sanding panel wider than drum sander

[frank shic]

i've got two 21" wide vanity end panels and i'm trying to figure out how to feed them through the sander later tonight. do you send 16" through and then rotate the whole panel and send it through or do you try to balance the panel so that only the unsanded portion goes through? intuitively i would think the first option would be easier.

[Cary Falk]

I would send 16" through then rotate and send 16" through. If the sander is set up right, there shouldn't be an issue. I use the full 18" on my 18/36.

[frank shic]

thanks cary... hate sanding out cross grain scratches but the drum sander is way better at levelling the surface than i am!

[frank shic]

hey guys, here's another wrinkle i discovered last night: if you're sanding an end panel with 5/8" raised panels, you better shim under the gap otherwise your panel will have a hump in the middle of it. didn't discover this of course until after that fact :(

[Cary Falk]

BTDT. Would have mentioned it but I was not sure you were doing a raised panel.

[frank shic]

well the one saving grace is that the vanity will be installed in an alcove so hopefully no one will whip out a straightedge and start measuring! seriously thinking about going back to using 3/4" center panels but then i'd have to get the backcutter...

[Jeff Monson]

well the one saving grace is that the vanity will be installed in an alcove so hopefully no one will whip out a straightedge and start measuring! seriously thinking about going back to using 3/4" center panels but then i'd have to get the backcutter...

I usually bring my straightedge to check vanities when I'm out and about Frank, so you better fix it!!! Kidding aside, I prefer 3/4" panels for reasons like this. I'd just condsider it another reason to buy a tool.

[frank shic]

i think i'll just rabbet out the back next time i use 3/4" panels. i hate planing down to 5/8" anyways because it seems like such a waste of wood and the DC fills up like crazy. another annoying thing is that the ridgid planer does not have a setting for 5/8". the quest for ultimate normness continues! i read about how the producer of the NYW was impressed with what a small pile of scrap wood he had left over after finishing a project... well, that's not exactly me lol

[Jerome Hanby]

i think i'll just dado out the back next time i use 3/4" panels. i hate planing down to 5/8" anyways because it seems like such a waste of wood and the DC fills up like crazy. another annoying thing is that the ridgid planer does not have a setting for 5/8". the quest for ultimate normness continues! i read about how the producer of the NYW was impressed with what a small pile of scrap wood he had left over after finishing a project... well, that's not exactly me lol

I think Norm was squirreling away all the good leftovers and just left the useless pieces in the burn pile ;)

[frank shic]

man i wish i were as talented as norm so someone would give me a wide belt sander like that monster he has sitting in his workshop!

[Bill Huber]

hey guys, here's another wrinkle i discovered last night: if you're sanding an end panel with 5/8" raised panels, you better shim under the gap otherwise your panel will have a hump in the middle of it. didn't discover this of course until after that fact :(

What makes the hump in the middle?

So you are just sanding the panel only and the the whole door?
When I make my raised panel doors I raise the panel, sand the sides and the top where the sander can't get then put it all together and sand the whole door. Now I am using a back cut bit set.