# Debate Homemade V- vs. Thickness-Sander NO MORE!



## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

A thought occurred to me recently when trying to compare the V-drum type sanders to the homemade thickness sanders: why can't I make a tool that is both? And here are some sketchup models showing what's in my head:




























Basically, there are two tables that use the sanding drum, one on top of the other. For those of you with dust collection setups (not me), I added a dust shroud in the middle that might collect some of the dust.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy? I won't be able to build this any time soon, but it should be fairly cheap. All the frame members are 2×4s.

Alan


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

I like the idea… i really should look into getting stuff together to make one of these.


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## PaulfromVictor (Mar 29, 2009)

Interesting thought. I am also in the process of building a drum sander. I don't understand what the benefit of the v drum is. I wish I had some experience to offer some insight. One thing I might do is increase the length of the outfeed table.


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## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

The top section, the V-Drum sander (anyone know why it's called "V"?) is similar to an abrasive jointer, whereas the bottom section is just like an abrasive planer.

Alan


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## PaulfromVictor (Mar 29, 2009)

Are the infeed and outfeed tables offset as they would be on a jointer?


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## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

PaulfromVictor, not that I know of. As I understand, the amount of wood taken off is even small than in a jointer. I'm not sure how they get away without offsetting the tables, but search lumberjocks for "sanding flee" or "v-drum sander" to see more about them.

Alan


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

You sir get +1 smartypants point for this idea


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

it'll work with no problem, biggest hassel is going to be the build if your like me.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

this is nice ,
the biggest problem i think ,
is raising and lowering the ' planer ' table .

on the outfeed side ,
have some holes for a pipe at stagered heights ,
and a notch in the framed table to ride and stop on the pipe .
the front can be raised or lowered by wedge or screw mechanism .


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Cool idea


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## JimNEB (Dec 31, 2009)

I'd be a little nervous about on the planer part that it would grab the piece and shoot it out the other side…


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

jim ,
you feed it agains the rotatoin ,
just like a regular planer ,
you do light passes ,
and push it through .


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

only problem i can think of is the dust collection… its not just for show on drum sanders the dust collection helps to stop the paper from clogging up which can prevent burns and all that nasty stuff…. you've defidently got a winner there are far as the idea goes but i would say see what you can do about some dust collection.


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## GFYS (Nov 23, 2008)

My understanding of the sand flea type v drum sander is that the abrasive is attached to the drum with hook and loop velcro which allows the abrasive to raise up and give some flexibility contacting the workpiece. The drum and abrasive actually sits lower than the work surface untill the centrifical force of the spinning drum makes the abrasive raise up to contact the work piece. A thickness sander being a more rigid/solid sanding surface is not likely to work well with abrasive loosely fixed to the drum like that.

Don't mean to rain on your parade.


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## Broglea (Dec 9, 2009)

What type of sandpaper will you use? PSA or H&L? The reason I ask is the V drum sander will only work with H&L. If you are planning on using H&L for the thickness sander too there shouldn't be any problem with your plan. I don't have a thickness sander so I'm not sure if H&L can be used with it.


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## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

Dan, I guess the worst thing I would have to do is have two different drums that could be interchanged. I'll have to think about that some more. Thanks for the constructive criticism. That's one reason I put it up here: so I could see what holes people shoot in it and how to mitigate those problems. Thanks!

Alan


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## Broglea (Dec 9, 2009)

Alan - You could install two drums instead of one. Just increase the height on the top table and install the V drum. You can run them both off the same motor. You may need to increase the HP of the motor.


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## ArtistryinWood (Apr 21, 2008)

This was a question posted on the Stockroom Supply website maker of the V-Drum Sander, i think the name comes from the shape of the cutout in the top for the drum.

Can I convert my existing Drum Sander to hook and loop?

Yes, you can, but be prepared that converting your Drum Sander over to the hook and loop fastening system is going to change everything you have been taught about how to sand with your drum sander. All drum sanders are designed to pinch the sandpaper between the drum and the wood in order to cut. This is what creates heat. Heat then breaks down the resins in the wood, allowing the sandpaper to load up and burn the finish. Also, hok and loop conversion CANNOT withstand heat. It is made from plastic and if it heats up, it will melt. When you have the hook and loop system on your drum, you need to change the way you have your drum set up in order to prevent heat from building up. With the hook and loop system, when the drum is turned on, the paper actually lifts off the drum. This is called centrifugal force and it is the basis behind making the hook and loop system work for you. You will want to set your drum up so that the drum is not touching the wood, but when you turn your drum on, centrifugal force will lift the paper off the drum to allow it to sand. You may have to change this adjustment depending on which grit you have on your sander. This will leave an air gap beween the drum and paper preventing heat build up. This is a completely different concept than most people are accustomed to, but is the only way to make the hook and loop system work. People either love this system or hate it. The ones who hate it are the ones who cannot understand this new concept. The ones who love it will never go back. Also, when switching to this system, we recommend using 80 grit sandpaper and finer. Any coarser and the sandpaper causes too much drag and sometimes comes unhooked.

Andrew


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

*Alan Simons *-"anyone know why it's called "V"? "

Yup … the original name was "Velcro Sander", but the people who own the name "Velcro" objected, so the name was changed to "V-Drum". They still use real Velcro on the drums.


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## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

A good Idea, for sure. I have been thinking of making a converter for my drum sander like this:
http://woodmagazine.coverleaf.com/woodmagazine/200911?u1=coverleaf&pg=12#pg12
but then I would have to convert the drum sander to hook and loop, which I don't think I want to do. The debate is over- but two different machines win out in my case. Have you completed yours yet?


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## Wingstress (Oct 10, 2008)

Love the design. Here's my version


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