I'm curious. Why would u mention degloving in conjunction with this post? Just how is this device different/more dangerous than any other drum sander? (unless ur referring to the drive belt). Not only that, but the builder appears to have extensive years of building.

"Just how is this device different/more dangerous than any other drum sander?"

The reason this sander is more dangerous is that the wood must be manually fed through the machine, which can create a situation where fingers and hands could be pulled into the drum if care is not used to avoid this. With care I'm sure it could be used safely, and even the commercial units that feed the wood through the machines can be dangerous if operated negligently.
Having had the end of a finger ground down to the bone (and some of the bone ground off) by a belt sander. I have a good understanding of how difficult it is to extract a body part from a sander that is trying to pull it further in (I couldn't do it but thankfully there was someone close by who quickly pulled the plug). Some tools leave pieces that can be sewn back together. Sanders, jointers, and planers only leave hamburger.

"I will occasionally run a short piece through mine and there is a temptation to reach around and grab the other end to pull it out. . ."


Don't do it Bryan. Resist that temptation. Use a push stick that is a little thinner than the work piece that can push it through from the in feed side.

For a drum sander that does not have a feed system (or I guess we can say that the feed system is manual), I think the safe thing to do is to always have the workpiece ride through the sander on a sled, and have the tail of the sled be long enough that you can push the workpiece completely through to the other side of the drum while your hands (which are pushing the back of the sled) and still a safe distance from the drum. By that point, nothing is being sanded, the sled won't be launched backward because nothing attached to it is touching the drum, and you can safely pull the sled the rest of the way through.

It's a hassle, but that's the price to be paid for not building/buying a feed system.

Hi Don,
I was also thinking about the sled idea. If the "stop" the work rested against was far enough up and low enough it could also pass under the drum, and after the work pieces were removed the sled could be pulled back into position safely. For long pieces it might not be necessary, as Bryan says, but for short stuff it might add a margin of safety.

Hey, any tool is dangerous. I love my Performax 22/44, but I finally gave up wearing a tie when using it.

I found these posts interesting in that they nearly all focus on safety issues rather than the efficacy of the design. Most of the posts expressing concern are entirely valid of course as are the posts outlining techniques that address many of the issues. My glaring omission is my ongoing failure to fashion and attach a belt guard that I've been telling myself to do for 25+ years.

But, for anyone who needs a thickness sander but can't afford a good commercial unit, this design works incredibly well in terms of accuracy, dust collection, flexibility and longevity of the abrasive. Controls at both ends of the drum even allow for shaping plates thinner at the edges than the centers.

Needless to say any tool, power or hand is capable of inflicting serious injury as a result of improper or careless use. Some more serious than others. My table saw probably scares me more than any other tool and I do my best to take no chances with it. In 39 years of guitar making (along with some furniture and toys) I've suffered one power tool injury, that being from running a piece of wood through a jointer. A small cut on the pad of my left index finger that required two stiches. But as careful and informed as I try to be I believe I may benefit more from good luck than brains