Newly Acquired Spindle Sander + What Sleeves to Buy?

[Matt Meiser]

I picked up a Jet JBOS-5 spindle sander off Craigslist on Friday night. Its almost unused and came with everything but a manual which I printed last night. I had to give $250, (plus dinner at Macaroni Grill for my wife and I and a 1/4 tank of gas--$10 or so--in her car) for it. Not a steal, but a good price since they are $439 new at Amazon.

Even found a nice spot to stick it already on a small drawer unit I have by my drill press. Its on wheels so I can easily roll it out for larger pieces.

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It came with a full set of the stock sleeves. I don't want to spend a fortune on sleeves I'll never use but would like to get some extras to have on hand. It has 1/4", 1/2", 5/8" (all 6" tall) and 1-1/2" and 2" (both 5-1/2" tall) spindles. Any suggestion on what and where to buy?

Also there's an optional 3" spindle which seems rather expensive. Is it worth having?

[Bob Wingard]

You are really the only person who can accurately answer your question ... kinda like router bits ... by a full "set" or buy what you really need as the need arises ??? Honestly look at the type of work you do, buy accordingly. It wouldn't hurt to have one or two of each size, but buy larger quantities & grits of every other size and you should be fine.

[Matt Meiser]

I guess I was wondering more about what grit is useful?

[James Baker SD]

I have that exact same sander and in my hobbyist work I find that I use the smallest spindle and the optional big 3" spindle the most, switching between extremes.
James

[Bob Wingard]

Until I can come across a deal like you just got, I'm using an OLD Craftsman unit. Once I settled in on the SIZES I would use the most, I bought a few of each sleeve in just about every available grit I could find. I build a fair amount of Federal Style projects with large, broken pediments ... they have a large, graceful curve that starts out fairly tight, and expands to a fairly gentle arc. I generally use three spindles to shape, then finish sand these pieces, using 4 or 5 progressively finer grits on each.

Once you have shaped to the line with the coarser grits, it is not imperative to even use the spindle sander to further smooth the edges if you don't have the sleeves in finer grits. Once you are happy with the final shape, you can sand with a dowel or anything round to smooth the surface ... remembering that you now have a need for that size sleeve in a finer grit, so you'll remember to get it for next time. My advice (FWIW) would be to buy a few coarse sleeves in every spindle size ... use the machine for awhile and order additional sleeves or cull out the ones you never use on an as-needed basis. Remember the router bit analogy ... buy a whole set of bits that you might never use or buy what you think you'll really use based on experience. Either way is good ... one will save you some $$$$ ... the other will have you prepared for anything.

[Chris Fournier]

I think that you would find the 3" spindle very useful indeed; it makes fairing curved work quite easy.

As far as grits go I personally use coarser grits on my machine - 80 is good for me. I would consider 120 to be fine. Remember that the actual surface area of the sanding spindle is pretty small and the finer grits load up all too easily. For the small 3/4" and < spindles I use a roll of 1" shop tape 80 grit and wrap them in a spiral fashion. Dirt cheap.

I don't consider this machine to be a finishing machine and I use it mostly for shaping and clean up of bandsawn curves. I like to finish most edges by hand for the best results. It is an important machine in my shop and I'm certain that you will get your monies worth out of your as well Matt.

Also as a metal working guy you'll find this tool handy as well!

[Brian W Evans]

For me this is primarily a shaping tool - fairing curves mostly. I also use it occasionally to sand small resawn boards to thickness (don't own a drum sander). I mostly use the 3" spindle and tend toward the coarser grits. I don't think I own anything over 120.

One tip: if most of your work is 3/4" - 1" or so, build a small plywood table with a hole in the middle that sits on the CI table. This way you can raise your work up and use more of the sleeve once the bottom (and top - don't forget to flip it over) wear out. Add one or two boards to sit under the plywood table and you can utilize the whole sleeve.

[Matt Meiser]

Anyone ever tried cutting down 6" long sleeves or even just letting them stick up? The 5-1/2" ones for the 1-1/2', 2" and 3" drums are harder to find, at least at a source that has all the smaller sizes (which are 6") in stock.

I went ahead and ordered a 3" spindle. They are apparently in short supply and possibly discontinued. Tool Barn supposedly has a few in stock. We'll see if I get a tracking number tomorrow.

[Callan Campbell]

Like you Matt, I wondered about the 3" spindle when I got the same sander. I too bought it, and while I'll see sleeves for the Jet at either Woodcraft or Rockler while I'm in their stores, I tend to get the sleeves at Klingspor since they carry exactly what I want, in the grits I want. Plus1 on usually using coarse grits over fine grits with this sander. Enjoy it, they're quiet and reliable . I really like mine.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I think you will be glad to have the 3" spindle. It was the biggest reason why I bought the Jet benchtop sander as it's the only benchtop brand that sports this option. A 3" throat plate is also available and sold separately.
Jeff :)

[Matt Meiser]

I noticed that in the manual. Not sure why they don't package them together. I found the plate on Ebay--there's a seller who's selling them for $5 with shipping.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

It is a bit odd. I'm guessing that one could use the 3" spindle without any plate given the large spindle diameter thru the table hole. However, I like to use the plate.
Jeff :)