Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Tue Aug 19, 2025 11:35 pm


All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Drum sander thickness
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:41 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:04 pm
Posts: 712
First name: Doug
Last Name: Balzer
City: Calgary
State: Alberta
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
So I'm scoping out a drum sander (General) and the specs say the minimum thickness is 1/4" which obviously will not meet the needs of lutherie. Is this standard? If so, how do you enable a lower cut? Do you build up the table under the belt? Other?

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:50 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:52 am
Posts: 1388
First name: Zeke
Last Name: McKee
City: Goodlettsville
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37070
Country: United States
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
mine will go to 1/32". most thickness sanders ive seen go pretty thin. planers on the other hand tend to not go so low. seems like you could use some sort of spacer underneath your work to keep it up high enough that you could get it thin....maybe


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:33 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:14 pm
Posts: 1066
First name: Heath
Last Name: Blair
City: Visalia
State: California
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Use a carrier board under your work... or find a different drum sander. I've used my Performax 10-20 to under 1/32". I don't think it's intended for that, but it worked with no ill effect.

_________________
sweat the small stuff.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:43 pm 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo
User avatar

Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:52 am
Posts: 296
Location: Canada
First name: Cal
Last Name: Maier
City: Crossfield
State: AB
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
I've thinned rims to 2mm in the 24" General, so I don't see any reason that it won't work for guitar making. If I need to go thinner then I use a carrier sled under the piece, this works well for sanding smaller stuff also. If I need to thin rims more (unlikely but...) then just stack the rims and send them through, first one side then the other.
~Cal

_________________
Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:48 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:20 am
Posts: 2593
Location: Powell River BC Canada
First name: Danny
Last Name: Vincent
I have the same one. I'm not sure why they say minimum thickness id 1/4. I just did some purfling down to, I think, .050. If you get the paper sitting tight to the drum and you it's set up well you can go very thin. I've never tried a carrier board.

The machine is probably as good as it gets for drum sanders. You just have accept the fact that even with 3 HP it's not a wide belt sander. :cry:


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:09 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:15 pm
Posts: 7555
First name: Ed
Last Name: Bond
City: Nanaimo
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Both my delta and Hausmann had physical stops on them. You could (and I did) just remove the safety stops to go thinner....


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:36 am 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:00 am
Posts: 363
First name: Rusty
Flat 3/4" mdf carrier board for my woodmaster drum sander, no need to get too close to the conveyor belt.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:33 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:15 pm
Posts: 1041
First name: Gil
Last Name: Draper
City: Knoxville
State: Tennessee
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I can get my Supermax down to about .025" with higher grits (120 or 180). I just have to be sure the belt is tight. But yeah like the others said above, a carrier board makes sense.

http://www.supermaxtools.com/products-s ... um-sander/


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:02 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:04 pm
Posts: 712
First name: Doug
Last Name: Balzer
City: Calgary
State: Alberta
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful.

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:07 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 5968
How well adjusted and flat the conveyor is, and how tightly wrapped the sandpaper stays sometimes determines how low you can go. The old Ryobi cantilevered design machine I use can sand to normal soundboard thicknesses, but not to veneer thicknesses without using a carrier board that has been presanded to account for the droop of the drum.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 5:11 am 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:37 am
Posts: 159
Location: Baltimore, MD
I have the General double-drum, and 0.050" is easy with no riser. I have taken veneers down to 0.012", using a 3/4" mdf riser, covered with 120 grit paper on both sides, for traction, and to keep the board flat. If you cover, or seal, one side of this stuff, you will get unflatness.

_________________
Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com