Thickness sander jig for laminates/backings?

[toomanyknots]

I was thinking of trying to whip up a thickness sanding jig using a spindle sander opposed to using a thickness planer, like this:



Anybody ever try something like this? You think it will work ok? Yall think it would be accurate enough? I would probably need a 1/8" thick or so push stick for 1/4" backing strips I would think... I'm thinking if I do 1/8" backing strips I would use like a thin metal strip around 1/16" of an inch thick for a push stick to push the end of the backing through.

[bow101]

Whoa....no way mun you will end up with an Ocean of Trouble. Hence the word (ocean) ripples and waves in the material.......

[turtle]

I recentlty searched online for plans for a homade thikness sander and that looks like it would work as well as the designs i found. I would think you could just pull your lams on through from the back without needing a push stick. Let us know how it works out for you.

[bow101]

Same princle as a drum sander I agree. But a dedicated drum sander has rubber feed rolls..I have sanded material on drum sanders big time. Like about 3000 feet.

[vinemaplebows]

I had the exact idea. I think the only problem is gettiing it exact squared up., sespecially with a non square table like you show (I have the same table.) Once tyou have it square up you could easily grind tapers as well (I think)

VMB

[Cameroo]

I think it would be doable, with some modifications.  You might want to add a "false" top that you can shim to square it up to the drum.  You could add accessories like home-made feather boards to the in-feed and out-feed to help keep the ripple out of the lams.  You could have have the back end of the fence swivel on a rod and have the front end adjust for the thickness.

I would think the only issue might be power - you'd only be removing a few thousandths of an inch each pass.

[Jesse]

Should work fine. Make it pivot on one side to adjust thickness slowly. To square it up simply sand the fence on the spindle with it flat on the table. Then whatever you put against the fence will be square with the drum.  Take small amounts at a time and don't stop.  I would try to find some 36 grit paper though. Much faster

[Jesse]

If you have the material it would be better to add a larger table over the top of that one. Like said  it might be slow but you can make it work. Cut close to final dimensions with a table saw then use this.

[toomanyknots]

Thanks all for the advice. Squaring it up with the fence by sanding the fence sounds pretty smart. I was thinking I might use a fence to sand the fence to get it even, but keep the fence to be that I am sanding down flat to get it squared... Feather boards are also a great idea that probably is a must. I will look for a spindle sander that has a good amount of clampable table with it. I do have the lumber to build some infeed and out feed support tables. Yall don't think I could remove 1/16" at a time with this set up? Never used a spindle sander so I don't know, but I think I would really only need to take off 1/16" or so if I get a good cut to get it ready for glue up, right? Or at least a 1/32" at a time?

[Shaun]

I use a drum sander but one thing I use that would help is also applicable to the spindle - a sled. Rather than try to manage a 1/8" thick piece, use a thick piece as a carrier and affix your slat to it with 2 sided tape or just friction hold it with sticky backed sandpaper. I use the sandpaper on my drum sander sleds (parallel and tapered) to hold the thin slat.

[toomanyknots]

I use a drum sander but one thing I use that would help is also applicable to the spindle - a sled. Rather than try to manage a 1/8" thick piece, use a thick piece as a carrier and affix your slat to it with 2 sided tape or just friction hold it with sticky backed sandpaper. I use the sandpaper on my drum sander sleds (parallel and tapered) to hold the thin slat.

Thanks for the tip!

[kevinsmith5]

Is there a reason for not using a planer? I planed some hickory to 1/8" two days ago and was planning to use it for backing ...

[Buckeye Guy]

You are getting close !!!
With the sled and a little tuning it will work fairly well !!
make the sled long so you can push and pull with it!
Go easy on the amount you try to take off !!
The sand paper will load up easily ,but it will do the job !!
The only thing better is the drum on the end of a belt sander so you have more sand paper to spread out the load and keep from heating it up !!!
I have seen many a lam turned out that way!
By the way if you want tapered lams then taper the sled !!
Have fun !!
Guy

[lostarrow]

1-Coarse grit (80 should do) to minimise heat and fouling of the drum.
2 -dust collection  will help keep the sawdust from gumming up the drum and burning your lam. Sawdust is also very bad for your health on so many levels . With the coarse grit ,you get coarser dust that's easier to collect/cleanup and harder to breath in
3- You may also find you need to make a featherboard or the like for the infeed and outfeed to keep the lam  tight to the fence, otherwise you will see a great deal of deviation (scallops and snipe)
4- always make your lams at least 6" longer than needed to account for snipe at the ends.
5- don't stop and start your material even for a second. It will cause deviation and possibly burn your wood.
      1/16" passes might be a bit ambitious. That would be a cowboy cut for an industrial sized sander. It puts a lot of pressure on the drum and when only one end is fixed you get flex, resulting in wedge shaped profile.  If you have a good quality tablesaw with a good RIPPING blade ( not yelling ,just making sure you use the propper tool for the job. ) and you surface one face before you rip ,  you should only need to take off  1/64"-1/32" anyway. It may seem a pain in the butt ,but if you surface 1 face before you rip, you get a true cut and you know that one face is already good. Better results/less waste.

Is there a reason for not using a planer? I planed some hickory to 1/8" two days ago and was planning to use it for backing ...

 Just a word of caution. A thin piece of wood will buckle slightly between the infeed and outfeed rollers . The resulting buckle sometimes (especially on tricky grain ,knots, brittle wood etc.)will cause the blades to grab and eject ,with explosive force , wood shrapnel. If it's just the wood, you are lucky. Sometimes  it's the blades too! (rare  ,but I've seen it ) 

 I hope I didn't sound like I was lecturing. I just want to make sure you guys can keep making bows and using them . It's harder to do that if you are missing didgets/eyes or dead.  . I've worked in wood shops all my life, from Mom and Pop to industrial, and seen my share of accidents. Unfortunately it isn't always the guy that  makes the mistakes that gets hurt, it's sometimes the guy working behind him.

 Good luck with your lams, go slow and work safe.
   Dave
   

[Prarie Bowyer]

That is how mine works.  Mine is an attachment I made for my lathe.