back of the headstock ideas please

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:
Ken, I sand mine the same way as you showed on your video but without the sled. I simply ground away some of the metal housing on my 16/32 to allow for it.
Click to expand...
Chuck the latest version of the 16-32 has some 1 inch dia pinch rollers either side of the main drum and the shroud is a solid aluminium casting it would mean ruining the machine to modify it...I did consider the modification.
 
Timbuck said:
Chuck the latest version of the 16-32 has some 1 inch dia pinch rollers either side of the main drum and the shroud is a solid aluminium casting it would mean ruining the machine to modify it...I did consider the modification.
Click to expand...

Mine's got the pinch rollers on either side of the drum and yes, I "ruined" the casting in order to accommodate my headstocks. I just ground out a small area, about 3" X 1/2" toward one end of the shield. It works great in all aspects. :)
 
Stewmac is reading this, as there is a 30% off for their Safe T planer bit, you use in your drill press.
 
I thought i'd give the Stewmac "Safe T Planer" a try out on this job ..it arrived today it's quite a bit smaller than I expected at 3 inch dia...I bought a Wagner Safe T planer a few years ago by mistake and that one is 3 3/4 inch dia but it's designed for a different type of machine that rotates anti clockwise and thats why I never used it...co's my bench drill only works clockwise....Anyway I set it up in the drill press and tested it out on a block of mahogany...I set the planer to remove 3mm and it was removing wood ok but! way slower than I expected I tried several speeds but it was struggling...Next I set it up to 1mm deep, this was much better and it skimmed across the test piece with no bother...But a simple disc sander tool Like the one Pete used to make with 60 grit abrasive would do the job just as easy if not better...all in all I suppose it's ok for anyone who dosn't own a drum thickness sander in a small shop....So it's not going to be used on this job...Next I'm looking at Beau's method on the belt sander..before I get round to chopping lumps out of my nice new Jet 16-32 :)
IMG_3884.jpg
IMG_3885.jpg
 
Here is my setup. Ken made me the 'roller' a long time ago when I was trying to make a deadhead sander. I couldn't get my design tp work but have subsequently made one for the drill press! Anyway, utilising this I added some velcro to the drum and came up with this:

IMG_0047.jpg

I use rubber wrist bands I got for a promo I did to hold the ends on. This is enough to give a solid edge to the sanding area

IMG_6889.jpg

I pretty much abuse this tool and wear the paper out quite quickly. Like all cantilever contraptions you have to do multiple passes for the final 'cut' without adjustment. I then put a piece of card on the plattern and make one last pass and we have a headstock 0.375" thick.

IMG_0750.jpg

This is the best I've achieved so far in getting a really good uniform thickness sanded smooth to the back of a headstock and it was made from re-purposed parts!
 
Ken,
I notice that the original Wagner planer has no ‘direction of rotation’ arrow on the casting. Would it be possible to invert the cutters to face them in the opposite direction for use in your drill press. The only query with this is the possibility of the thread on the shaft loosening in use… not an insurmountable issue for your engineering skills.
 
Tried out the Safe-T Planer to day on a heastock back..Didn't like it much you need four hands and multiple passes to remove 3mm and you need support strips all round to stop it grabbing the work piece. Maybe it needs a better set up maybe i'll try it in the milling machine.
I also did a couple of headstocks with a fence against the oscillating spindle sander, this worked better but it left ripples due to the oscillating movement and it took a while to sand them out by hand...looks like i'll have to make my own device...Like Pete did :)
 
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bazuku said:
Ken,
I notice that the original Wagner planer has no ‘direction of rotation’ arrow on the casting. Would it be possible to invert the cutters to face them in the opposite direction for use in your drill press. The only query with this is the possibility of the thread on the shaft loosening in use… not an insurmountable issue for your engineering skills.
Click to expand...

I tried that...didn't work very well , maybe the cutters need a regrind....I'm looking for a method like I had with the 10-20 where i can just shove it in and it comes out done with no further sanding required :)
 
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Wildestcat said:
Bandsaw close to finished thickness, then bobbin sander with fence clamped to the table. The top face is finished flat with a handplane and sanding board beforehand.

View attachment 119160

Sorry the picture is a bit out of focus, but you get the idea!
Click to expand...

That is a nice simple setup but it looks like you are taking off a heck of a lot of wood for the sander. Why not rough cut closer to final dimension ?
 
Timbuck said:
Tried out the Safe-T Planer to day on a heastock back..Didn't like it much you need four hands and multiple passes to remove 3mm and you need support strips all round to stop it grabbing the work piece. Maybe it needs a better set up maybe i'll try it in the milling machine.
I also did a couple of headstocks with a fence against the oscillating spindle sander, this worked better but it left ripples due to the oscillating movement and it took a while to sand them out by hand...looks like i'll have to make my own device...Like Pete did :)
Click to expand...

Right!!...I dug out an old motor that I had under a bench..It's a face mounted one so I had to improvise with a bit of angle..I have ordered a chunk of aluminium bar from eBay to make the drum so I'll post another pic when it's completed.
IMG_3891 by Ken Timms, on Flickr
 
eclipsme said:
That is a nice simple setup but it looks like you are taking off a heck of a lot of wood for the sander. Why not rough cut closer to final dimension ?
Click to expand...

It is actually roughed out to within a millimetre of final dimension - the picture was taken with a finished neck inserted for the photo. Two or three passes through the sander taking off a minimal amount with a 120 grit sleeve is all it takes. Maybe the volute I leave under the nut end is confusing you? That is the basis for my headstock to neck transition.

P1090126.jpg P1090127.jpg P1090131.jpg

I also use the same set up to finesse the heel profile and for the bridge wings

P1090163.jpg P1090228.jpg
 
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Getting close to completing this gadget ...I was going to just make a bodge job with a few scraps of timber then I changed my mind and decided to make a propper engineered job of it that will last a few years..I found some 1/2 inch aluminium plate left over from another project so I put it to good use...the drum roller is now installed and a Tuffnell clad bed plate, I did a test on one neck and it worked fine..The sanding loading is to be adhesive backed same as my disc sander....Next I'll have to design some method of dust extraction.
IMG_3941 by Ken Timms, on Flickr
 
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Dust extraction is the hardest thing with these 'open' style sanders. When you feed against rotation the dust comes towards you. I trigged up a vacuum pipe to collect this and it does it remarkably well...Why don't you use heavy duty hooks nd loop for the drum and velcro backed paper? I got the idea from a Canadian company that supplies rollers for those who want to make their own drum sanders. The slight bit of 'give' stops resin pickup.
 
My experience is the same as Pete's. Connected a plywood "hood" to the dust extractor which collects a lot of the dust but still room for improvement. I made the drum from MDF circles, trued them, polyurethaned them and tried adhesive sandpaper. Not a great success so turned to heavy duty velcro sandpaper. Works very well. The sandpaper lasts longer, doesn't have the same resin buildup and is much easier to change.
Miguel
 
Well! thats another project over.....I made a dust hood out of plywood and a piece of PVA gutter, I designed it so it was easy to fit and remove with one screw knob. It covers the drum completly and only allows neck headstocks in thro' the slot at the base....it's fixed set to sand to 11mm in one go...I tested it out with a vacuum fitted to the nozzle and it worked great no dust problem at all...here's a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fWyCM4Cps
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