Fretboard Radius Drum Sander

Hi guys!

This is a fretboard radius drum sander i build some time ago.
It works just like a regular drum sander, the only differences being that the drum itself has a radius and the fretboard blank is guided with a drawer slide. It is constructed from two 20mm plywood boards with hinges on one end, a pair of pillow block bearings and a steel axis on which the drum is attached.
The upper board is raised by a threaded rod located under the lower board. The drum is made of teflon (PTFE) and was turned on the lathe.
By using an aggressive grit (P40) the fretboard is shaped in a matter of minutes and all it needs is some minor hand-sanding with higher grits.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...r/P1090796.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...r/P1090792.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...r/P1090806.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...r/P1090785.jpg

Nice job ....immortalx :welcome:

Nice! Haven't seen a sander like that before. I like it!

Nice,
I will sooner or later redo the drum of my thickness sander (this one) and I was thinking to make a radiused shape at one end of the drum for the same purpose, but I was blocking on the way to fix the sandpaper following the radius...
How did you solve that ?
Thanks !
Christophe

Thanks guys!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Christophe Mineau

Nice,
I will sooner or later redo the drum of my thickness sander (this one) and I was thinking to make a radiused shape at one end of the drum for the same purpose, but I was blocking on the way to fix the sandpaper following the radius...
How did you solve that ?
Christophe

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That's a very nice sander you build Christophe!
Wrapping the sandpaper was actually the most difficult task! I stack several, overlapping pieces of masking tape around the drum, trying to avoid wrinkles. When the whole drum was covered in tape, i cut the tape in a spiral fashion and unfolded it.
I made an MDF template of that shape so that I can easily change the sandpaper when needed.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...r/P1090812.jpg
Thanks !

Thanks immortalx! I've added your Fretboard Radius Drum Sander to our Sanding category, as well as to your builder page: immortalx's Homemade Tools.

Ingenious idea, too, for creating an MDF template to aid in production of the necessary sandpaper spirals.

Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="/fretboard-radius-drum-sander"><img src="/uploads/100660/fretboard-radius-drum-sander.jpeg" alt="Fretboard Radius Drum Sander" /></a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="/fretboard-radius-drum-sander">Fretboard Radius Drum Sander</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/immortalx">immortalx</a></span> </div> <div class="tags"> tags: <a href="/tag/drum-sander">drum sander</a>, <a href="/tag/luthiery">luthiery</a>, <a href="/tag/guitar">guitar</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Thank You! It's a honor being listed on Homemadetools!

Yes, same thing as Ken, very clever how you developed the odd profile for the sandpaper, I will try that !
Many thanks,
Christophe

That template is a homemade tool in itself!

Hi immortalx,

An interesting and useful homemade tool! Your Fretboard Radius Drum Sander is the 'Tool of the Week'!

You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:

Attachment 2212

Let me know (via PM) your size, color choice, and mailing address. We'll get the shirt in the mail to you directly.

Congrats!

Ken

Thank you very much, I'm speechless!!!

Well deserved, very interesting machine.

This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to immortalx for making such a valuable contribution!