# Shopsmith V Drum Sander



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*

Greeting All,

I've been doing a bit of Mad Scientist routine in the workshop again. As a few of you may recall, I've been asking about V Drum sanders for a while now, convinced I could make one out of my Shopsmith with a minimum of effort.

Picture One









This is the tailstock with a mdf block in it. I ended up using a turned piece that projected out of the tailstock toward the about and inch.

Picture Two









Here is the flat bearing I am using with a 3/8" center. I used a 3/8" bit to bore through, then a 1 1/8" forstner bit to seat the bearing.

Picture Three









This is my drum. 1 1/4" pvc with a 3/8" threaded rod center. I drilled out 24(I think) some odd mdf plugs that are epoxied to the rod. Believe it or not, I used some leftover fiberglass to put the plugged rod in the pvc tube. It did not heat up or melt as some folks feared it would.

Pictures Four and Five

















The drum attached to the Shopsmith. That board under it is what I used to try and measure the height of the box to go around the drum.

I messed up and in two places. I was going to use the gray housing of the SS to seat the box on around the drum. I measures too short on the length. I quesstimated using the drum at the key, not the length between the powerhead housing and the tailstock housing. Oops.

I also forgot the account for the extra "height" that would occur when I added the velcro and the hook & loop sandpaper. Fortunately I am still at a point I can make adjustments.

Picture Six









The velcro attached to the drum. That's the roll of sandpaper waiting to go on.

Well, I hope you folks find this interesting. I'll add on the box and HOPEFULLY an action shot of the sander in action.

Milo


----------



## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Get ready for sawdust; what a neat way to expand the use of your SS.

Nice work.


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


I'm HOPING that the box I'll build around it will keep that dust to a minimum. Hopefully I'll have that included in the next post!


----------



## carlosponti (Sep 9, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


i'd like to see how that turns out. I have a shopsmith i would like to do something similar.


----------



## SST (Nov 30, 2006)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


I'm a big believer that, with a little imagination, a Shopsmith can do virtually anything. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed project. Way to go! -SST


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Hey guys,

Things are probably going to be delayed with the drum sander. Just got a call from my stepmother, and my Dad has taken a turn for the worse in his battle with prostate cancer. It's just matter of time, but everything is now on hold.

Thanks,

Milo


----------



## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Milo, sorry to hear about your dad. Any updates on his condition?


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Hi Rance,

Dad died on the 30th of last month in the early AM. He had battled prostate cancer for over 20 years, fighting back recurrences twice before. He wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered, and we all decided to wait until this fall to scatter them when the weather is a lot nicer.

You can read a bit about him at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/myrtlebeachonline/obituary.aspx?n=kenneth-moore&pid=144445077

Thank you for your concern. I've worked a bit on the sander since I got back, and just have to get the height of the box right. I'm off by about a 1/16 or an 1/8th of an inch. I'll have more picks soon.

Milo


----------



## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear that Milo. My prayers go out to you and your family.


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Part Construction*
> 
> Greeting All,
> 
> ...


Hi Milo, This is a nice sander. 
I used a similar concept on my thickness sander. 
Is there anything a ShopSmith can't do?


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

*Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *

Hey All,

Sorry it took a while to get back to this. I had some sad family business to take care of, but I got back and finished this sander.

Basically, I just built a box around the drum. It took a LOT of tweaking, primarily because I stink at design. Someone with better design skills could have measure the box height better than I did, but what the hey, it was fun figuring it out.

I routed the length of the top with a straight bit and a cove bit to get the shape.

I used some leftover rough plywood to make the box itself. I will probably remake it in the future to better specs.





































I used an old tightening screw from a Shopsmith planer that went bad to hold the box in place. You can probably get one of these on ebay. I considered making the base of the box over sized so I could just use clamps.

I hope you like it. I'm feeling a little thick headed tonight as I write my description, so I know it's not all that great. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to ask. ;-)

Milo


----------



## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


looks like a great idea, and variable speed to boot


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


Yeah, but for it to be productive I think I need to have it cranked down to as low as the Shopsmith can go. I don't know if all 510 go as low as mine, but I always had reservations with my old 500. I thought it would turn too quickly at it lowest setting. I didn't really go after the idea of doing this until I got the new one.


----------



## carlosponti (Sep 9, 2008)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


nice work


----------



## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


Cool idea, nice work.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


Good work Milo.


----------



## donbee (Feb 7, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


I have a factory made Flat Master http://www.stockroomsupply.ca/shop/drum-sanders.html and it turns the other way, so the drum is turning toward the operator.
I don't know if the difference is significant, but if I did this on my ShopSmith I'd have to work from the back of the machine to have it going the same way.

Don


----------



## Milo (Apr 24, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


Don,

The SS drum does spin toward me when standing in the front.

Milo


----------



## donbee (Feb 7, 2009)

Milo said:


> *Shopsmith V Drum Sander - Completed *
> 
> Hey All,
> 
> ...


Milo,
Well sure it does.
Its just my idiot head thats spinning backwards!
Sorry.

Don


----------

