A wood sander is a highly efficient apparatus for processing material planes. Using such units, you can quickly and efficiently process wood, obtaining perfectly smooth surfaces.
Classification
Wood sanding machine is used on final stage wood processing. During the work, special rough circles, tapes, and powdered pastes are used.
Currently, based on their purpose, the following units are distinguished:
- Automatic cylindrical grinding devices.
- Devices designed for processing the internal surfaces of parts and workpieces.
- Flat grinding machines.
- Specialized models that are used to implement narrowly focused tasks.
Areas of application
The areas in which a wood sander can be used are extremely varied. Latest achievements in the field of carpentry processing of parts, they make it possible to replace large turning units with more convenient to use mobile devices.
Such common solutions as drum and belt sanders for wood can be successfully used for:
- Rough abrading of workpiece surfaces.
- Precise processing of wood planes.
- Obtaining refined surfaces.
- Cleaning of timber and panel parts, their side and end edges.
- Intermediate sanding of paint and varnish coatings.
Thanks to its wide range of uses, a wood sanding machine is one of the most popular units among professional carpenters. Manufacturers are constantly improving popular models and offering consumers a whole host of additional tools to perform complex, specific tasks.
How to assemble a wood sanding machine with your own hands
We invite you to consider the features self-assembly drum device for processing the outer surface of wood. This will require several functional design elements. Some of them can be found in the household.
Engine
To assemble a wood sanding machine, the easiest way is to remove the motor from the old washing machine. Fortunately, Soviet-made models gather dust idle in many closets. From here you can get belts, pulleys and electrical parts.
However, any motor with a power from 200 to 300 W is suitable for assembling the grinding unit. It is desirable that its design be compact in size.
If it is necessary to obtain maximum efficiency indicators, you will have to find an asynchronous motor capable of delivering 1500-3000 revolutions.
Drum
This structural element can be made using all kinds of leftovers building materials. Sometimes, to assemble a drum sanding machine for wood, it is enough to take a pipe covered with old linoleum, rubber rings glued together or cylindrical bars mounted on a metal axis. Let's look at the first of these options.
To make a drum, it is enough to use a piece of PVC pipe, metal rod, durable board, screws, glue and linoleum. Plugs are cut out of wood corresponding to the cross-section of the existing tube, in which holes are drilled for the rod. Such locking elements are inserted into the pipe and secured with screws.
A metal rod is passed through the plugs and seated on epoxy glue. A layer of dense linoleum is glued on top of the polyvinyl chloride pipe. As alternative option You can use rough rubber. This shell will act as the basis for securing the sandpaper. You can fix the latter on the finished drum using double-sided tape or staples for a stapler.
Frame
To make a case where a homemade wood grinder will be placed, regular one will do plywood. You can make a design of a rather unassuming structure. All you need to do is install the side panels, work table and additional reinforcement struts. If desired, you can make a metal shell.
Installation
The engine is securely mounted on a statically installed base. The rotating axis is threaded through a pre-prepared hole in the housing wall. The grinding drum is installed in the upper part and rests on bearings in cages that are fixed on the side walls of the structure.
Pulleys are attached to the axis of the drum and engine. The drive belt is being tensioned. Wiring and switches are connected. Clamping bolts are screwed into the sides of the housing, and adjustment bolts are screwed into the lower part.
To give the structure a complete and attractive look, you can treat the surfaces with paint. Naturally, it is necessary to undertake such work before assembling and installing the unit. To increase safety during operation of the device, the design can be supplemented protective casing, placed above the drum.
Finally
Thus, we tried to consider the main classes of grinding machines, their areas of application, and also gave an example of self-assembly of a drum-type unit. Ultimately, the decision to buy a factory device or assemble one from existing materials depends on the size of the budget, goals, available funds and the needs of each individual user.
Homemade grinding drum on a drill.
When sanding wooden products, it is necessary to process not only straight planes, but also curly edges. For this an indispensable device is the sanding drum. You can buy such a drum or make it yourself. For work, use a hand drill or a stationary drilling machine.
Curly edges of joinery parts can be processed in another way, manual router With copy cutter according to the template. This gives a gain in time and quality, but only during processing large quantity details. If you have single products, then there is no point in making them for each template. Moreover, to make a template, you will again need a sanding drum; without it you cannot make an accurate template.
As I already said, you can buy a grinding drum; they are sold in different diameters and qualities. But working with such a device simply by holding the drill suspended is not very comfortable, and most importantly, it is impossible to obtain accurate and high-quality processing.
One of the adaptation options would be to make a small table for a drill. The drill itself is attached to the work table vertically. More from hand drill can be done .
The table can be assembled from scraps of MDF, thick plywood or chipboard (laminate). All parts are attached to each other with self-tapping screws. The product is assembled in the form of a box with a tabletop. A hole is drilled in the top cover to the diameter of the drum. The bottom edge of the sandpaper should be below the tabletop line. You can also make it from plywood.
You can easily attach legs to this frame, then you will have a free-standing tool. In the version you see in the photo, the box is attached to the desktop.
Almost any drill will do, but for serious work it is advisable to use a more powerful one. The drill is attached to the desktop frame using clamps. I already wrote on the site about horizontal installation drills, in the article.
Homemade sanding drum.
You can not only buy a drum, but also make it yourself. It's actually not that difficult if you have a wood lathe. The drum can also be processed using drilling machine, but it will be more difficult.
I use a metal drum for work; the skin is secured in it with a metal pin with a slot. The drum is installed on a stationary milling machine. Such a part can be turned using special equipment, see article. But such a part can be made using simpler means.
To assemble the device, we need a vertical axis; a bolt or pin with a diameter of 10/12 mm is suitable for this. and length 100-150 mm. . On this axis we place pieces of plywood, previously cut with a jigsaw with a small margin in diameter. In the center of all parts we drill a hole corresponding to the diameter of the bolt. Lubricate the plywood fragments with glue and tighten the nut. Then it is advisable to grind the drum lathe on wood, this will result in a more precise and even surface.
Another assembly option homemade drum. Only two plywood parts are placed on the axle, upper and lower, and a piece of hard foam is clamped between them. Simple packaging foam will not work, it is too loose. The product in the photo is assembled exactly like this.
How to glue the skin.
Stores sell sandpapers with a self-adhesive inner surface, this is the most convenient option. If there is no such skin, then you can glue a regular one. You need to glue it with an overlap, but you can’t join it on the abrasive, you’ll end up with a bump that will hit the part. To apply the sticker correctly, you need to mark the overlap at the lower end of the sandpaper, soak it in a solvent and clean off the abrasive.
Don't forget that sandpaper is consumables, and sooner or later it will have to be torn off and a new one glued on. To make this process easier, without damaging the drum itself, you must first stick thick paper and some sandpaper on it. I tried attaching the skin with a stapler, but it didn't work very well. The staples wear out quickly and also scratch the workpiece. Still the best option, this is the use of self-adhesive skin.
The diameter of the drum can be different, it depends on what parts you are going to process. But just remember, the smaller the diameter, the faster the skin will wear through. Most suitable option diameter from 60 mm. up to 100 mm. . Most often, the drum is used for processing parts up to 50 mm thick. , so the working height of the drum can be 70-120 mm. .
Every person who has had to deal with wood processing knows the importance of final sanding of the finished product.
This also applies to holders for various agricultural implements, and wooden furniture, and building elements (doors, windows, window sills) and any other wood products. Sanding allows you to remove burrs, as well as make the wood smooth and shiny.
Of course, sanding work can be done using a regular piece of sandpaper or a special attachment on a drill or angle grinder. But this takes a lot of time and does not ensure the ideal shape of the product. Therefore, various grinding machines have been created for such purposes.
Most often in living conditions and in small-scale production they use a drum grinding machine, a device, the principle of operation and the possibility of making it with your own hands we will consider in this publication.
1 Drum sander - device, principle of operation
The drum grinder gets its name from the rotating cylinder - the drum, which, in fact, performs the grinding function.
In addition to the grinding itself, which allows you to remove burrs and give wooden surface ideal smoothness, such devices also perform a calibration function. Drum sander or any other type allows you to adjust wooden part under required sizes accurate to the millimeter.
This machine is used for finishing grinding and calibration of flat and long wood products, such as panel surfaces made of wood, chipboard, fiberboard, etc., doors, window sills, etc. Using such a device for processing cylindrical parts impossible.
1.1 Main components
Drum sanding machine appearance and does not have a set of basic components fundamental differences from any other machines.
The basic package of such a device includes the following elements:
- The bed is the part of any machine to which all other elements are attached.
- The engine performs the function of driving the moving parts of the machine. Most often, drum sanders for wood are equipped with two motors. One rotates the drum itself according to the principle of a drill, the second sets the feed belt in motion.
- A sanding planing drum on which the sanding belt is wound and attached. It is necessarily equipped with a tension mechanism, with the help of which, when the tape is heated, it is automatically tensioned. A rotating drum with a sanding belt directly imparts smoothness to the wood product.
- Feed drum with conveyor belt. This machine part woodworking performs independent wiring wooden product on the grinding drum. Thanks to the flat surface of the conveyor and the same distance from the belt to the drum along its entire plane, the product is evenly adjusted to the required dimensions.
- A mechanism that regulates the speed of the conveyor belt.
- Sanding drum fixing posts equipped with a ruler. A ruler and screw fixation on the stands allow you to set required thickness, to which the product must be fitted.
- The protective casing covers the grinding drum to prevent injury during operation.
- Machine for removing dust and chips.
1.2 Operating principle
This grinding machine works on the principle of a drill. Its grinding part is rotated by a motor at high speed - an average of 2000 rpm.
The grinder may have different weight, different sizes, length of the sanding drum, length and width of the conveyor belt, maximum and minimum height drum settings, etc.
Choice technical parameters the device depends on the functions for which it is purchased.
After installing the machine, you need to calibrate the grinding drum to avoid eccentric rotation and unnecessary vibrations. In addition, an uncentered drum will not be able to clean the products evenly.
To do this, we take two beams of the same height, install them on the feeding belt, lower the drum onto them and fix them in this position. Next, we set the height of the mechanism, depending on the size of the part being sanded.
We turn on the installation. For the first pass it is better to set the minimum speed of the feed belt, for the final – maximum – 3 meters per minute.
The grinding drum should gain momentum, similar to the principle of a drill. After that we put wooden beam to be processed onto the conveyor belt. The passage of the timber under the drum occurs automatically.
We repeat this action required quantity times until our part arrives the required form and will not acquire the specified dimensions.
If the sides of the product have different size, the height of the drum must be adjusted for each change in parameters.
2 Types of machines
If we talk about grinding machines in general, their classification is based on two parameters: scope and functions performed.
By area of application, machines are:
- cylindrical grinding machines. Designed for processing parts with a round cross-section;
- surface grinding. Their task is to grind flat parts. The drum machine also belongs to this type;
- internal grinding. With the help of such mechanisms, the internal surfaces of the product are processed. Drills are often used for this purpose;
- specialized. Designed for processing complex surfaces - threads, grooves, teeth, etc.
Different machines can perform different functions:
- trimming and stripping;
- sharpening;
- grinding.
2.1 Making a drum machine with your own hands
It is difficult to make a drum sander for untreated wood with your own hands, but it is quite possible.
For this we take a list necessary elements and looking for suitable material and spare parts.
And so, we need:
- Bed. For these purposes, any stable workbench or table to which you can screw other elements of the machine is suitable. It is better if the frame is metal. If you have to use wooden structure, it needs to be qualitatively strengthened with your own hands.
- Electric motor with a power of 200-300 W. The speed should be 1500-2000 rpm. It's better if it's single-phase asynchronous motor. For these purposes, a mechanism from an old washing machine (in this case we also take pulleys with a belt), drills, grinders, etc. is suitable.
- Sanding drum for wood. This is probably the most important and most difficult part of the machine, on which the quality of the work performed will depend. We’ll talk about how and what to make a homemade grinding drum with your own hands later.
- Drum stands. The device that fixes the drum and regulates its height can be made of wooden beams. The mechanism that regulates the height can be made with your own hands in two versions. First option - through holes on the racks through which the drum will be attached. This option is simpler, but it allows you to work only with a fixed adjustment step of about 1 cm. The second option is long screws installed perpendicular to the drum. In this case, by pressing the screws we can raise the grinding device, and by releasing it we can lower it. In the second option, it is possible to adjust the height with millimeter precision.
We will not make a conveyor belt with our own hands. This is possible, but it is not necessary. Feeding on homemade machines is usually done manually.
2.2 Making a drum
Before we begin making the drum itself, we need to clearly understand what functions our machine will perform. The point is that what smaller size cylinder, the easier and faster it will be rotated by the engine from the drill.
To make a sanding drum we need a piece of anything that has cylindrical shape, the required length and diameter. This could be a wooden beam with round, PVC pipe, metal pipe and much more.
We will consider as material PVC pipe for making a drum with your own hands.
- Take the required size piece plastic pipe. We will also need metal pin, acting as an axis, wooden or plastic plugs that match in diameter with internal diameter pipes, screws, rubber, glue.
- We take plugs and make holes in them corresponding in diameter to the thickness of the rod.
- The holes in the plugs must be strictly in the center. The slightest eccentricity of the drum will lead to improper operation of the machine.
- We fit the plugs tightly into the pipe and fix them with self-tapping screws.
- Insert the pin into the holes in the plugs. The axis should protrude 2-3 cm from the cylinder on each side. It is this that will serve as an attachment to the adjustment posts.
- We glue rubber onto the drum. To her It will be easier to attach the sanding belt.
2.3 Assembling the machine
To assemble the machine you need:
- Install the stands on the bed.
- Attach the drum to them so that its lifting height can be adjusted.
- Connect the motor to the drum using a belt or chain drive.
- You can start working.
2.4 Homemade drum sander (video)
The large drum turns the machine into a kind of surface planer grinding device.
Homemade wood sanding machine with sanding drum large diameter allows you to process workpieces thinner than 3 mm. This machine, compared to a wide-belt machine, does not require a labor-intensive belt guide mechanism to manufacture.
Sanding drum manufacturing procedure
The grinding drum of the machine is glued together from separately sawed and milled discs. The skin is attached and stretched with a special clamp. To change the thickness of the wood being removed, the machine's work table moves relative to the drum. The back of the workbench is hinged, while the front is supported by a threaded rod for adjustment. The workpiece is supported and guided by a feed table that slides along the work table. The feed table is moved manually, so there is no need for a special power-driven feed mechanism, and this greatly simplifies the design,
How to make the body of a wood sanding machine with your own hands
The body is assembled from nine main steels: two side and rear panels of the front strut and two pads, a dowel-spacer at the front rib and two reinforcement discs. All parts are cut to the dimensions shown in Fig. 1.
Since the work table should be strong enough and not bend when pressed against the drum, we made it from two glued and fastened with screws chipboard sheets. In addition, on the feed side, the work table was reinforced with a thick cross member made of hardwood, which at the same time creates a supporting surface for the adjusting pin.
A feed table runs along the work table, directly supporting and guiding the workpiece during calibration. It is made of 20 mm chipboard and is 38 mm narrower than the work table and of the same length. The table serves to support the workpiece after the passage of the drum. In order for the feed table to move along the work table without distortion, in the middle of it bottom side a groove 6 mm deep and 20 mm wide was selected, and a 5 mm thick guide bar was attached to the work table.
Two slats at the ends of the falling table hold it on the surface of a long work table. To ensure smooth movement of the table, a thin veneer spacer is inserted between the slats and the work table, providing a small gap. To prevent the workpiece from slipping back during grinding, a limiter bar made of 5 mm hardwood is inserted into a 3 mm groove in the table (Fig. 1).
The desktop is attached to the rear panel of the case with two hinges. The crossbar on the workbench should align with the adjusting pin. The drum is made of chipboard. Its width is 460 mm, Ø400 mm, which provides a wide grinding area. The drum is assembled from 24 discs, roughly cut individually, and then glued and fastened with screws (Fig. 2). The drum is balanced after installing the sandpaper clamp.
To reduce the weight of the drum, most of all discs are cut into rings 50 mm wide. The two outer disks and one in the middle are solid and have holes drilled in them for a Ø20 mm steel axle. The drum is covered with dense rubber 1.5 mm thick. It serves as a backing for the skin and provides it with a better fit to the part.
Attaching the sandpaper for wood sanding
To make installation and removal of the skin easier, we have developed a simple spring-lever clamp.Fig. 3).
Installing the Drum Sander
The drum rotates on a Ø20 mm axis (an Ø16 mm axis can be used), supported by four bearings in cages bolted to the side panels of the machine. To make it easier to align the drum, the holes for them are drilled with a diameter slightly larger than the diameters of the bolts.
We chose a single-phase 1750 rpm motor as the drive. The motor base is attached directly to the rear panel, and the switch is attached to one of the covers on the front of the machine. A 2*75 mm pulley was put on the motor shaft, the driving and driven pulleys were inserted into the same plane and secured.
V. Laskin, D. Ren. Canada
Based on materials from CAM magazine
All photos from the article
The wood surface has roughness and many other natural flaws that prevent high-quality application at her paint and varnish materials. You can give wood an ideal smoothness using special grinding machines.
They will be discussed in this article.
Manual equipment
Plank floors, rafters and others wooden elements Your home needs protection from excessive moisture, fungal spores and insect pests. If the entire building is built of wood, then you can also add walls.
Special impregnations, varnishes and paints can sufficiently protect the wood used in construction, but its surface for this must have a sufficient level of adhesion, which can only be ensured by a smooth and even coating.
You can achieve this effect with your own hands using hand-held grinding equipment. It is noteworthy that this also applies to old structures, from which it is necessary to completely remove traces of previous layers. paint and varnish compositions before applying new ones.
For the sake of an example, let's look at the most common part of a house made of wood - the floor structure. What and how to polish wooden floor from boards and other structures made of wood?
Painting and sanding wooden houses guarantees them a long and high-quality service life
angle grinder
People simply call this tool “grinder” and are more often used for grinding and cutting metal. But installing special discs allows you to do an excellent job of removing the deformed layer from a wood surface. They are pieces of sandpaper securely fixed to a rigid base, and come in the following types:
The size of the discs may vary depending on the dimensions and the grinder itself. These can be diameters 115, 125, 150, 180 and 230 mm.
Advice: under no circumstances use discs intended for metal for woodworking. They have a completely different structure, and such actions will not only not give the desired result, but can also lead to injury.
Advantages:
- Affordable price, especially when it comes to models that use small-diameter circles, the power of which is quite sufficient for working with wood.
- Ease of processing walls made of cylindrical timber.
Tip: when implementing grinding work Be sure to use personal protective equipment, as wood dust can harm your respiratory tract and mucous membranes.
But for leveling flat horizontal surfaces, the “grinder” is not very convenient due to the asymmetry of its structure.
Drill
Such a tool is very unusual for use in this area, but can still cope well with small volumes. For them, special rubber-based circles with a perpendicular pin are used that are fixed in the chuck. Sandpaper In this case, you cut and attach yourself.
Pros:
- Cheap and easy to use consumables.
- Wide use. You can find a drill in almost every home.
- Convenient treatment of hard-to-reach places.
It will be very problematic to sand large areas with this device.
Vibration grinder
- Drum machine. In this case, the abrasive material is not pulled between two pulleys, but is wound on one drum. The main difference of such equipment is the ability to remove the most precise layer of wood, which is very important when processing parts of various designs.
Drum-type wood sanding and calibration machine
Homemade machine
Separately, it is worth considering the manufacturing method homemade machine for sanding wood:
- We take an electric motor from an old washing machine. Recommended settings:
- We prepare a metal rod with a cross-section of 2 cm, a PVC pipe with a diameter of 10 cm, a board, screws, rubber and glue, after which we assemble the drum:
- We cut off a part from the pipe that will be slightly smaller in size than the selected rod.
- We cut out two plugs with a diameter of 10 cm from the board and drill 2 cm holes in them.
- We insert the plugs into the pipe, and the rod in them. We coat all joints with glue.
- We cover the top of the pipe with rubber, which will later serve as a convenient backing for the sanding tape.
- We knock down the body and desktop from a thick, strong board. Make sure that all connections are securely fixed and the entire structure is stable. To ensure the movement of the working part in relation to the drum, we fasten it using a piano hinge, and screw in a spacer screw on the supply side.
- We assemble all the elements into one whole, providing wiring and a switch.
Conclusion
Wood can be processed with both manual and stationary equipment. The first group includes tools that can be found in the workshop of any caring owner: drill, grinder, vibrating and belt. They are very good for polishing floors, walls and other large structures.
If you need to perform precise removal of wood from certain parts, then in this case you will need one of the machines discussed above. The video in this article will provide additional materials. Make your choice according to the situation.
