Using a Shaper as a Spindle Sander

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I was using a sanding drum in my shaper and thought I would post some photgraphs in case anyone is interested.

I have a 45mm sanding drum with a 110mm sanding height installed in the shaper.

The drums are available in 45, 60 and 80mm diameters, and use plain strip abrasive instead of sleeves.

The drum has an outer round aluminum shell with an internal eccentric aluminum sleeve that tightens the abrasive paper when you twist it.

The drums are rated at 3,800 RPM, I'm using it at 3,000 RPM.

The first photo is the drum installed, the second shows the curve guard in place, the third shows the guard in the correct position.

Regards, Rod.

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[John A langley]

Thanks Rod , already have a spindle sander or would look into that

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

That is interesting, I have a shaper sitting in the warehouse that hasn't been used for 25 years. Might just look into doing this.

[ed vitanovec]

That is nice, who makes this? Do you feel the seam when sanding?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hello Ed, no you don't feel the seam when using it.

I bought it from Felder, they don't make it, you can buy them from other people....Rod.

[Peter Quinn]

Interesting option Rod, no issues with burning at that RPM?

[Bill Orbine]

That's an unusual but innovative idea! Not bad! So, do you crank the spindle elevation back and forth to make it an oscillating spindle sander?:rolleyes:

[Rod Sheridan]

That's an unusual but innovative idea! Not bad! So, do you crank the spindle elevation back and forth to make it an oscillating spindle sander?:rolleyes:

Yup, that's the only difficult part of the sanding!

[Rod Sheridan]

Interesting option Rod, no issues with burning at that RPM?

I didn't have any Peter. I'm sure it would if I stopped feeding however it worked great for me......Rod.

[Larry Edgerton]

I looked at those as I do not have an OSS but was concerned about introducing abrasives to my shaper. Seems once its in there it would be hard to get out.

Larry

[Rod Sheridan]

I looked at those as I do not have an OSS but was concerned about introducing abrasives to my shaper. Seems once its in there it would be hard to get out.

Larry

Once it gets in where?

I had those concerns as well, however the bearings are sealed, the only other areas are the ways for tilt and the elevation mechanism.

None of those move enough to make it an issue.

Regards, Rod.

[Peter Quinn]

I looked at those as I do not have an OSS but was concerned about introducing abrasives to my shaper. Seems once its in there it would be hard to get out.

Larry

Interesting consideration, suck to find out the hard way you were on to something here. My minimax has a shroud under the table, not much gets down to the quill assembly or bearings as it is. Do you still have the minimax shaper Larry? Thing I like about my t-40 for this is it has a speed below 2k just for sanding. I have no room for a spindle sander but occasionally have a need for something more robust than my table top model.

[ian maybury]

Hi Rod, that's good to know. In a similar thread a while ago, the thought was that a spindle might be a bit fast without oscillation: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?228190-Shaper-based-other-profile-amp-edge-sanding-solutions A quick check of the numbers just now though says it should as you say do quite well.

Sanders seem to go very roughly (there's quite a bit of variation) from about 1,500 fpm to 3,500fpm - the lower in the case of fixed belt and the latter in the case of oscillating edge/belt sanders. 1,500fpm if i have the numbers right equates to around about 3,600 rpm on a 40mm dia spindle, so the lowest 3,000rpm spindle setting should be fine. A 75mm dia drum though would get up to about double that - to something short of 3,000 ft/min. I'm presuming that both belt oscillation and length must help with cooling, while oscillation should reduce the risk of tracking issues when the finish is important too.

My 12in disc sander runs 1,420 rpm or 4,400ft/min and is definitely sailing close to the wind so far as burning is concerned - even with an aluminium backing disc.

The ability to replace the abrasive off the roll is a big positive. The Felder drums are quite expensive, but there's very similar looking items available from other suppliers at much better prices. Another very useful option might be the ability to set it up with the shaper fences to function in planer mode. Can you run a small diameter drum off the spindle? It's possible to do quite nicely on smaller diameters if needed running a drum in a pedestal drill too.

There's some very nice kit around now in oscillating belt edge sanders with and without built in spindles (see the above thread) - I'd no idea just how heavy duty they got until JR posted pictures of his recently acquired used SCMI...

[Peter Quinn]

Does the Felder system have bearings available to match the diameter? I've looked at the Amana head which is sold here in the USA, I like the idea of being able to sand to a pattern using a bearing, I've read the amana head uses proprietary paper that is neither very good nor very affordable, not sure why that is or of its true, I would prefer to choose my own brand of paper. I see Felder offers a 1 1/4" bore head with 60MM diameter. Amana offers a 2 3/8" head..which I'm guessing is just a 60MM head rounded up a few thousands for us SAE types, and they offer a bearing to match.

[ian maybury]

That would be a very nifty feature Peter...