Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anyone built and used the drum sanders from Stockroom Supply?

Thanks

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Wisdom is justified by her children

There have been a number of discussions about those sanders, and as I recall, most discussions dismissed them as being OK for finish sanding of flat surfaces, like cabinet doors, but they aren't very good thickness sanders.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Its not a thickness sander .. its simply a finish drum .. you can thin pieces on it, but there is really no control to its effectiveness as far as guitar making is concerned.

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

You could buy the drum and bearings from SRS to make your own thickness sander. I did the math on this once and decided I could buy a 10-20 Performax for equal money (one you factored in the conveyor, motors, dc controllers, etc). Take the plunge. This is one area where you will be better off with a true thickness sander. You will have enough jig building in other areas to satisify that itch!

Mike

Its interesting to hear some of the replys. I spoke with the company and they assured me there were plenty of people out there using it for thicknessing and specificly for guitars. I would like to get a true thickness sander but can't make the purchase right now. (unemployed wife no $ for expensive tools). I have 3 or 4 sets of Koa in need thicknessed. I am starting my next build now and would like to use one of these. I checked with a local furniture builder about time on his 36 in sander but he wasn't sure he could go that thin. Any other suggestions?

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Well, I am not sure why you are looking at SRS if budget is a factor. Just their plain old drums start at $200 and go up. The smallest you should use is the 12"x4" (to avoid overheating) and its $250.

http://www.mimf.com/archives/thickness_sander2.htm for plans that use mostly wood.

http://www.rockslide.org/drum%20sander.html

http://home.att.net/~ShipModelFAQ/ShopN ... ander.html

http://www.woodworkstuff.net/EDTSander.html (one that uses your table saw motor).

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Plane ... laner.html (you'll need a drill press, very popular with guitar builders)

Most folks build their own drums (may need a band saw or router to do this).

Finally, there are handtools (planes). I even saw a link once where a guy used a router on a sled like device to thickness wood.

Lots of ways to skin the cat.

Mike

If your local furniture guy's machine doesn't go thin enough, why not just run the plate through on top of another board. Maybe with some sandpaper glued to the surface that your back and side set sits on for traction? Just make sure to run your workboard through to ensure it's level with the drum before sanding your good stuff.

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Rob

Actually, Rob's made a good point. If this fellow refuses to do it after that, then it might be because he worried about ruining your expensive wood. It does seem to me to be your best option, all things considered. Some folks use this technique with planers... though you won't find many here that will advocate that. Apparently the forces on thin, hard tonewood can be too much (using a planer with a support board). If there is no one on this forum that lives near to you, (with a thickness sander) try asking over at sawmillcreek.

Mike

I had thoughts of getting this kind of sander and investigated building a drum sander, but ended up getting a used Delta 18/36 drum sander for a decent price and am very happy with it. Check your local Craigs list there are often drum sanders listed and often in really good shape.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I myself just found a score on Craig's list. My advice? be patient. I looked weekly for about 6 months with no results, then one day 3 popped up...

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Rob

The keyword here is "local". Those things are heavy and folks are often unwilling to ship... and you most likely will be unwilling to pay the shipping price. There is a company in NY with a 18% sale on tools like this. http://www.toolnut.com

When you go to there, you email them and say you want a quote on a Jet/Performax 10-20 drum sander (with/without stand, though you will want a stand eventually) and tell them you are aware of the 18% sale. Tell us what price he quotes you (and shipping).

You can get by without a stand for a while.

Oh, BTW, HF started selling a 10-20 drum sander not too long ago. I know a number of folks tried it and had no real complaints. Its way cheaper and looks very strong. Also, http://www.generalindustrialsupp.com/Site/Welcome.html has a web store on Ebay where I got my sander.

Mike