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Hey guys. Has anyone tried the flatmaster type drum sander for tops and sides? It's an interesting concept, but it is hand fed from the top, so I'm not sure if it would be difficult to get the things right.



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For what purpose? Sanding or jointing? For sanding, maybe, but for jointing I'd be highly skeptical.

You'd be hard pressed to get an even thickness with that type of drum sander. There is no reference surface to control the thickness, like a conventional drum sander has.
Imagine trying to sand a piece of wood to an even thickness by free-handing it with a sanding drum, chucked into a drill press. Even tougher doing it with a top that is 16" wide, and getting it to 0.11"

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have one. In my early days as a woodworker, I picked up the DIY kit at a woodworking show. I can confirm that it's a great tool. It does everything he said in his demo. No dust. No clogged paper.

However, it does not work for thinning tops, backs, and sides. I tried, and I could not get uniform thickness. I would usually get some variability in the direction of travel, but not terrible, but from left to right across the grain of a top, I could be off by half.

For guitars, you're better off watching Craigslist for a 10-20.

Now I need to figure out where I put that thing since I spent yesterday hand sanding cabinet doors.

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Mike Lindstrom

Thanks for the posts gents I really appreciate it.


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