drum sander

[Sean Boyle]

I am just getting into segmented turn and am in need of a drum sander. Ouch they are expensive. I have found some ideas to build one but I have not been able to find anyone who sells a sanding drum 12 - 16 inches. does anyone have any suggestions where I could find one

 

[steelguy]

Sean - try WWW.stockroomsupply.ca

 

[DOCworks]

Have you thought about setting one up on your Lathe? There are many plans available and a cheap way to find out if you really want to stick with segmented turning.

 

[BobCoates]

$.02 have you though about using(making one for lathe) disk sander. I use MDF with glued on strips from sanding rolls to sand one side flat. Then glue to stack of rings, then smooth/turn other side when glue dried. Repeat as required. I have made two such disk, one with rough paper, other with finer grit. Works for me.

Bob

 

[Jake Gevorgian]

Drum sanders aren't too pricy, I believe rockler sells a chuck to hold a drum sandpaper.

As for a disk sander, watch my video, where you can see the idea of transforming the lathe into a drum sander. Here's my video link http://youtu.be/MimUHw3sjPM

 

[Doug Wolf]

Shop Made Drum Sander

I am just getting into segmented turn and am in need of a drum sander. Ouch they are expensive. I have found some ideas to build one but I have not been able to find anyone who sells a sanding drum 12 - 16 inches. does anyone have any suggestions where I could find one

Hi Sean, I had the same problem as you and just made one out of PVC, a couple of turned wooden end plugs, and some strips of sandpaper wraped around the drum. It worked for flatening out the segments before gluing them together. It was cheap and will let you see if you want to get into segmenting.

 

[Sean Boyle]

Thanks

thanks for all the input gives me a few ideas to try

 

[Bill Weaver]

Hi Sean, I had the same problem as you and just made one out of PVC, a couple of turned wooden end plugs, and some strips of sandpaper wraped around the drum. It worked for flatening out the segments before gluing them together. It was cheap and will let you see if you want to get into segmenting.

I like this idea, do you have any plans on how the base is made?

 

[Doug Wolf]

Bill, I just used some old 3/4" MDF sheets to build up the base and attached the top peice of MDF with hinges on one edge so I could adjust the height. I used wedges to raise and lower the top peice and used a "sled" made out of an old sink cutout to hold the segment. The formica on the sled made it easy to slide under the drum. Just make sure you slide the segment against the direction of the drum. Otherwise the sandpaper will grab the segment out of your hands and take off. I made this sander to make my first segmented peice which was white oak, so it got quite a workout. I used 150 grit cloth sandpaper from a Klingspor bargin box.

 

[Sean Boyle]

Thanks Doug

Thanks Doug for the suggestion 24" of 4" ABS 2 wood end caps a roll of 1/3 sheet paper back sand paper and Elmers spray adhisive 1/4 sheet of 3/4" baltic plywood and all I have to come up with is a more precise method of adjustment. Total investment under $50.00. Doug if you have any pictures of how you set up you adjustment would be apprecated.

I posted a few pic as well as my introduction to segmented turning. with out a drum sander

 

[Sean Boyle]

a pic of my first segmented turning

 

[Doug Wolf]

Sean, Thanks for the picture of your setup. I don't have any pictures of my height adjusting setup, but it is similar to yours. I would clamp two boards down on your bottom sheet from the front edge to your support peice. That way the support wouldn't kick out or move toward the front edge when it gets a load on it. When you want to reduce the sanding height, just tap the support toward the hinges and move the clamped boards up against it again so it can't move. I've seen threaded rods used on the front edge but I found I needed the support directly under the drum so it wouldn't flex when the segment went under the drum.

 

[Patrick Miller]

drum speed

I am planning to build a lathe mounted drum sander similar to what I see here. Can any of you give me an idea of the speed you spin the drum given a 4" diameter?
thanks

 

[Sean Boyle]

when I tried it last night it seemed to work well around 700 rpm. If you look at the specs on many drum sanders they tend to be around 1750 RPM

 

[Patrick Miller]

when I tried it last night it seemed to work well around 700 rpm. If you look at the specs on many drum sanders they tend to be around 1750 RPM

Thanks Sean-
I'll give it a go in that range.

 

[Scott Barton]

I think a lathe turned drum sander is very cool. My question is how exactly do you get any type of accuracy or repeatable dimensions?

 

[Patrick Miller]

Hi Sean, I had the same problem as you and just made one out of PVC, a couple of turned wooden end plugs, and some strips of sandpaper wraped around the drum. It worked for flatening out the segments before gluing them together. It was cheap and will let you see if you want to get into segmenting.

Doug-
I went with your design and made the drum last night from 4" 125 series pvc, wall thickness of around 5/32". I need to sand a 26" diameter piece so made this 30" in length. My end pieces are spot on round but I have around .060 run out in the center of the drum. Any thoughts on how or if this might affect performance? If it looks like a deal breaker I'll try again with a piece of 4" ABS or schedule 40 pvc to get more wall thickness. Thanks for the design idea!!

 

[Sean Boyle]

Scott since the photo I showed I have been perfecting my design. Tomorrow I will be going into town to pick up some threaded rod. once complete I will post new pictures

 

[Doug Wolf]

Doug-
Any thoughts on how or if this might affect performance? If it looks like a deal breaker I'll try again with a piece of 4" ABS or schedule 40 pvc to get more wall thickness. Thanks for the design idea!!

Hi Patrick, Glad you liked the idea. I had a little ecentricity in my drum but I just moved the piece slowly through the sander and then turned the piece 90 degrees and pushed it through again. Kept doing this until it wasn't removing any more wood and I never had a problem when it came time to glue the segments together. My segment rings were about 17 or 18 inches in diameter.

 

[Patrick Miller]

Hi Patrick, Glad you liked the idea. I had a little ecentricity in my drum but I just moved the piece slowly through the sander and then turned the piece 90 degrees and pushed it through again. Kept doing this until it wasn't removing any more wood and I never had a problem when it came time to glue the segments together. My segment rings were about 17 or 18 inches in diameter.

Good to hear Doug- Thanks for this and the directions. The project at hand involves three rings 24"od x 22"id x 1/2" thick glued up to make a ring 1-1/2" thick. If it's a success I'll post a picture!

 

[Sean Boyle]

ok here is where I am

I had some 1/2" teflon around so I attached as a sliding surface it also acts to stiffen the base. I like your sugestion Doug to try to support under the drum so as you will notice I have 2 pieces cut on an agle to get the best support. On the 2 ends I plan to drill horizontal holes and insert T Nut in the middle before laminating together on the end of the base I plan to add a piece of hardwood so I can install 2 horizontal 3/8 threaded rod this will give me my fine adj by moving the support in and out

 

[Doug Wolf]

ok here is where I am
I like your sugestion Doug to try to support under the drum so as you will notice I have 2 pieces cut on an agle to get the best support

Sean, Your plan sounds like it will work fine but, I would shorten the length/width of the support so it would fit between your eye bolts and thus be directly under the drum. This is where any pressure from the drum will flex your base. The threaded rod sounds good and the difference in the angle of the support as it moves in and out should be minimal.