Building a 37" drum sander

Dave Black

Member
Messages
638
Location
Central PA
I am wanting to build a large drum sander so I can sand glue ups and stuff like that. I have been looking on the web for ideas. So far I want to do the powered conveyor feed, probably stationary table height so table extensions are easy to do. Any thoughts as to what the max workpiece thickness should be. Is there a standard? I'm thinking around 6" should be enough:dunno: Red Hill corporation/supergrit is just down the road so all the sanding stuff including a conveyor belt is easy to get. I am on the look out for threaded rod for the height adjustment, and a good size motor. I think a 16 TPI threaded rod would be good or should I get something finer. If anyone has a motor that needs "disposed of" let me know. Any other thoughts in general. This is going to be a long project and needs to be on the cheap so I think I will be looking to cheap materials and gathering them slowly before I start. If a motor showed up at my doorstep mysteriously I wouldn't complain;)
 
Last edited:
I am currently making a 16inch one. Using a combination of designs from Shop Notes and from a design on Sketchup. Using a 1HP electric motor off of an old rusted table saw I had and the conveyor motor is off of a very old garage door opener.......Conveyor material is a 16x48 Sanding belt.

Kind of like these....Except mine is free standing

The design on Sketchup could be scaled to something of the size you need.....should not be an issue
 

Attachments

  • EDTSander01.jpg
    EDTSander01.jpg
    31.2 KB · Views: 181
  • EDTSander02.jpg
    EDTSander02.jpg
    31.4 KB · Views: 166
  • EDTSander03.jpg
    EDTSander03.jpg
    27.8 KB · Views: 162
  • EDTSander06.jpg
    EDTSander06.jpg
    27.6 KB · Views: 157
  • EDTSander05.jpg
    EDTSander05.jpg
    28.8 KB · Views: 156
  • EDTSander04.jpg
    EDTSander04.jpg
    26.1 KB · Views: 147
I am currently making a 16inch one. Using a combination of designs from Shop Notes and from a design on Sketchup. Using a 1HP electric motor off of an old rusted table saw I had and the conveyor motor is off of a very old garage door opener.......Conveyor material is a 16x48 Sanding belt.

Kind of like these....Except mine is free standing

The design on Sketchup could be scaled to something of the size you need.....should not be an issue

Is your conveyor going to be fixed speed or variable speed? What type of height adjustment are you using? I was going to use 4 threaded rods to raise/lower the the drum so that the conveyor would stay the same height from the floor so using roller stands would be easy. It seems that it would be easier to raise/lower the conveyor in regards to fabricating the machine, maybe not?
 
Is your conveyor going to be fixed speed or variable speed? What type of height adjustment are you using? I was going to use 4 threaded rods to raise/lower the the drum so that the conveyor would stay the same height from the floor so using roller stands would be easy. It seems that it would be easier to raise/lower the conveyor in regards to fabricating the machine, maybe not?

Dave, If you look at the 5th picture you will see how the feed belt if raised and lowered. The two wedge blocks are used.
 
Dave, If you look at the 5th picture you will see how the feed belt if raised and lowered. The two wedge blocks are used.

It was my understanding that he was building a combination of the pictured one and a sketchup plan so I wasn't sure if he was using that or something else
 
It was my understanding that he was building a combination of the pictured one and a sketchup plan so I wasn't sure if he was using that or something else

correct. The Height adjustment is the block system pictured. The reason I am combining the 2 designs is that I wanted a curved Lexan top with Dust attachment and I wanted the sander to be free standing, with totaal height at 50 inches, due to a bad back. The conveyor is a 16 x 48 sanding belt.

As for the speed of the conveyor, there are 2 ways to handle it. I got a speed control at a flea market, and am able to use the garage door opener motor at any speed I want. If you look at the pics, I am using that old garage door opener chain and sprockets. They are 1/2" bore so I used 1/2" steel rod for both rollers on the conveyor along with 1 1/2" MDF circles inside of 1 1/2" PVC. Cloth electrical tape is covering it to allow the sanding belt something to grip.

The 1HP motor off of the table saw is connected with a 4L v-belt, 5" pulley up top and 2" at the motor.
 
would a router speed controller work to control the conveyor speed? I have a gear reduction motor that I can gear down slightly with the chain drive to give me a good speed with the motor at full speed. I want a variable speed so I can run things though really slow if needed. Here was what inspired me to build one.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=146427

I got a speed controller to work with an old Craftsman Garage door opener. I got it at Mcmaster As for being a "good" speed.....different woods, different grit, etc....requires you to be able to adjust the Conveyor track IMO.
 
I got a speed controller to work with an old Craftsman Garage door opener. I got it at Mcmaster As for being a "good" speed.....different woods, different grit, etc....requires you to be able to adjust the Conveyor track IMO.

When I said "good" I meant the top speed that I would want to go. So when the speed controller was at its fastest setting the conveyor would be running somewhere around 10 fpm and I could turn it down from there with the controller. I don't know much about speed controllers, which model did you get and are they expensive. I'm assuming that I could use them with any 120v gear reduction motor?
 
Dave......the Gear motor I have that will work...(not the one I used, for no reason other then I wanted to find a use for it)

60-80 RPM is the max speed on the motor.. that I figured out for the one I built. This gives me about 15 Board feet per minute. I am comfortable with that kind of speed.

The motor I use with a 2 inch pulley at the motor and 5 inch at the drum...hives me about 2800 sfpm (surface feet per minute)

This motor...6142K58...from http://www.mcmaster.com/?orderview=new#electric-motors/=912nn2

Then I got 2 sprockets to drive the chain...again from Mcmaster.

if you do want to get a control for motor speed..(which I would recommend)

Then go here....(or something like this...depending on your motor)

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DA...Google Base-_-Motors-_-Motor Supplies-_-5JJ60

And that should get you going:D
 
Last edited:
Dave......the Gear motor I have that will work...(not the one I used, for no reason other then I wanted to find a use for it)

60-80 RPM is the max speed on the motor.. that I figured out for the one I built. This gives me about 15 Board feet per minute. I am comfortable with that kind of speed.

The motor I use with a 2 inch pulley at the motor and 5 inch at the drum...hives me about 2800 sfpm (surface feet per minute)

This motor...6142K58...from http://www.mcmaster.com/?orderview=new#electric-motors/=912nn2

Then I got 2 sprockets to drive the chain...again from Mcmaster.

if you do want to get a control for motor speed..(which I would recommend)

Then go here....(or something like this...depending on your motor)

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DA...Google Base-_-Motors-_-Motor Supplies-_-5JJ60

And that should get you going:D


I have a gear motor almost exactly like the one that you linked to from mcmaster so I want to use that for the conveyor drive. I think that the motor speed controller from grainger will work nicely, and its cheaper than a router speed controller:). I may have a motor to use to drive the sanding drum, I think its a 7.5hp motor, so I may br able to use that if its not needed as a backup for our grain dryer blower. If I can't get that then I will have to get something else. How well does your height adjustment work?, I was thinking of using a normal planer style adjustment with 4 threaded rods connected by a hand driven chain drive to raise and lower the conveyor.
 
I have a gear motor almost exactly like the one that you linked to from mcmaster so I want to use that for the conveyor drive. I think that the motor speed controller from grainger will work nicely, and its cheaper than a router speed controller:). I may have a motor to use to drive the sanding drum, I think its a 7.5hp motor, so I may br able to use that if its not needed as a backup for our grain dryer blower. If I can't get that then I will have to get something else. How well does your height adjustment work?, I was thinking of using a normal planer style adjustment with 4 threaded rods connected by a hand driven chain drive to raise and lower the conveyor.

The block system I use is made with some old Oak I had in the scrap bin. 1/2 threaded rod through the front and back blocks...in the middle is the curved section. The bigger the angle of the curve the more control you have. The conveyor support has holes drilled in the back left and right. The front left and right have a groove I routed out. All I have to do to adjust it is to set the depth in the back and then loosen the front knobs. Then adjust the block system. I bet I can get a 1/16th on the adjustment...it's that simple and that accurate...for me anyway.

This is the plan I used...

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=6055cd228aa79fa4273f6a3a8981ecb&prevstart=0

It is very accurate and the plan should be able to be scaled to the size you want. I would make sure you use hardwood on the conveyor, drum, and drum supports. Also make sure you use a VERY heavy pillow block bearing, like I did. That motor you are talking about will chew up cheap bearings if you go that route.

For the chain on the conveyor I used an old chain from a garage door opener.....works great with the high torque, low speed motor.

Good luck to you!
 
Well friday I started the project. I picked up a conveyor sanding belt from supergrit in gettysburg PA. Its 37.25" wide by 75" I think, thats as far as I got so far.
 

Attachments

  • Oct01_0002.jpg
    Oct01_0002.jpg
    86.2 KB · Views: 46
I actually found an old treadmill last year along the road and was going to use it for this purpose. I found that the speed control didn't give me enough power to use at slow speeds like I would need. Plus most treadmills are about 5' long which is pretty long for a conveyor. I don't know about other treadmills but the one I had was only 13" wide which isn't quite as wide as 37". I have seen at least one sander where the treadmill belt was replaced with a sanding belt and used as a really wide belt sander. So to answer your question a treadmill could be used but probably not for something this big.
 
Here is what I got done yesterday. The first 2 pics are my first attempt at making the drive roller for the conveyor. After I made the bushings out of MDF on the lathe I realized that the steel pipe was not straight so I had to scrap that idea. I ended up using 3" schedule 80 PVC pipe. Its nice and straight, and very ridged. I might have found a 5hp motor to use to drive the drum, I'll have to wait and see how that turns out.
 

Attachments

  • Oct09_0001.jpg
    Oct09_0001.jpg
    130.5 KB · Views: 43
  • Oct09_0002.jpg
    Oct09_0002.jpg
    133.5 KB · Views: 42
  • Oct09_0003.jpg
    Oct09_0003.jpg
    148.6 KB · Views: 46
  • Oct09_0004.jpg
    Oct09_0004.jpg
    141.3 KB · Views: 42
  • Oct09_0005.jpg
    Oct09_0005.jpg
    147.3 KB · Views: 46
A friend of mine has some extra motors laying around and he said that I could use one of them, the problem is they are 3 phase and I only have single phase. Now I see a few options.
1: Buy a VFD to use with the 3 phase motor.
2: Keep looking for a 5hp single phase motor.
3: Make a rotary phase converter.
4: Look at getting 3 phase installed.
5: See if my friend has a 7.5 hp 3 phase motor and run it on single phase.
6: Rob a motor store, and leave a nice thank you note, anonymously of course.
7 Buy a new 5hp single phase motor

Option 1 seems ok except I could buy a single phase motor for about the same price, but a VFD would also give me variable speed on the sanding drum and I think that the 3 phase motor would be better quality than the single phase. Would it be helpful to have variable speed on the sanding drum?

Option 2 gets old when looking for a cheap 5hp single phase motor

Option 3 Not a bad option but is it better/ cheaper than options 1,2,4 or 6. Although this would let me run other 3 phase equipment. I don't have anything else 3 phase that I am waiting to run and I have pretty much everything that I need. The only thing I can think of needing more 3 phase for would be if I got a big planer.

Option 4 Probably won't happen, but there is that chance, I was told that there is 3 phase on the transformer so I would only need a new panel and meter and wire up the pole.

Option 5 Doesn't seem like a good option and probably not great for the motor although according to common motor wisdom you can run a 3 phase on single at 2/3 power so I would end up with 5 hp from a 7.5 hp motor.

Option 6 Sanding from jail is probably not as fun as in the shop.

Option 7 is not as much fun as getting a free or really cheap motor and then would it be better than a FVD or rotary converter.
 
I have a gear motor almost exactly like the one that you linked to from mcmaster so I want to use that for the conveyor drive. I think that the motor speed controller from grainger will work nicely, and its cheaper than a router speed controller:). I may have a motor to use to drive the sanding drum, I think its a 7.5hp motor, so I may br able to use that if its not needed as a backup for our grain dryer blower. If I can't get that then I will have to get something else. How well does your height adjustment work?, I was thinking of using a normal planer style adjustment with 4 threaded rods connected by a hand driven chain drive to raise and lower the conveyor.

I changed a couple of things on mine. Went from a 1 1/2 to a 3 HP....good move remember mine is only 16" wide. Then I went from chain to an adjustable v belt from HF....works a lot better
 
Top