Shopsmith Forums

I have just made a sander this afternoon and had time to play with it. It might work like a sand flee or might not. It does how ever stay on a smaller scale and even smaller budget.

I have a list of interesting features it has, and can tell you it was a lot of fun to make and a lot of fun to use.

I have chosen to post the details at the other shopsmith site so if you are interested you will have to go there:

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This link is no longer valid 12/5/08
http://ssug.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7999#7999

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There is also a link to pictures. Please check it out, I think you will like it.

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Ed

Ed,

What a great idea! Would that I had the imagination and talent you obviously have. I'm going to try that approach as soon as I can find room in my shop to build it (working on two end tables right now).

You are an inspiration to us all. Keep up the great work.
BTW I'll be sending my contribution shortly (it's time for my next one anyway).

reible wrote:I have just made a sander this afternoon and had time to play with it. It might work like a sand flee or might not. It does how ever stay on a smaller scale and even smaller budget.
Ed

One thing I don't understand, usually the hight of the outfeed table need to be equal to the hight of the drum and the infeed table sets the depth of sanding. This design does not seem to do this.

paulmcohen wrote:One thing I don't understand, usually the hight of the outfeed table need to be equal to the hight of the drum and the infeed table sets the depth of sanding. This design does not seem to do this.

Hi Paul,

You are correct that the table is flat. This is more like rubbing the workpiece over a piece of sandpaper then a jointing operation that you discribe...... does that make since?

Ed

I again question the usefulness of the whole concept. If it was like a jointer then it would make some sense to me. However to have a flat with the drum slightly protruding seems to suggest to me that the finish product that will have straight line scratches and will still reflect any bumps, dips or imperfections the piece initially had.

Think about it, belt sanders,disk sanders and pad sanders were around for a long time. Then the Randon Obital Sander came out and the purpose of the ROS was to eliminate the predictable sanding marks left by straight line sanders and swirls from the disk sander.

I would think it would be like trying to play with a floor sander or belt sander to insure you don't create dips.

As for me I'm going to concentrate my money and energy toward a thickness sander and more conventional sanding.

Ed in Tampa wrote:I again question the usefulness of the whole concept. If it was like a jointer then it would make some sense to me.

I think this maybe one of those times when like with a shopsmith, some people get it and some don't. If I had only seen the machine and not watched the video and some one just tried to explain it to me I too would have not understood. The fact is I have seen this type of idea several times before and dismissed the idea because of how it was presented, that being as a substute drum sander. In fact it is quite a different tool all together.

However to have a flat with the drum slightly protruding seems to suggest to me that the finish product that will have straight line scratches and will still reflect any bumps, dips or imperfections the piece initially had.

I think part of the problem is trying to picture the drum being taller then the table top. Think of it as the sand on the sandpaper lightly touching the workpiece. If you picture the actual drum being below the surface it is easier to see how it works.

Think about it, belt sanders,disk sanders and pad sanders were around for a long time. Then the Randon Obital Sander came out and the purpose of the ROS was to eliminate the predictable sanding marks left by straight line sanders and swirls from the disk sander.

And all of those tools unlike in the video are not going to be put in some shopping cart and throw away. You can still use them and they will not be replaced by this or any other single tool, they are ALL still very useful. This concept is just another tool in my collection and will be used when and if I think it will do a better/faster/cleaner/etc job then some other tool. Other times I can see several different tools being used depending only on my mood at the moment. The cheap sales trick reminds me of just that... poor marketing. This is clearly in my book just another tool to be used, not a replacement. Heck I still hold a sheet of sandpaper in my hand and do sanding the old way and I still think that gives the best finish but my arm kills me afterwords so I do a lot less of that now.

I would think it would be like trying to play with a floor sander or belt sander to insure you don't create dips.

Again I think you are thinking about removing lots of material... this is more like using a sanding block on the floor then a floor sander.

As for me I'm going to concentrate my money and energy toward a thickness sander and more conventional sanding.

If you already have the 6" shopsmith drum sander then there is no cost except a couple of hours in the shop doing what we all love to do, woodworking. Well if you have no scrap in the shop you might have to run out for a piece of 3/4" plywood and some 1/4" hardboard and glue and well maybe some screws... I had all that I needed in the scrap bin and the design is super simple using stacked plywood... anyway you can play with the concept for almost free.

I have a lot of money tied up in sanding "stuff" mostly because I don't really like to sand. I already have a drum sander/thickness sander and belt sanders, triangler pad sanders, profile sander... the list would go on for a long while but I will have to say using this little concept was the most fun I have had sanding in a long while. It was well worth the time spent for even the half hour or so that I had to play with it yesterday.

I'll also add that I have a much better feeling towards the concept now then before, you know, the hands on thing. I'm still not going for a $700 purchase but if it were say $279.99 or hey $289.99 and free shipping I could see me having one next summer (that is up from the $249 I posted else where).

Ed

I had a few minutes today to work on the sander. I wanted to add dust collection and wanted to stay on the free side. The solutions was to borrow another shopsmith part and use it. When you see the picture you will know what it is if you have one.

Just a few comments about the dust collection, it works GREAT! I hooked it up to my shop vac and sanded for 10-15 minutes. I then got out a piece of dark wood to dump the saw dust out on to see how much was left inside. The problem with the plan was there was no sawdust... no not a spoonful, not a 1/8 teaspoon, none. Ok a couple of small flakes did fall out but it was way to small to measure.

I also wanted to hook up the oscillating sander bit to check it out. I forgot what the stroke is at max so I put a 3" drum in and measured. The number is about 3/4". So my design has plenty of room to use the 6" drum, even at the max movement.

Since I always like to share some pictures I add 6 more to the collection starting at #12 and going to #17. They are at:
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/12199425@N02/sets/72157602596407239/
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Pictures are no longer at Flickr but can be seen below 12/28/2008
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If you have any question you might want to ask them now as I'll be off on another adventure and be missing from here for some days.

Ed

One again - you did good! I never would have thought of using that part for the flange. We all have one! Super idea!

Below you will find the pictures that use to be at Flickr. The original post has been lost at the ssug.org site so this is what remains. I can answer questions if you have any but the hole idea is so simple and the pictures tell most of the story anyway.

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Several more posts to come.

Ed

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Still more coming

Ed