Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey Rick, please check your email. [This is totally off topic.] I need Addam's contact info. Thanks.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

So you're referring more to end snipe than snipe in the middle of a board then. Yeah, I can see that, but I don't see it much, except that when I sand a back or top it's usually a couple thousandths thinner at the leading and following edges.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

End snipe it is.   That's when the board is not under pressure on both sides of the sanding drum or cutter head. You can minimize it by pulling up on the board as it enters and leaves the machine.   

Howard: six50mm@yahoo.com

Hey Rick .. I have the FWW with the sander, you can drop by and borrow it if you like, plus its still available from magazine dealers - there was a guy at the Woodstock show, and he had that issue, plus all three with the Laskin article on guitarmaking. I have those as well.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks Tony.  I just might take you up on that.  I found the 4 issues on Ebay but they were in a lot of 65 back issues and the shipping costs alone were going to be $80!  If you don't mind me borrowing yours I think I'll save the 80 bucks towards another tool!  I'll call you this week.
Cheers!

I was thinking of building a drum sander too. But I think i'll take Ricks advice and purchase one. I don't want to spend wahtever free time i have building tools. I have A job and this is more my hobby right now and I don't have a lot of free time with work right now so i don't want to waste what time i have building tool's. I rather repair and build instruments in my free time.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

For anyone just building a few guitars, a good hand plane is still a viable option.  We can't forget that.

That being said, I still plan on getting a thickness sander, one way or another.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I still have all the parts for building a shop-built sander, but then I found an equivalent to the 16-32 (chinese made, but solidly put together, smooth adjustment, very, very heavy) that works perfectly, and I'd rather spend 400 bucks than several weekends tweaking and fiddling with a power tool.

It's my third most favourite power tool after the router and the bandsaw now.

I just ordered a jet 10/20 plus bench top drum sander from woodcraft. it was over $500 but this is will be mor then sutible for what I do.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

For what it worth, here is my 2 cents. I'm on my 4th
hobbiest type sander.
#1. I made my own from plans found in FWW about 25 yrs ago. It worked, was hand fed, and was a cheap introduction to drum sanders.
#2   I bought a Ross, as advertised in FWW about 15-18 years ago. I paid about 1000 dollars for it. It had a gum rubber conveyor feed. It worked well until the gum rubber got hard due to UV ( about a year). I replaced the conveyor belt for about 100 dollars and got about another year out of it. Then Ross went out of business when I needed conveyor belt #3.
#3. Ryobi came out with an open ended 16" sander for about 7-800 dollars. I bought it. It used a rubber conveyor belt. It worked OK, but would snipe at the ends.
#4. I bought the Delta when it came out and gave the Ryobi to my father in law. He loves it The Delta has been fine, not perfect, but good enough for now. It has an abrasive conveyor feed and I've replaced the conveyor belt once. The grit wears out and then it doesn't hold the work still. Not a real problem if Woodcraft has one in stock.

You can get abrasive belts that wide from Grizzly. I'd shy away from feed rollers as the rubber probably will harden and slip like the gum rubber I mentioned above. -The dust would also cause a roller to slip to I think.

I think making "machines" is fun and not a waste of time. It's part of being creative for me anyway. I've built the drum sander, a duplicator, and a cnc machine.

Marty

I realize my situation is probably unique, but up here small drum sanders are not very common, and they are priced accordingly. I can get the Jet 10/20 for $1700, the 16/32 for $2500! There is a Chinese knock off version of dubious quality for around $1000... Of course I made my own, but I normally only use it as a finish sander. My sanding drum is 26" x 6", it is powered by a 1.1 kW / 3ph motor and accurate to 0.1 mm; close enough! If the woods are reasonably cooperative I thickness by hand plane, and I only use the sander to take off the last 0.5 or so. These sanders need not be elaborate to work well, and can be built in a couple of days in a number of designs and materials. My machine is sturdy and gives reliable results, but it you have to concentrate and be alert. Good dust collection and good quality paper is also a must!

I think if (when) I upgrade I will buy a a factory reconditioned industrial wide belt sander. These are actually a lot more common here than the small shop / hobby machines, and you get a whole lot more machine for not much more money.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I'm a hobbyist, I built one pretty much the same as the one in the pics Ron (Oldman) posted. 1 1/4 HP.

Cost me almost nothing since I scrounged most of the parts - except the time to make it. Had to get a pully machined out to match the 1" shaft and buy a belt so I guess it owes me $30 or so.

Mine vibrates a little more than I'd like, I'm hoping that an idler pully on a spring might help to reduce that, it seems to be caused by the motor bouncing rather than the drum being unbalanced (tho I'm sure that's having an effect also).

But as far as accuracy - I ran a digital caliper around the edge of the first joined guitar plate I ran through it and couldn't see a difference at one thou resolution. Maybe I fluked it and your millage might vary. But it'll do the job and do it well.

Also, for a noobie guitar maker who hasn't done any woodwork in a while, making stuff like this can hone your skills before you start playing around with expensive zoot. At least it'll increase your level of confidence in your skills.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and collective wisdom.  I have pretty much resided myself to the fact that for the near term it will have to be a shop built sander.  I appreciate the issues some of you have raised that I will have to look out for.  As I said in an earlier post I hope in 2-3 years time I'm enjoying this so much that I can step it up and buy a unit.  You know that I'll be back asking your advise on which one to get!

Ron, thanks for your pics!  If anyone else wants to share a shot or two of their shop builts that would be cool!

Cheers

[QUOTE=Arnt] I realize my situation is probably unique, but up here small drum sanders are not very common, and they are priced accordingly. I can get the Jet 10/20 for $1700, the 16/32 for $2500! There is a Chinese knock off version of dubious quality for around $1000... Of course I made my own, but I normally only use it as a finish sander. My sanding drum is 26" x 6", it is powered by a 1.1 kW / 3ph motor and accurate to 0.1 mm; close enough! If the woods are reasonably cooperative I thickness by hand plane, and I only use the sander to take off the last 0.5 or so. These sanders need not be elaborate to work well, and can be built in a couple of days in a number of designs and materials. My machine is sturdy and gives reliable results, but it you have to concentrate and be alert. Good dust collection and good quality paper is also a must!

I think if (when) I upgrade I will buy a a factory reconditioned industrial wide belt sander. These are actually a lot more common here than the small shop / hobby machines, and you get a whole lot more machine for not much more money.[/QUOTE]
WOW a jet 10/20 for $1700. I just bought one for $535.00.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Here's my one ,about 12 yaers old and still going strong.It has 1 main motor and one feed motor.