Need advice on which thickness sander to build.

[Floyd Cox]

I want to make a thickness sander with my grizzly drum sander. I need some input on which one you think would work better, top or bottom feed?


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[Mike Schuch]

The bottom drum configuration is akin to a jointer which is used to make a surface flat.

The top drum configuration is akin to a planer which is used to make a work piece uniformly thick.

What will you be sanding and how do you want to use your new drum sander?

[Floyd Cox]

Mike, I will be using it primarily for running anything below 1/8” that may planer wont handle and of course nothing wider than 7 inches as this is how wide the drum is.

[Chip Lindley]

With a drum that large in diameter, I would postulate that the drum above the work would work best. Sanders such as the Sand-Flee use a very small-diameter drum in a slot in the table. A tilting table would adjust to the thickness of the piece being sanded. Very light passes would have to be taken AGAINST the rotation of the drum. IF you feed WITH the rotation, the stock will surely grab and shoot out the other side.

Feeding stock by hand would be a bit touchy. A constant rate of feed is needed for decent results. Other points to consider are any runout in your drum which would cause it to sand more on one side, and getting the table perfectly coplanar with the drum. Otherwise the workpiece will taper from side to side. Also, unless you plan on sanding outdoors, good dust collection is manditory to keep it from "snowing" fine wood dust inside your shop.