Long Edge Sander for Cheepskates

Having worked in several shops with great equipment, I’ve often yearned for access to those same tools in my basement workshop. Since it’s just a hobby, it’s impossible to justify the cash outlay, you could just never get your moneys’ worth even if you bought ‘em all. With necessity being the Mother of Invention, here’s what I did about not owning a good edge-sander:

I found a perfectly good used industrial belt conveyor, which was about 8 inches wide and about 4 feet long.
Researching the available belt sizes for Delta and Grizzley edge sanders, the 6” X 89” belts looked like a possible fit, and were indeed a popular size. No use building my own edge sander to an obsolete belt size! With the conveyor shortened to approximately a 43” wheelbase, the belt fit just about right. The rollers were approximately 3.5” in diameter. The belt fit right on, and the driven roller had micro-metic adjustments for belt tension. I built a quick bench for it, and mounted a 1/3 horse washing machine motor to it. I’ll get an enclosed moter for it, for safety.
One word about building your own: To make the belt track correctly, at least one roller must have a ‘crown’ in the middle. Of course the two axle shafts should be perfectly parallel as much as possible, but the crown will make the belt seek equilibrium in the center of the roller. You don’t want a silicon carbide belt straying off-center and slicing the machine up to bits!!
I have been using it in a horizontal position but my next task is to mount it upright on its side like the commercial units. I’m not handling large panels much these days and get great results with it lying flat on its back as in the photos. Remember the belt runs left-to-right as you face it. I plugged it in and it has not needed ajustment at all except when changing grits, one belt a bit longer than another. I make lots of small dovetailed boxes; this unit squares the corners perfectly, and performs otherwise about as well as a real one!!

-- If stradivarius was alive today, he'd be using Gorilla Glue.