# Lathe Thickness Sander.



## Marmotjr (Dec 7, 2016)

Got mine fully running today.   It's been a 6 month deal, making a bit here or there.  It's been running for about a month or so, but I only sanded a few segmented rings with it.  Today I planed down some 3/4 stock to remove a severe cup and bow.  I won't do that again.  That's why I'm ordering a planer in the next few weeks.  In the first picture you can see my wimpy DC.  That was trying to suck up all the dust.   I ended up opening the windows and garage door for a cross breeze and ended up putting on my full face respirator.  I usually only wear a half face for dust.  When I was done with the first side of the boards, I looked like this:







That wasn't gonna fly.  My whole shop is covered.    Had some 4" thin PVC laying around, and after a bit of MacGyvering, I had the DC rigged to a shield over the drum.  Not only is the DC near perfect now, but there's also a shield to protect me from bumping the drum, which is a real possibility with this rig.

During the second run to flatten the other side of these boards, Even with the DC off, the amount of dust getting kicked into the air is severely reduced.  With the DC, I didn't even notice any dust.  The pile on the bed is from the entire run, taking about 1/16" off of 3 12"x18" boards.  I had that much in my hair alone after the first run.    Bonus too, the offcut of the PVC pipe can be similarly rigged, but mounted behind the lathe for normal DC.  yay.  

So... spec if anybody wants:

Base is 3/4" ply, 2 1/4" bolts attach to Tnut blocks under the ways to secure the bed.  3/8" T nut in the back of the base. allows for a 10" Bolt to raise or lower the feed bed.  Bed is attached with a piano hinge, is sanded to 320 and a thin coat of paste wax.  

Drum is a 4x4 post that I turned down, sanded as straight as I could.  Hardwood glue block (and screwed) is tapped to 1"x8, and is attached to the end of the drum.  Hole for live center on other end.  4"x48" (?, might be 40") 60 grit Belt sanding belt is attached to the drum with spray adhesive.  Next generation of the drum will have velcro on the drum and replacable belts will be used.   

Boards are passed through the sander, starting away from you and pulling it under very gently.   If the piece launches, it will go away from you, but is now basically a lumber cannon.   There is a huge danger of getting your hand sucked in if you get too close.   I doubt my lathe would cause a loss of limb or smaller appendages, but it'd still hurt and remove a bunch of skin.  A bigger lathe may be able to pull arms in.  Safety first!.  

 The final boards only show about +/-.002 difference after one pass, which can be evened out with another pass, rotating the board.   If you don't maintain perfect feed speed though, some pretty nasty snipe does occur.  Especially with these boards which were too long to start feeding in the correct orientation, so I had to pivot them into the sander.   Those corners are a bit more worn.   

If anybody wants specs/pics for the DC shield, I'll be more than happy.


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## Skie_M (Dec 7, 2016)

I would see if I could orient the lathe sideways to provide access to front and back, and permit larger items to pass through ...

I would also secure some featherboards to the lower base, to prevent stock from being launched through the sander...  Perhaps even a spring-loaded prong assortment, that will dig into the sides in case of a kickback.

A "deadman's switch" type of foot pedal for operation of the lathe at a set speed might be an option ... it'll turn on when you step on the pedal and turn back off the moment you release it.

How did you make the drum?  What type/brand of sandpaper do you recommend for it?  Ahh, I see you answered that part! 

I highly recommend AGAINST the velcro ... it'll melt and make things a horrible mess if it overheats, plus it will collect dust and wont work fairly fast.

I would, however, recommend dedicating one drum per grit (or have a spare drum for your most commonly used grit) and making several of the same size for easy swapping.


If you're standing to the side with another dust collector hose (or shop vac) in hand, it may not be such a "grizzly" experience .... pun fully intended!


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## Marmotjr (Dec 7, 2016)

I like the one drum per grit.   But then, I really only want 60 grit, it's not for finishing or smoothing, it's basically a planer.   I can use my orbital if I need a smoother finish.    And yes, it did get hot, so yeah, the velcro is out.      So, I think I'll stick with one drum and spray adhesive, but making extra drum's is not difficult if the need arises for smoother grits.  

Featherboards could work.  Especially if I'm not rotating the piece in.    Better yet:  Adjustable cam cleats.    A single 1/4" slot with 2 cam cleats on either side.  Loose so they really don't hold the piece much, but they'll be there if it slips out of your hands.  

The Deadman switch really isn't a doable idea.  I was constantly changing my stance, and rotating to stack the boards.  I've run a large metal shear that I was making one cut every 2 seconds or so, for about 4 hours.  It was pedal actuated.  I'm not interested in that much cramping again.  

And yeah, changing the orientation would definitely help.   But A) the other table was cluttered, b) The DC hose would not be agreeable to moving (It's a work in progress) and C) I did the classic "Oh this shouldn't take long".


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## dogcatcher (Dec 7, 2016)

I like this one, I also made one a few years ago just like it.  For what I do it was a little 2 big, then I ran across the one on IAP made by gregs4163, a former member.  His was built to use on a drill press.  http://www.penturners.org/forum/871847-post1.html  The sanding drums are available from Grizzly Tools, and bought the sand paper drums from Klingspor.   I found a small drill press for $25 at a garage sale and set it permanently.


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## Marmotjr (Dec 7, 2016)

Oh, one other thing.  V2 will have a longer out feed table.  This one is a little short.  

As for cost..... Hmm... The ply was part of my table saw sled, so this was a drop that got re-purposed.   The hardware I had on hand, but no more than a few bucks worth (Local shop sells bulk hardware for $1.15 a pound, regardless of the size.  I can get 2000 1/4" bolts for $50 (guess), or one 8" dia bolt for $50.)  I did buy the belt, but I don't remember how much, but I had plenty left over that had come into many other uses.  Everything else was laying around, the wood is pallet wood, etc....


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## mark james (Dec 7, 2016)

Your basic design is sound as it is similar to Model Maker's thickness sanders.  I have a Byrnes, and I suspect after getting a feel for your set-up you will be able to do much the same.  Being able to control the feed bed is the key to the exact thickness.  All the other issues are simply working out the kinks.

Nice!


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## Marmotjr (Dec 7, 2016)

Heh, The cutoff from the PVC pipe was just enough to make a "standard" DC shield for normal lathe usage.


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## homemadetools (May 17, 2017)

Homemade tools guy here, not a spammer  (PROOF: 350+ forums that know us)

Just a note that we featured Marmotjr's excellent thickness sander in our HomemadeTools.net newsletter: HomemadeTools.net May 16, 2017

We know Penturners.org well. We've got 52 homemade tools listed from your forum, each one fully credited to its builder, and linked directly to its original post. Here they all are: 52 Homemade Tools from Penturners.org . I hope we've been able to send you lots of traffic.


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## mark james (May 17, 2017)

homemadetools said:


> Homemade tools guy here, not a spammer  (PROOF: 350+ forums that know us)
> 
> Just a note that we featured Marmotjr's excellent thickness sander in our HomemadeTools.net newsletter: HomemadeTools.net May 16, 2017
> 
> We know Penturners.org well. We've got 52 homemade tools listed from your forum, each one fully credited to its builder, and linked directly to its original post. Here they all are: 52 Homemade Tools from Penturners.org . I hope we've been able to send you lots of traffic.



Just checked out your site.  Very nice!  And kudos for including all the links back to IAP and giving credit.  It seems proper to do this, but not everyone is "proper."  Well done.


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## Marmotjr (May 19, 2017)

holy crap, that's cool!  

I wondered why I got a bunch of emails from you!  Maybe I should read them.


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