Has anyone used the Flatmaster 30" Drum Sander?

[Alan Sweet]

I am wanting to do segmented vessels. I am aware of how important it is to get the layers flat. I am looking to get the Flatmaster 30" sander.
1. Is it worthwhile. Will it satisfy the needs of making segmented vessels?
2. How difficult to setup. I understand I will have to buy a motor for it and install a switch. Is this a problem?
3. How useful is this product? Will it become another shop dust collector?
4. Can it do some of the tasks of a planer? Non production stuff.
5. Sand paper. Single distributor? How long does it last?
6. General product quality. How is it? Is the frame strong enough to support the machine and any wood that is sanded?
7. Any other positives or negatives, I would be glad to hear

Thank you

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

You might want to take a look at Pat Hawley's shop-built thickness sander. I kind of followed his plans and am kind of pleased with the results. I'd be more pleased had I done a better job in following his directions. But I do have a usable tool for a fraction of the cost of a commercial sander. See http://woodgears.ca/sander/thickness.html

Larry

[Alan Sweet]

TY Lawrence

[Robert Henrickson]

Another vote for building your own. I built one using an old furnace blower fan for power, though starting from a different set of plans. Not difficult, and works well.

[Bob Coates]

Recently I have been mounting the rough segment ring on a plywood disc with hot glue. Then the plywood to a face plate, true it up with gouge, then with sandpaper on board across the diameter of the ring to ensure flatness. Then glue as next ring and true the other side when glue is dry. Seems to work better,quicker and safer than holding against sand paper disc on the lathe.

[Peter Fabricius]

+1 for Bob Coates comments. I use glue blocks to hold each ring and face it off on the lathe. Then attach the ring to the bowl and face off other side when glue dries.
Much better than trying to flatten the rings by other means.
The flat sander is great for lots of other shop projects.
Peter F.

[Michelle Rich]

agree with Bob & peter..no need for an expensive sander. Use the lathe.

[Fred Belknap]

Well I guess nobody ever use the Flatmaster 30" drum sander.

[Dave Paine]

I am wanting to do segmented vessels. I am aware of how important it is to get the layers flat. I am looking to get the Flatmaster 30" sander.
1. Is it worthwhile. Will it satisfy the needs of making segmented vessels?
2. How difficult to setup. I understand I will have to buy a motor for it and install a switch. Is this a problem?
3. How useful is this product? Will it become another shop dust collector?
4. Can it do some of the tasks of a planer? Non production stuff.
5. Sand paper. Single distributor? How long does it last?
6. General product quality. How is it? Is the frame strong enough to support the machine and any wood that is sanded?
7. Any other positives or negatives, I would be glad to hear

Thank you

I have the 30in FlatMaster, purchased several years ago.

I have only made one segmented bowl based on 12 segments per ring. I did use the FlatMaster to get the rings flat.

The machine is not difficult to set up. My motor mount did not fit the existing holes, so I had to drill new holes. Not a problem. I added a construction plastic outlet box for the switch. The big surprise was the unit had a hole for dust collection but no method to attach a hose. I had to cut a hole in a piece of scrap, screw this around the hole. My shop vac hole is now an easy press fit. Dust collection is very good. Even without a shop vac installed, you will be surprised at the small amount of dust. The anti-static design of the drum makes most of the dust fall into the frame. The rotation of the drum does throw up a small amount of dust if no shop vac, or as happens if I forget to turn on my shop vac.

The unit can be very useful, especially if you have mixed grain direction, which will happen with a ring. I also use this for cutting board where I have grain in multiple directions.

The benefit of sanding is no tear out, whether face grain or end grain. The design of this sander does not produce heat, so no burning of the wood or the abrasive. I never have the abrasive getting resin/gum, which happens too easily on my Performax drum sander.

The abrasive is hook and loop. Easy to attach and remove. I get this from the Klingspor site. The abrasive lasts a LONG time, much longer than a normal drum sander.

The frame is strong enough to support a lot of weight.

The weakest part of my machine is that the top is not as flat as desired. Perhaps due to the large hole down the middle which is necessary for the drum. I will eventually make another top. I will also make is a little deeper to help support the workpiece better.

The wood is pushed by the operator. This is not a problem, but if you do not rotate the piece between passes it is easy to over sand some areas and not get the workpiece flat.

I have my FlatMaster mounted in a Workmate 300. Easy to mount and remove if I need the Workmate for something else. I built a cover for the top, so now I rarely remove from the Workmate and use this as another work surface when I am not using it for sanding.

The 30in length allows mounting two different grit sizes which can be efficient, e.g., one half with 110 grit and the other half with 220 grit.

The machine will leave scratches, not a problem if you are gluing rings together, but if a final surface, you will need to follow up with hand sanding or ROS to remove the scratches.

[Peter Fabricius]

I thought I would follow up on part of Dave's issue with the table not being flat....
The long hole/slot in the top definitely lends itself to a bowed table. I built the wood 2"drum x 18" model years ago and to preclude the problem with the table I put cross bars under the two ends and pre stressed the cross bars with the bowed side up towards the table. This way I just adjust the two screws in the ends of the cross bars to keep the table FLAT.
Hope this helps.
Peter F.

[John Beaver]

I've played with the Flatmaster and it's well made and works well. What it doesn't have is the ability to make both sides parallel like a drum sander, and I would think that would cause some problems with a segmented piece. It would be too easy to create a taper with the Flatmaster