drill press-powered dish

jcalkin · Feb 12, 2012

In a recent story I wrote I asked if anyone had figured out how to spin a radiused dish using a drill press as power. Turns out someone has. I'm posting his email to me here, its too cool not to share. Topher, I hope you don't mind. Dishes that don't spin are only semi-useful. I haven't tried this yet myself, but I'm going to.

I do indeed have a rig which I use for driving a radiused sanding
board. My instruments are resonator mandolins (I call the Mandonators- see some at my web sitehttp://www.tophergayle.com) and ukuleles,so the boards are only 14" diameter. I mount the circular, dished,sandpaper-covered 3/4" MDF board on a large lazy-susan bearing. The bearing is attached to a round MDF base.The base has a hole in it to access the screws that attach the bearing to the underside of the dished board. The base also has a hole in the middle with a bolt sticking out and I use that to attach the base to my drill press table.
The backs of my Mandonators are radiused, but the tops are flat. So I also made a flat sanding board that works the same way.
I drive the circular dished sanding board by simply running a sanding
drum against its perimeter. I can adjust the pressure of the drive by
simply moving the table. Easy and works really fast and well.
The only photo I have of this jig in action is here:
http://tophergayle.com/luthier/mandonators/shopTalk/mandonator-12.html

Topher

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Feb 12, 2012

That's good one John. Several builders here use the same rig with good results. I prefer the potter's wheel but they can be expensive.

jcalkin · Feb 13, 2012

Kick wheel or electric? I used to be a potter (well, a college potter). Can't imagine having a wheel around just to spin a radiused dish. When I grow up (next lifetime, maybe) I'm going to be a real potter and I'll wish I had your wheel. Mark Dalton built the dish machine at H&D. When I turn it on the other guys seem to find reasons to go down stairs. Its a noisy bugger. Topher's rig looks good enough for ukes, and easy to tear down so I can have my drill press back.

Rick Turner · Feb 13, 2012

I got a 3/4 hp electric potter's wheel, and it's fantastic; 1/2 hp would have been fine. Quick change on 24" discs and dishes, works like a charm, sturdy, and well worth the dough for our production of ukes and guitars.

jcalkin · Feb 13, 2012

I can't justify a power wheel for the production I do (damn little in my own shop), but it sounds wonderful. I bet it runs real quiet, huh?

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Feb 13, 2012

jcalkin said:
Kick wheel or electric? I used to be a potter (well, a college potter). Can't imagine having a wheel around just to spin a radiused dish. When I grow up (next lifetime, maybe) I'm going to be a real potter and I'll wish I had your wheel. Mark Dalton built the dish machine at H&D. When I turn it on the other guys seem to find reasons to go down stairs. Its a noisy bugger. Topher's rig looks good enough for ukes, and easy to tear down so I can have my drill press back.

I used to be a potter in a former life time and still have two electric potters wheels, a Brent and a Shimpo. Whisper quiet. They take up no room and sit in the corner, used only once a month. I still have the kiln and everything else and occasionally throw a pot or two just for grins or when I break something in the kitchen. If you can find a used one they are a good shop investment.

Rick Turner · Feb 13, 2012

I got a Brent, and yes, it's whisper quiet, powerful, and does a fantastic job. I just need to make a dust shroud for it and hook it up to a dust collector.

BR Ukuleles · Feb 13, 2012

My wife is a bit of an op-shop and flea market guru. She managed to spot a potters wheel plus a lifetimes supply of glaze materials going for $50. One phone call and it was mine. I'll tell you, it's the best $50 I've ever spent on a tool. Knowing how good it is to use with a radius dish mounted to it, I would gladly pay a lot more for one.

Couldn't tell you the brand of this one, but again it's whisper quiet.

jcalkin · Feb 16, 2012

I'm still not sold. Its a unitasker that I might use 10 minutes per week (if that) and have to walk around the rest of the time. And knowing me, it'll become a storage table that I have to clean off every time I want to use it. Sometimes efficiency and convenience aren't the same thing, and a spinner I can add on to the drill press sounds pretty good. But if I could find one for $50, I'd jump all over it. But as long as I'm at H&D its not even an issue, their dish grinder (aka The Beast) will do fine.

Chris_H · Feb 16, 2012

what about having a special, heavy duty arbor made for a spindle sander, integrate bearings into some sort of support sustem on the perimeter of the dish using the table as support? Truing the dish to the arbor in a lathe.

aaronckeim · Mar 11, 2012

We are picking one up this week. Char and I each sand a uke's linings everyday. That is an incredible time saver!

olgoat52 · Mar 11, 2012

One of these days I'm going to own a Huss & Dalton. Don't know why but it reminds me of the shop I worked in long ago. Wooden Music Company in Chicago. It's on my list of places to visit on the scoot.

jcalkin said:
Kick wheel or electric? I used to be a potter (well, a college potter). Can't imagine having a wheel around just to spin a radiused dish. When I grow up (next lifetime, maybe) I'm going to be a real potter and I'll wish I had your wheel. Mark Dalton built the dish machine at H&D. When I turn it on the other guys seem to find reasons to go down stairs. Its a noisy bugger. Topher's rig looks good enough for ukes, and easy to tear down so I can have my drill press back.

drill press-powered dish

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