Drum sander advice

[Tim Elett]

I am not interested in cabnet building, just turning and segment bowls, has any one seen a flat master or similar type sander used ? Looks like a cost saving option for sanding segment rings, also I was advised that a typical drum sander can catch a ring because of sanding cross grain.
By the way, I am not willing to hold a board with sand paper against the ring on lathe.

[tom lucas]

I built my own flat master. It worked really well on solid pieces but isn't the tool for thin-edged "hollow" parts like segmented rings. You have to push against the resistance of the spinning paper and you need enough surface to do that. Could be a tad unsafe to do. I suppose it could be done with rings fixed to a backer board or other holding jig.

So, I bought a supermax 16-32. The supermax is efficient and it gives accurate thicknesses. I sold my homemade flatmaster. I didn't have enough room to keep both.

Yes, a drum sander can grab sometimes and leave divots in a piece. The key is to take very small bites at a time. Also, try to balance the load on the sander by doing multiple small rings side by side. Don't use too fine a grit either.

[Tim Elett]

Thanks I didn't think about thin rings,at this time I use a coll jaw and sand on a drill press,kind of time consuming but it works.

[Sam Force]

I have a performax 16-32, I do mostly segmented turning. It does a great job and I have very little trouble. I would not want to flatten rings any other way. I have flattened down to 1/8 inch and no issues

[John K Jordan]

I use a Performax 22-44 to flatten make parallel both sides of a variety of things for turning, but not segmented rings. The only time I've seen snipe/divot is on the trailing edge of a relatively small diameter piece if I didn't support it properly. As the piece emerges from moving under the drum I hold down the leading edge with one hand so it can't rise up. I do take multiple light passes with relatively coarse paper, never a heavy pass.

[Tim Elett]

Thanks all, I now know what to look for.

[mike ash]

I have the same drum sander as JKJ and found that using a sled with a "curb" attached to hold the piece in place works well for me. Otherwise that divot issue can show up....or it might just get spit back at you!!

[Edward Weber]

I am not interested in cabnet building, just turning and segment bowls, has any one seen a flat master or similar type sander used ? Looks like a cost saving option for sanding segment rings, also I was advised that a typical drum sander can catch a ring because of sanding cross grain.
By the way, I am not willing to hold a board with sand paper against the ring on lathe.


Flatmaster type sanders make things smooth, they DO NOT make things parallel.
A drum sander is the preferred way to sand rings evenly, second would be sanding on the lathe, one ring at a time.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I make banjo rims which each consist of 3 or 4 layers of 18 blocks. Last year I made 50 banjos, and a number of other rims, so maybe ~200 rings. I have a 19-38 SuperMax and would hate to be without it. As JKJ says I hold down on the leading edge as they come out, to avoid divots, and I keep cuts shallow, and use 80 grit. Up to April 2018 I flattened my rings on a 4x36 belt sander hand over hand, spinning the ring manually on a 50 grit belt. This worked pretty well but it was tiring and the results were not as precise. Over the last 3+ years the drum sander has saved me many hours of work, and improved the quality of what I can make.

[Reed Gray]

I have had my Performax 22/44 for 20 or more years, can't remember. It is so old, it came with a 2 inch port for the dust collector... When setting it up, you can make it so that you can get almost perfectly parallel surfaces. The away end is set maybe 1/64th hgh. I would reverse the panel every time through, which made the surface flat. I used it mostly for solid wood table tops and panels. When sanding a number of them, I would have to pivot them 90 or more degrees to be able to pick them up without the one underneath sticking to the upper one. Had to break the seal as it were.... Even with sanding to 220 grit, I would not get a 'finished' sanded surface. I would take a card scraper to the panel, and then I got a good random orbit sander.

As for the sniping or divots from the drum, that comes from having too much pressure on the drum. They are fine for light dimensioning, but not for heavy stock removal. If you keep cranking it down, with any grit over about 80, that is when you get those divots. This also is a reason for the divots happening when some thing 'slips' on the drive belt. I learned to keep a hand on the back side of what I was pushing through.

I want to experiment with a variable speed motor. I think the drum spins too fast, and with all turning sanding, the slower speeds on bowl and drill cut better, and with less heat. Hated it when I would get those burn lines on the abrasives....

robo hippy

[Lawrence Duckworth]

I built my own flat master. It worked really well on solid pieces but isn't the tool for thin-edged "hollow" parts like segmented rings. You have to push against the resistance of the spinning paper and you need enough surface to do that. Could be a tad unsafe to do. I suppose it could be done with rings fixed to a backer board or other holding jig.

So, I bought a supermax 16-32. The supermax is efficient and it gives accurate thicknesses. I sold my homemade flatmaster. I didn't have enough room to keep both.

Yes, a drum sander can grab sometimes and leave divots in a piece. The key is to take very small bites at a time. Also, try to balance the load on the sander by doing multiple small rings side by side. Don't use too fine a grit either.


Your flat master grinder definition sounds similar to the glass grinder I built several years ago. I had to replace the magnetic diamond grinding disc with an 80 grit oxide guitar sanding disc when I switched to wood, worked okay, but I bought a 19/38 a few weeks ago too....nice machine!

462840

[tom lucas]

Your flat master grinder definition sounds similar to the glass grinder I built several years ago. I had to replace the magnetic diamond grinding disc with an 80 grit oxide guitar sanding disc when I switched to wood, worked okay, but I bought a 19/38 a few weeks ago too....nice machine!

462840

The flat master I built is different than this. It's based off the Sand-flee: https://www.rjrstudios.com/store/p3/SAND-FLEE%C2%AE_18%22_Portable_Drum_Sander.html

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Wow, I was way off ��

[tom lucas]

Wow, I was way off 🤪

Here is a photo of the one I built. It worked great!
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[Tim Elett]

Thanks again for the replys hopefully a sander will come up for sale second hand

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Well in my defense I've never seen anything like that :) ..but you mentioned pushing against the resistance of the spinning paper and it sounded a lot like what I got tired of, you really need to hang on to the wood to use this grinder or it'll go flying. Your flat master interpretation looks good!...also see where you could tire of the pushing and the possibility of the wood wanting to take a hike.

[tom lucas]

Well in my defense I've never seen anything like that :) ..but you mentioned pushing against the resistance of the spinning paper and it sounded a lot like what I got tired of, you really need to hang on to the wood to use this grinder or it'll go flying. Your flat master interpretation looks good!...also see where you could tire of the pushing and the possibility of the wood wanting to take a hike.

Flatmasters don't really throw the wood, at least mine didn't. If you let go in the middle of a sand it would just slide back to the infeed side of the table. Biggest danger with them is getting your fingers caught in the roller. It also wasn't tiring to use. It just isn't made for thickness sanding as others have said. The drum sander is both a smoothing as well as a thickness sander. So there is little need to have both. The flatmaster is an excellent tool in its own right; great for cutting boards and leveling rough surfaces.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

To me it looked like depending what side of it you're standing it could be a fun rapid fire spear chucker..... with the glass grinder if you let go of the wood it's like a concrete block bouncing around inside your wife's clothes dryer... somethings gonna get beat up.

[Paul Williams]

I built a sander based on a drum, and a set of plans that I bought at a woodworking show probably 20 years ago. It is similar to the Sand-Flee or the Flatmaster. I don't use it often, but I did drag it out day before yesterday to prep some wood that became segments. I have used it flatten segment rings, but it isn't really the best tool for that. If your piece is less than 1/2 inch thick you might sand your fingers as much as the wood.

Tim, if you live anywhere near St Paul, MN I would lend you my sander for a project or two, to see if it is the right tool for your use. I don't use it enough that I would miss it.

[Tim Elett]

I can see how sanding segments flat and parallel would be a challenge unless on a quality sander, thanks again to all.