# Drum Sander



## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

Any of you guys know anyone who has shop built a drum sander? I was told that Shop Notes once had the plans for one. Anyone have that issue if it exists? At this point I don't know if it's anything I would attempt or not. Just curious about the pros and cons.

Charlie


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

I used to hang out on some luthier sites.Scratch(ha) built drum sanders are very popular there.

Just some general rambling;You should "temper" your DIY drumsander research with looking into factory designed units.Try to see where there's room for improvement in both of these areas.IOWs,homeboy units are done "this way" because(usually lack of equipment)of?Factory efforts are pinned to pricepoints.

So,look at the "problem" a little differently.How can you change the DIY styles to better utilize your shop's equip,and your talents?The factory efforts are going to be harder.....because,they represent professional designer/engineers.But,they don't know what the end user is actually going to be grinding/sanding on their units so it's a guess(very educated,but still compromises certain properties).

Looking at pro units is a slight problem if you have no experience using them.Its the chicken and egg thing.You only know what you know.If you've never used a really nice drum sander,how can you make an assessment or re-design?This is an ongoing decision........you experience something,you learn.Still,really look hard at pro designed units for areas that may be important to your end-usage.Good luck.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

A number of home built drum sanders over at Woodgears site

http://woodgears.ca/sander/


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I've been toying with the idea of building a shop built wide belt sander for some time now....I've got the design half done.....I should get to that again sometime.


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

BWSmith said:


> I used to hang out on some luthier sites.Scratch(ha) built drum sanders are very popular there.
> 
> Just some general rambling;You should "temper" your DIY drumsander research with looking into factory designed units.Try to see where there's room for improvement in both of these areas.IOWs,homeboy units are done "this way" because(usually lack of equipment)of?Factory efforts are pinned to pricepoints.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply. Frankly, I was more curious then anything. If I got one it would be factory made and engineered. I have watched a few videos on the subject and they look like a lot of work for somthing that may or may not work.

What got me to thinking about this is a kitchen cart butcher block top I am building. I was not happy with the way the finish was coming out. I remembered that our local Woodcraft store has a wood shop that I drool over whenever I go in there. I called them and asked if the had a wide sander. They said this did and to bring the top in. I dropped it off today and they quoted me $15. for half and hour or $30. and hour:thumbsup:. The shop guy was out for lunch so I didn't get to see him but one of the other guys looked it over and said he would be surprised if it took more then half and hour. The down side is it will take about a 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. He has a lot of work ahead.

On the way home I was thinking about how much sanding I can get done for the price of a drum or flat belt sander:yes:. Nuff said......


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> A number of home built drum sanders over at Woodgears site
> 
> http://woodgears.ca/sander/


Thanks Dave. I did see that page. Some of them look pretty nice but how do the work? I would imagine find tuning might be a challenge.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

For what it will cost you to build a decent unit without quirks it is probably better to source a good used one.


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

FrankC said:


> For what it will cost you to build a decent unit without quirks it is probably better to source a good used one.


I agree Frank. Actually a Jet, forgot the model number, can be had on sale now for $800. or so. But I have also seen a few on Craigs list for a lot less but they are too big for my shop.

Charlie


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## Sprung (Oct 8, 2012)

I haven't built a drum sander - yet. I'm planning to, however. I would love to be able to go out and buy one, even a used one, but I just can't afford one. I can, however, afford the under $100 it's going to cost me to build my own drum sander. (I already have a motor that I can use, so that's a non-expense for me, where that's usually the biggest expense for someone building their own.) It may not have all the bells and whistles of one purchased retail, but I know it'll work for my purposes. Plus, I love to tinker and the challenge of building something out of my comfort zone. It's a build I've been playing through and designing in my head for months and hope to start on soon. I've looked at pictures of at least 100 shop built drum sanders and as many build logs and plans as I have been able to find.


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

Sprung said:


> I haven't built a drum sander - yet. I'm planning to, however. I would love to be able to go out and buy one, even a used one, but I just can't afford one. I can, however, afford the under $100 it's going to cost me to build my own drum sander. (I already have a motor that I can use, so that's a non-expense for me, where that's usually the biggest expense for someone building their own.) It may not have all the bells and whistles of one purchased retail, but I know it'll work for my purposes. Plus, I love to tinker and the challenge of building something out of my comfort zone. It's a build I've been playing through and designing in my head for months and hope to start on soon. I've looked at pictures of at least 100 shop built drum sanders and as many build logs and plans as I have been able to find.


I have some of the same thoughts and I am kind of in the same boat as far as the expenses. I will find it kind of hard to justify the expense of a new one. Maybe a used if it were a great deal.

In my searching for information I ran across something called a "V-drum" sander which I am just starting to research. There is a company that even sells kits. I know nothing about this kind of sander yet.

And the challenge part I agree with because I too like a challenge. I liken this to the router table lift that I recently made. I works like a dream and cost me about $25.

Charlie


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## MeasureTwice (Jan 12, 2012)

Is this the V-Drum you are thinking about? 

http://stockroomsupply.ca/shop/drum-sanders.html

I have been toying with building one using one of the flatmaster kits. Looks pretty straightforward.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I have 2 drum sanders*

a 12" Grizzly and a 24" dual drum General. They are rather 'finicky" with the depth of pass and a little goes a very long way on the control and it may stall out.

So, based on that if I were to make one, I would concentrate on the height control of the bed and make it very sensitive to allow small incremental control.

The other issue is the feeding platform, both of which are powered and variable speed on mine, a great feature. Slower is better. A Craig's List tread mill comes to mind for the bed system.. .. 
You can hand feed the stock but that allows for uneven removal.
You Tube has a whole bunch:


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

MeasureTwice said:


> Is this the V-Drum you are thinking about?
> 
> http://stockroomsupply.ca/shop/drum-sanders.html
> 
> I have been toying with building one using one of the flatmaster kits. Looks pretty straightforward.


Yes, that's exactly the one. I had never heard of a V-drum sander until I saw this. I am intrigued. Right now I am searching for u-tube demos on there operation. I also would like to hear from someone who has used one.

Charlie


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## MeasureTwice (Jan 12, 2012)

Do a search for flatmaster an you will find a lot of threads on here discussing it. Here's one of the more active discussions

Question about stockroomsupply.com DIY drum sander 

I'm cramped for space in my shop so I'm thinking about building one into my assembly table and rig some sort of secondary top that can be removed when access to the sander is needed.


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## Sprung (Oct 8, 2012)

ChipperOfWood said:


> I have some of the same thoughts and I am kind of in the same boat as far as the expenses. I will find it kind of hard to justify the expense of a new one. Maybe a used if it were a great deal.
> 
> In my searching for information I ran across something called a "V-drum" sander which I am just starting to research. There is a company that even sells kits. I know nothing about this kind of sander yet.
> 
> ...


Those V-drum sanders look cool. I've seen a few drum sander builds where the builder made it serve both purposes - drum & V-drum sander. Just remove the dust shroud from the top of the drum sander and put the v-drum sander table in place and you're ready to roll. It's a neat idea that maybe I'll look into incorporating into mine later one, but probably not during the original build.

Router table lift? Are you reading my mind? :laughing: I've recently acquired my first router and, being unable to afford a lift, have been thinking of building one of those too. Using stuff on hand, I'm thinking it would cost me about the same as yours did. $25 is a lot easier to swallow!


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

The V-drum style work well and can be compared to a jointer, where the overhead style can be compared to a thickness planer. As long as you don't have to remove too much material the V-drum is fine, but like a jointer will not guarantee a uniform thickness. A good ROS takes a lot less space and works as well in most cases.


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

The engineer who started "Timesaver corp" wrote what a lot of folks consider the definitive reference on the subject.

Adding to all the above good responses,my input would be.....really buckle down on dust evac.Without it....even a big "storebought" unit is practically useless.


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

Sprung said:


> Router table lift? Are you reading my mind? :laughing: I've recently acquired my first router and, being unable to afford a lift, have been thinking of building one of those too. Using stuff on hand, I'm thinking it would cost me about the same as yours did. $25 is a lot easier to swallow!


I must clarify one thing. That $25. number did not include a Kreg table top plate insert and plate levelers purchased from Woodcraft. Not really necessary but I wanted to go the extra mile.

The lift itself came from a plan found in an old Shop Notes magazine. It was a fun little project and like I said it works great.

Charlie


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## Sprung (Oct 8, 2012)

ChipperOfWood said:


> I must clarify one thing. That $25. number did not include a Kreg table top plate insert and plate levelers purchased from Woodcraft. Not really necessary but I wanted to go the extra mile.
> 
> The lift itself came from a plan found in an old Shop Notes magazine. It was a fun little project and like I said it works great.
> 
> Charlie


I didn't think it included the plate - those seem to be a little spendy compared to the amount of material in them. Would you mind posting pictures of your router lift? Or got a link to some? I always like looking at shop-built tools. (I'm currently building a bandsaw fence, with the capability to adjust for blade drift and attach different height fences for resawing, for a bandsaw I got for a steal off Craigslist. And am hoping to start on my drum sander build by the end of the year.)


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*have you seen these*


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## Tilaran (Dec 22, 2012)

Metal is your friend.:yes:


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## ChipperOfWood (Oct 18, 2012)

Sprung said:


> I didn't think it included the plate - those seem to be a little spendy compared to the amount of material in them. Would you mind posting pictures of your router lift? Or got a link to some? I always like looking at shop-built tools. (I'm currently building a bandsaw fence, with the capability to adjust for blade drift and attach different height fences for resawing, for a bandsaw I got for a steal off Craigslist. And am hoping to start on my drum sander build by the end of the year.)


Yes, I will be posting some photos. Might take a day or two. Stay tuned. :yes:


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