Shopsmith Forums

I have some 3" schedule 40 PVC that came with my garage when I bought my house. Wall thickness is .24". I'm using laminated plywood end caps that I turned on the lathe for a press fit. I was planning on making the drums 24" wide but I've been wondering if that's an acceptable length with the PVC drum being hollow? Looking to avoid vibration, etc. Thanks in advance.

Fill it with plaster of paris?

Use hook and loop paper ,24" worked out for me JMO, I end up with a good 18-20 " work area Also keep in mind the pvc is not perfectly round . jmo

Could you make some more rings like the end caps, but slip fit to support the center.

So I gather I want to fill the drum with weight? I can load it up the PVC pipe with MDF circles, but I think I'd need a shaft to go all the way through? I just was hoping not to spend anything. Can I glue a dowel through the middle of all them instead of a threaded/metal shaft since they're there just for mass? I'm planning to drive the drum with the pic attached and the tailstock side will have a slight friction slip fit over a live tailstock bearing.

Velcro is on my to-do list on this at a later date.

I did a pretty extensive post on a project to make a sandfree type sander that used PVC as a drum. I found I had to turn the PVC to get a nice uniform round surface and yes I used a shaft the went the full length and used pillow block bearings.

Others have seemed to get away with just using store bought PVC??? Anyway you might pick-up a few things from reading this thread:

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/begi ... t5342.html

Ed

I think it would be easier to keep the two ends straight and concentric with a shaft that went all the way through. I don't think weight is a concern, I was only suggesting a few extra rings, spaced apart, to keep the center, length wise, concentric with the shaft through the center. If you are building it like a sand flee or V-drum sander there isn't any pressure against the drum, Not sure about a thickness sander, I have no experience with one of those.

The purpose of filling the center is not to gain weight, but rather to gain rigidity. Any non compressible substance will do. Cement grout comes to mind as well.

JPG wrote:The purpose of filling the center is not to gain weight, but rather to gain rigidity. Any non compressible substance will do. Cement grout comes to mind as well.

That’s a great idea, I have 2 five foot length’s of 3” pvc pipe. I wonder how a can of expanding foam would work on a 20” section? I know it’s foam, so it’s compressible, but it gets pretty stiff and stable, it may be light but still provide enough rigidity?

Anyone have thoughts before I go hit the hardware store? (Which I was trying to avoid, but I have a real zeal for simple inexpensive solutions over time consuming complicated ones.)

Lack of 'compressibility' is the desired attribute.