Sanding machine

all the manufactured machines rotate, so the board would actually be pushed back to the infeed side

-- Lynn "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right". Henry Ford

levan is right. The drum should spin such that the pressure will be to the input side.

Are you using pulleys that speed up the rotation of the drum? I ask because, in my experience, 1750 is too slow for optimum performance. Most commercial sanders with 3 – 4 inch drums are spinning around 3000 rpm.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

I was thinking about 3” sprockets, that should speed up the the speed of the drum, I’m open to sugesstion ???

-- Ed Port Republic

Ed, The size of one sprocket has little to do with the speed. It is more the ratio of size on the motor shaft and the drum shaft. The ratio of the two sizes can be used to increase or decrease the resultant speed of the drum. I’d strongly suggest you look at the design from ShopNotes before moving past your design phase. Goole “Drum sander”. I’m building the ShopNotes model but with some modifications. I’m building it as a stand-alone as opposed to running it from my saw. I’m also motorizing the platten using a rotisori motor. In any case, I think you’ll love your new machine. Go for it.

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--