Drum sander question

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larrycameron44
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Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

Hi guys, I have a question for those experienced plasma cutters out there.
While I have been cutting with my Torchmate 2 x 4 Cnc for the last 5 years or so, I am looking to a way of cutting my hand sanding down.
After cutting I acid bath my steel normally 16ga in a sodium bilsulphate and water mix to remove all dross overnight, which works brilliantly.
Then I use a random Orbital sander to finish off before prime and painting, which was perfect for my needs, but I had a large (large for me :D )$5000 order for lots of bits the other day that all needed to be sanded and although I use a piece of MDF board with rare earth magnets sunken and glued into it to hold these down while sanding (works fantastic), it was a laborious effort to sand so many little parts 3" x 3".
Back to the question sorry.
Has anyone used or modified a drum sander like attached in the picture , this one is for wood but I guess my question is, Would this work for steel, if I added some 3mm neoprene rubber of similar to the drum before wrapping the sandpaper around to do an efficient sanding job, or is there a better way or option as these are on about $1500 NZ dollars .... approx $900 US.
I saw there were some brush sanders for steel but they were 6 times a expensive.
Any ideas folks?

Larry Cameron
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acourtjester
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by acourtjester »

Not an answer to your question but something you need to find out. Can you buy sand paper the will go on that, which will work on steel.
I have tried using a hand held belt sander (type for wood) and it was not very good, It seems like the bigger foot print of the sander's pad was the problem.
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by 2015cmax »

Larry,
I actually went down to a woodworking store with exactly what you are thinking about in mind. After looking at the few brands they had, I got spooked. I also do a little bit of wood working and figured it would be a great dual purpose machine to have. Having been hit by kick back pieces of wood on table saws, I could easily see thin metal pieces being spit out by a drum sander at high velocity. (Akin to weaponizing the drum sander.....lol ) All but one drum sander I looked at, the feed bed was of an abrasive material and I did not get a good feeling the metal pieces would stay securely in place. Especially after one of the sides got sanded smooth. Just to be clear, I have not attempted to try a drum sander. I only say this based on the feeling a got while looking into using one.

Mike
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by sphurley »

I have the 22/44 version of the one in your picture. I have also had a dual drum Grizzly drum sanders. They work great on wood door panels, not so much on the steel I have tried.(really has to be flat)
That said there is the company www.timesaversinc.com that makes both wood and metal drum/brush sanders. There is also the backyard company call Sand-Flee that makes a table with a drum sander mounted on it and you move the object over it vs. the power drive ones you show..
Now if you can find a Metabo 316052560 it is a 5/8" adapter that goes on your disk sander and converts it to the hand held drum sander like Eastwood sells
for about $40.00, just not easy to find it in the US.
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

acourtjester wrote:Not an answer to your question but something you need to find out. Can you buy sand paper the will go on that, which will work on steel.
I have tried using a hand held belt sander (type for wood) and it was not very good, It seems like the bigger foot print of the sander's pad was the problem.
Yes I believe the sandpaper is not a problem to source.

Thanks
Larry Cameron
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larrycameron44
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

2015cmax wrote:Larry,
I actually went down to a woodworking store with exactly what you are thinking about in mind. After looking at the few brands they had, I got spooked. I also do a little bit of wood working and figured it would be a great dual purpose machine to have. Having been hit by kick back pieces of wood on table saws, I could easily see thin metal pieces being spit out by a drum sander at high velocity. (Akin to weaponizing the drum sander.....lol ) All but one drum sander I looked at, the feed bed was of an abrasive material and I did not get a good feeling the metal pieces would stay securely in place. Especially after one of the sides got sanded smooth. Just to be clear, I have not attempted to try a drum sander. I only say this based on the feeling a got while looking into using one.

Mike
Thanks Mike, I did wonder about spit out speed but assumed there would possibly be a roller out the back that would be belt speed.

Larry Cameron
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larrycameron44
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

sphurley wrote:I have the 22/44 version of the one in your picture. I have also had a dual drum Grizzly drum sanders. They work great on wood door panels, not so much on the steel I have tried.(really has to be flat)
That said there is the company http://www.timesaversinc.com that makes both wood and metal drum/brush sanders. There is also the backyard company call Sand-Flee that makes a table with a drum sander mounted on it and you move the object over it vs. the power drive ones you show..
Now if you can find a Metabo 316052560 it is a 5/8" adapter that goes on your disk sander and converts it to the hand held drum sander like Eastwood sells
for about $40.00, just not easy to find it in the US.
Hi, yes those Timesavers are idea just dam expensive.
I couldn't find the metabo part number you talk about and couldn't visualise the thing sorry.

Larry Cameron
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by jimcolt »

Here is a great alternative to the Timesaver brand, built for smaller shops and single phase power. Jim Colt

http://midwestautomation.com/products/metal-mini-9/
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by RC151 »

Drum sanders do not work very well for sanding metal. The drum is typically steel or aluminum and you spiral wrap sandpaper around it. This works for wood because you can remove much more material per pass compared to metal sanding. This gives you line contact at the material. You do need a rubber conveyor belt and hold down pinch rollers.

On a wood widebelt sander, the contact drum is typically rubber covered with 3/8" thick 65 to 70 durometer rubber followed by a 1-2" wide platen. The sandpaper is driven against the feed direction and the conveyor uses a rubber belt with pinch rollers to hold the material in place while sanding. This combination works well for wood, but not for metal.

A metal sander uses a softer rubber drum, 35 to 40 durometer and the sandpaper runs in the same direction as the conveyor belt. Only .001 to .002" of material is removed per pass. You never stand behind a metal machine as a part getting ejected can kill you. This can happen when the machine is not properly set and is too tight for the part being sanded. The sanding force then is greater than the friction force with the conveyor belt.

If you are looking to automate your part finishing, you really do need a metal sanding machine. If you can't afford new, there are many used ones on craigslist if you take your time and wait for them. Older Timesavers had a "M" at the end of the model number to indicate that it is a metal machine.
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by jimcolt »

RC, There is a small Timesaver on Craiglist in NH, but 3 phase. Is it better to change out the motors (to run on single phase) or go with a phase converter...in your opinion? Jim Colt

Craiglsist NH ad... http://nh.craigslist.org/bfs/5929243502.html
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

jimcolt wrote:Here is a great alternative to the Timesaver brand, built for smaller shops and single phase power. Jim Colt

http://midwestautomation.com/products/metal-mini-9/
Thanks Jim. Appreciate the help

Larry Cameron
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Re: Drum sander question

Post by larrycameron44 »

RC151 wrote:Drum sanders do not work very well for sanding metal. The drum is typically steel or aluminum and you spiral wrap sandpaper around it. This works for wood because you can remove much more material per pass compared to metal sanding. This gives you line contact at the material. You do need a rubber conveyor belt and hold down pinch rollers.

On a wood widebelt sander, the contact drum is typically rubber covered with 3/8" thick 65 to 70 durometer rubber followed by a 1-2" wide platen. The sandpaper is driven against the feed direction and the conveyor uses a rubber belt with pinch rollers to hold the material in place while sanding. This combination works well for wood, but not for metal.

A metal sander uses a softer rubber drum, 35 to 40 durometer and the sandpaper runs in the same direction as the conveyor belt. Only .001 to .002" of material is removed per pass. You never stand behind a metal machine as a part getting ejected can kill you. This can happen when the machine is not properly set and is too tight for the part being sanded. The sanding force then is greater than the friction force with the conveyor belt.

If you are looking to automate your part finishing, you really do need a metal sanding machine. If you can't afford new, there are many used ones on craigslist if you take your time and wait for them. Older Timesavers had a "M" at the end of the model number to indicate that it is a metal machine.
Very informative thank you. Ok so no wood sander for metal !!!!!!

Thank you.
Larry Cameron
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