.usabearingsandbelts.com/m7/25B14%201/2%22%20Sprocket--25b14-1-2-sprocket-for-use-with-25-chain-14-tooth-sprocket.html

http://www.mcmaster.com/#roller-chain/=awqnd4
 

· Registered
Joined
·
18 Posts
Nice work. I have been thinking along the same lines, thanks for working out all the details.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
167 Posts
Thanks, PM sent.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,833 Posts
Wow very cool idea, Im impressed. I have the V drum sander and love it this is nice!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
365 Posts
That is what I need, are you accepting orders. Great job.
 
Top