Edge Sander Fence Modification

glenn bradley

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SoCal
I have often been sorry I sent my vertical belt sander down the road (there's only so much room in my shop). I really miss it for things like the edges of end-grain cutting boards as sanding the vertical grain horizontally or circularly just leaves more work later. There is a cast "fence" that came with my Jet edge sander that has never been much use. although I can't get the belt path to be vertical, I can orient myself to get the same function. I just needed a more substantial fence. I laminated a couple pieces of scrap 3/4" ply together and milled out the areas that required clearance:

Edge Sander Fence Mod (1).jpg

I attach the ply to the cast fence, set the sander to this position and add the fence via the supplied knob:

Edge Sander Fence Mod (2).jpg . Edge Sander Fence Mod (4).jpg

Now I have something like this:

Edge Sander Fence Mod (3).jpg

This piece of cherry is just for example and the grain is not running in the direction I would use this attachment for:

Edge Sander Fence Mod (5).jpg

Imagine an end grain cutting board with a curved outer edge with the grain running vertically:

Cuttboard and Trivet (5).jpg

This will allow me to rough sand those surfaces without leaving a bunch of sanding marks that take an extra effort to remove later. It will have to do since I can't shoe-horn one of these in the shop:

G1276.JPG

In my dream shop all of my sanding stations are along one wall ;-)
 
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You sure got me thinking Mr Bradley. I cant fit anymore into the place i am in right now but in the future thats going to change and then a sander will be on the cards. Clever move Glenn. I learn a ton from your posts never considered the grain issue when using a sanding machine.
 
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