Project by Bob, Oregon | posted 01-05-2011 04:03 AM | 18959 views | 91 times favorited | 37 comments | ![]() |
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Made this with the inspiration of an Internet article and the patient advice of a buddy in my ship modeling club in 2008. I had an old reliable 1 h.p. working motor remaining from a table saw that I had junked and this was the ideal new home for it.
The body of the sander is almost 100% 3/4” Baltic Birch ply (used up a good-ish bit of a 5 X 5 sheet) and the drum is laminated oak. The table is covered on both sides with Formica.
This project was my first real endeavor at making a motorized tool of any sort and I learned a wealth of things from doing it. Turning the drum was a unique project and it required a somewhat bizarre, but effective setup on my 20” lathe. Necessity being the mother of invention and all that.
I designed the tool so that I can sand wood up to 5” thick. Don’t ask me why. I have yet to try sanding down a railroad tie in the thing. :) There is a coarse adjustment on one side of the table and a fine adjustment on the other end that will allow moving the table in the thousandths of an inch at a time. Dust collection is almost 100% effective with the enclosed little Quonset hut-looking thingy on top. What little doesn’t get sucked up is just lying on the table.
A fun project; very useful and very satisfying.
-- 73, Bob
37 comments so far
Cozmo35
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#1 posted 01-05-2011 04:09 AM
MAN!,...I want one SO bad but I never seem to get around to it!! Great project!
-- If you don't work, you don't eat!.....Garland, TX
rance
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#2 posted 01-05-2011 04:11 AM
Nice job Bob. Thanks for posting for the inspiration of others(like me).
-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--
Condor1
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#3 posted 01-05-2011 04:22 AM
O.K. I’m hooked on the concept. Are you just pushing the stock under the rotating drum? Also, what diameter is the drum and what R.P.M. is the drum turning? I would also like to see a little more of the table adjustment setup. Good job and workmanship. Thanks for posting!
-- There are times when a mistake is remembered as your best work.
Mark
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#4 posted 01-05-2011 04:23 AM
Very nifty, and what a clever setup to turn the oak drum concentric with the axle. I too would like to know how you made the fine height adjustment mechanism for the table, and how much pressure it takes to feed the wood through.
Bob, I see you’re an Oregonian too – whereabouts?
-- Mark
ShopTinker
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#5 posted 01-05-2011 04:23 AM
If it works half as good as it looks it will be a great tool. You have to get a thrill every time you use it.
-- Dan - Valparaiso, Indiana, "A smart man changes his mind, a fool never does."
Jeremy Greiner
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#6 posted 01-05-2011 04:24 AM
Very nice, I am curious, would it be possible to “turn” the drum when it’s attached to the sander itself, instead of using a lathe?
I don’t own a lathe but would love to build one of these things.
-jeremy
-- Easy to use end grain cutting board designer: http://www.1024studios.com/cuttingboard.html
SteveKorz
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#7 posted 01-05-2011 04:29 AM
This is great… I’d like to see more pictures of the completed project if you have any… from the top and front, of the motor, etc.
I would love to build one of these… maybe this year. Thanks for the post, this looks very nicely done!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Blake
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3443 posts in 4879 days
#8 posted 01-05-2011 04:36 AM
Its great to see people building these sanders. I absolutely LOVE mine, which happens to be very similar. I think I got the idea for my design from the same person, but the link to the original website I saw it on doesn’t work anymore. I do remember that it was intended for model ships though.
You didn’t show any photos of your table-raising mechanism though. Is it just a hinge on one side and a threaded rod on the other like mine? Can you post some photos of it?
-- Happy woodworking!
waters
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#9 posted 01-05-2011 04:40 AM
This is seriously cool, I need to put this on my wish list of things to do for myself. Plus, it LOOKS great, very impressive. Thanks so much for sharing, Bob!
-- Dale, Oregon
twokidsnosleep
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#10 posted 01-05-2011 04:57 AM
That is a thing of beauty!!
Absolutely love it
-- Scott "Some days you are the big dog, some days you are the fire hydrant"
KDO
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#11 posted 01-05-2011 05:09 AM
Bob,
Great looking tool.
Could you share the plans/article that you used to build it with?
Thanks,
Kelly
-- Christian, Husband, Grandpa, Salesman, amateur Woodworker.
bigike
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#12 posted 01-05-2011 05:48 AM
nice, i need to get the parts together an make one my self. It’s cool i have afew people to ask questions if i get stuck.
-- Ike, Big Daddies Woodshop, http://[email protected]
Mark Colan
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#13 posted 01-05-2011 05:51 AM
Very inventive!
-- Mark, hack amateur woodworker, Medford (greater Boston) MA
NormG
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#14 posted 01-05-2011 06:16 AM
Very nice work indeed, looks like you will be receiving many years of service for very little money spent. Very handy tool
-- Norman - I never never make a mistake, I just change the design.
RonPeters
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#15 posted 01-05-2011 06:22 AM
How cool is that! If you buy one it’s $900 or so. This probably cost $50 in parts!
One question, how do you get the sandpaper to adhere to the roller?
-- “Once more unto the breach, dear friends...” Henry V - Act III, Scene I
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