# DIY Spindle Sanding Spindles



## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

I tend to make them as needed to fit the workpiece and better suit what I am trying to do.

Sometimes I 'need' a particular radius and sometimes I 'need' a particular length. Waiting for a custom spindle to arrive in the mail is not really on my list of 'things I like to do'... :no:

I got somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour invested in making this one but it saved me a *lot* more than that in hand sanding time just on this one particular task. :yes:


Old and retired drill bit + Bondo and a piece of PVC pipe scrap cut to the length needed + in the correct diameter: 









I stuffed the bottom 80% of the PVC with wadded paper and am ONLY using Bondo near the top here at this point. This retired drill bit runs almost the length of this piece of PVC. While the Bondo is still curing you chuck up the bit in your drillpress and then slide the PVC up against the angle on the bottom of the chuck to help center the bit while things are firming up. If you mix the bondo 'hot' enough - You should be able to fasten the bit to very near the center of the PVC at the top part of the pipe in a very few minutes...

Once the top of this spindle has 'set' well enough - You can remove the wadded paper, pack the bottom 80% of the PVC tube with bondo and cover with a piece of tape. Reinstall this in the drill press and use a straight edge or square while slowly turning the spindle by hand until the bottom of the drum rotates the way you want it to. This will take 15 minutes to cure before moving on... :smile:

I generally like to pre wrap the sandpaper around the drum and mark everything out with a sharpie before doing any cutting or breaking out the glue.









If you marked it and cut it right - The glue up part should not take more than 5 to 10 minutes.









Should look like this when done:









Install on drillpress and it is time to put it to use.









How 'true' things spin is all up to you and how much attention is paid to setting the bottom part of the spindle with the bondo. The chuck angles and fact that you are working with a round pipe to begin with help you set the top very closely to center of the chuck but the bottom part requires a straight edge / square and some adjustment by hand to make sure things are spinning correctly before the bondo takes a full 'set'. 

This is why it is best to set the top first vs trying to do it all in one go... :yes:










Yup. :smile:

Spindle Sanders that go up and down are always more gooder and I solved that as well...


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

What did you glue the paper on with? Is there any reason why wood wouldn't work for the drum? I know turning a cylinder on a wood lathe is difficult, but I have a metal lathe to take care of that problem.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

Years ago at a yard sale I saw a drill press with a spindle sander on it.
The owner, had a gear motor mounted, with an eccentric, that would move a quill feed handle up and down, causing the quill and sanding drum to oscillate. 
The oscillating makes the sanding sleeves last much longer.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

hwebb99 said:


> What did you glue the paper on with? Is there any reason why wood wouldn't work for the drum? I know turning a cylinder on a wood lathe is difficult, but I have a metal lathe to take care of that problem.


The same contact adhesive that is commonly used for plastic laminate work. Franklin brand.

If the paper needs changing - Lacquer thinner will remove the old stuff FAST without messing anything else up in the process. 

I have more than a few made out of round wood stock as well. In my experience steel tends to not deflect as much under pressure when the spindles need to be longer. 

The same contact adhesive works just as well on wood as it does plastic (PVC) or metal.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

Pirate said:


> Years ago at a yard sale I saw a drill press with a spindle sander on it.
> The owner, had a gear motor mounted, with an eccentric, that would move a quill feed handle up and down, causing the quill and sanding drum to oscillate.
> The oscillating makes the sanding sleeves last much longer.


 
Things go a lot faster when the spindle oscillates a slight bit as well. (meaning that sanding time is reduced)


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