Drum sanders on a bench drill?

scubadoo · April 15th, 2008, 06:25 AM

are these good for sanding bodies after routing, and are they necessary or can i do it by hand? Also what diameter should the drums be?

Thanks guys.

jwells393 · April 15th, 2008, 07:27 AM

If I'm translating this correctly from UK to US you're referring to drum sanders on a drill press. These can be useful but if you're routing with templates I don't think they're necessary.

They could be useful for making templates .............. sanding 1/4 in MDF to the line after you've rough cut it to shape.

scubadoo · April 15th, 2008, 07:43 AM

Thanks Jack.

Tom S · April 15th, 2008, 10:21 AM

I agree with Jack that a sanding drum in a drill press would be helpful making templates, but you probably don't need to go this route if you do a good job routing with the template. But it could be useful if you need to remove any burn marks or minor chatter that can occur.

For this, you could consider the robo-sander drum, which has a disc on the bottom to allow following a template. Just google it if you aren't sure what I mean. You could actually use this method instead of routing if you rough-cut your body very closely to the template lines. I've used a simialr concept (without a robo-sander) to make a fretboard with a template:

I wouldn't really recommend it instead of routing for the body, though. One of the the problems with drum sanders in the drill press is that the drum loads up pretty quickly, and you need to raise and lower it manually. You also need a fairly large auxiliary table on your drill press to support the body properly. Something like this:

That's why an oscillating spindle sander of some sort is much preferred for stationary sanding:

...but you can't use a template with those.

scubadoo · April 15th, 2008, 11:26 AM

Thanks Tom,

How easy is it to fix that table to the drill press? is it just bolted onto the metal table that's attached to the column?

Dave

Vizcaster · April 15th, 2008, 12:36 PM

Yes you can use hanger bolts or countersink some carriage bolts through the auxiliary top. Acually I leave an auxiliary table on my drill press all the time. I made cutouts in the new top to match the slots in the metal table so I can still use the customary drill-press hold down clamp (looks like a vise-grip with one jaw). Also, the edges are square so you can use any sort of clamped-on fence to guide your work. Get fancy and cover it with high pressure laminate (melamine or Formica). Just make sure you have room to get your hand behind it to operate the crank for raising and lowering the table.

Ditto on the responses about the sanding drum - great for shaping things like templates, but not really productive for the final workpiece (either it will be too fine a grit to cut anything or it will be a coarse aggressive grit that leaves scratches). Think of it along the lines of a belt-sander: useful in the right situation if you want to hog away material, but not something for a fine finish.

Tom S · April 15th, 2008, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubadoo

Thanks Tom,

How easy is it to fix that table to the drill press? is it just bolted onto the metal table that's attached to the column?

Dave

Easy. See Vizcaster's response. There can be umpteen variations. Mine was pretty quick and dirty, and no doubt it will be modified in a number of ways sooner or later.

jwells393 · April 15th, 2008, 01:41 PM

I made my own from melamine. It's been a while but I think I used contact cement to glue the two layers together. Mine is approximately 16 x 31 inches. I routed a 4 x 6 in. recess in the top layer to accept 1/2 in. MDF inserts. The holes in the corner of the recess are for removing the inserts. The cut-out on the rear right allows clearance for the elevation crank. There's a cut-out on the rear left to allow access to the table lock. The six holes at the front are for the old Black and Decker Workmate hold-down clamps (no longer available). Some other clamping method could be used. If I need a fence, I just use a straight-edge and clamps.

......

It's attached to the drill press table with carriage bolts, washers and wingnuts.

......

boris bubbanov · April 15th, 2008, 02:09 PM

You really have to be patient and let the aluminum oxide or whatever abrasive do the cutting. The bearings in a drill press are not selected with a lot of side to side loading in mind; they're chosen instead to handle up and down loads. So don't let this be your primary means of shaping necks or bodies. Those bearings will fail and are too expensive to be replaced regularly.

scubadoo · April 16th, 2008, 05:09 AM

Thanks Jack, those pictures were really helpful. The drill press arrives today so I'll be thinking about something similar.

April 15th, 2008, 06:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
scubadoo Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Age: 34 Posts: 524	Drum sanders on a bench drill? are these good for sanding bodies after routing, and are they necessary or can i do it by hand? Also what diameter should the drums be? Thanks guys.

April 15th, 2008, 07:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
jwells393 Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Albuquerque, USA Age: 64 Posts: 11,693 101 Photos	If I'm translating this correctly from UK to US you're referring to drum sanders on a drill press. These can be useful but if you're routing with templates I don't think they're necessary. They could be useful for making templates .............. sanding 1/4 in MDF to the line after you've rough cut it to shape. __________________ Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" _ Guys - learn to disable the flash on your digital cameras.

April 15th, 2008, 12:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
Vizcaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Glen Head, NY Posts: 618	Yes you can use hanger bolts or countersink some carriage bolts through the auxiliary top. Acually I leave an auxiliary table on my drill press all the time. I made cutouts in the new top to match the slots in the metal table so I can still use the customary drill-press hold down clamp (looks like a vise-grip with one jaw). Also, the edges are square so you can use any sort of clamped-on fence to guide your work. Get fancy and cover it with high pressure laminate (melamine or Formica). Just make sure you have room to get your hand behind it to operate the crank for raising and lowering the table. Ditto on the responses about the sanding drum - great for shaping things like templates, but not really productive for the final workpiece (either it will be too fine a grit to cut anything or it will be a coarse aggressive grit that leaves scratches). Think of it along the lines of a belt-sander: useful in the right situation if you want to hog away material, but not something for a fine finish. __________________ "Why don't you just make 10 louder, and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little louder?"

April 15th, 2008, 01:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
jwells393 Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Albuquerque, USA Age: 64 Posts: 11,693 101 Photos	Here's mine...... I made my own from melamine. It's been a while but I think I used contact cement to glue the two layers together. Mine is approximately 16 x 31 inches. I routed a 4 x 6 in. recess in the top layer to accept 1/2 in. MDF inserts. The holes in the corner of the recess are for removing the inserts. The cut-out on the rear right allows clearance for the elevation crank. There's a cut-out on the rear left to allow access to the table lock. The six holes at the front are for the old Black and Decker Workmate hold-down clamps (no longer available). Some other clamping method could be used. If I need a fence, I just use a straight-edge and clamps. ...... It's attached to the drill press table with carriage bolts, washers and wingnuts. ...... __________________ Jack's Disclaimer: When I say something.... always ask yourself ..... "What the hell does he know?" _ Guys - learn to disable the flash on your digital cameras.

April 15th, 2008, 02:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,145	You really have to be patient and let the aluminum oxide or whatever abrasive do the cutting. The bearings in a drill press are not selected with a lot of side to side loading in mind; they're chosen instead to handle up and down loads. So don't let this be your primary means of shaping necks or bodies. Those bearings will fail and are too expensive to be replaced regularly. __________________ Bubban0v

April 15th, 2008, 07:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
scubadoo Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Age: 34 Posts: 524	Thanks Jack.

April 15th, 2008, 10:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tom S Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,208 49 Photos	I agree with Jack that a sanding drum in a drill press would be helpful making templates, but you probably don't need to go this route if you do a good job routing with the template. But it could be useful if you need to remove any burn marks or minor chatter that can occur. For this, you could consider the robo-sander drum, which has a disc on the bottom to allow following a template. Just google it if you aren't sure what I mean. You could actually use this method instead of routing if you rough-cut your body very closely to the template lines. I've used a simialr concept (without a robo-sander) to make a fretboard with a template: I wouldn't really recommend it instead of routing for the body, though. One of the the problems with drum sanders in the drill press is that the drum loads up pretty quickly, and you need to raise and lower it manually. You also need a fairly large auxiliary table on your drill press to support the body properly. Something like this: That's why an oscillating spindle sander of some sort is much preferred for stationary sanding: ...but you can't use a template with those.

April 15th, 2008, 11:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
scubadoo Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Age: 34 Posts: 524	Thanks Tom, How easy is it to fix that table to the drill press? is it just bolted onto the metal table that's attached to the column? Dave

April 16th, 2008, 05:09 AM	#10 (permalink)
scubadoo Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Age: 34 Posts: 524	Thanks Jack, those pictures were really helpful. The drill press arrives today so I'll be thinking about something similar.