good sanding drums for drill press

M

mjderstine

Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
149
hey guys.

I have been looking and checking out some sanding drum setups for my drill press. I was looking for some advice from the experienced makers on here.

I was thinking that a good base set would include a 1/2", 1", and 2" dia. drums and about 2" tall. But my question lies in the grits and where to get the sanding refils. I am assuming that ones designed for metal would be a good place to start.

Where are you guys getting yours, and would you suggest something like 120, 240, and 400 grit to start?

thanks guys.
 
Last edited:
cool. thanks for the help.

i am trying to get something i can use after i get all my filing done. and something around 2" tall.
 
i am digging the longer mandrel drill press ones lower on the page. good price point and looks like a perfect setup for my 8" press
 
Are those safe to use in a press? I too was looking at them for handle materials, but I know that a press shouldn't be used as a mill because they can't take the side load. Figured the drums might be a bad idea.

Can the drums be used in a hand held drill?

I know this isn't on topic, but figured it's related closely enough to ask.
 
nah man, you are good. ask anything.

so i thought he mandrel type mounted to the chuck and to the table. that way its a double sheer type scenario. i wasn't planning on using any gorilla strength while doing this sanding, so it should be okay.

and i have used my drill as a mill already. i have a simple X-Y vice from HF that works ok for soft Al, and plastics. i bent the spindle once because i was going too fast with a big end mill on aluminum, and had a few drinks. spent about an hour the next day with a hammer on the spindle straightening it out.

i am more concerned with the dust in my apartment, then the spindle and bearings.

wouldnt drums on a hand drill be the same side loads?
 
mjderstine said:
nah man, you are good. ask anything.

wouldnt drums on a hand drill be the same side loads?
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

They would if you used the same force, but I don't think a hand drill is made the same.

I guess I'm asking if the parts that are negatively impacted (bearings?) in a press are the same in either piece of equipment. If they use similar parts in the same way I guess things would be equally risky, but I don't know?
 
i'm not sure either. i have taken both apart, and they are built kinda the same. the biggest difference in a hand drill is the gear box. now i am just guessing, but i would think that the tolerances in a hand drill would be a bit tighter because of the gear box. but i know i have never used a handdrill as a sander or buffer, so i dont know what kind of force i would be able to put on it with a side load.
 
I"m guessing that there's a lot of difference between the side load from holding a knife blank against a sanding drum and using a milling vise to feed into a milling bit.
I hope someone who knows mills will jump in on this one.
My ten year old $200 Grizzly drill press gets used for that, since I don't yet have small wheels for my grinder. Not ideal, but no one has every tool they'd like.
 
So.... it can negatively affect your drill press bearings if you are pressing really hard. But I have heard many many makers doing this. I have also seen many makers with two or three drill presses for different applications.

I don't worry about it on mine. I don't have a "big boy grinder" so I needed some way to do contours and have been doing it since I started.
 
TheWeatherman said:
So.... it can negatively affect your drill press bearings if you are pressing really hard. But I have heard many many makers doing this. I have also seen many makers with two or three drill presses for different applications.

I don't worry about it on mine. I don't have a "big boy grinder" so I needed some way to do contours and have been doing it since I started.
Click to expand...

elementfe said:
I"m guessing that there's a lot of difference between the side load from holding a knife blank against a sanding drum and using a milling vise to feed into a milling bit.
I hope someone who knows mills will jump in on this one.
My ten year old $200 Grizzly drill press gets used for that, since I don't yet have small wheels for my grinder. Not ideal, but no one has every tool they'd like.
Click to expand...

agree on both counts.

i have use a floor drill press in my dad's old shop as a kid many times with a drum sander in there. the only time you start pressing too hard is when you start gumming up the paper because you arent moving the piece around.

this shouldn't be a problem since i am going to be free had forming my handles on the drum. and that previously linked company makes 4.5" drums, which should allow for a lot of paper to gum up.

thanks guys.
 
A Black and Decker Powerfile is only $50.00 or so, and works great for handles.
 
Willie, how do you use that? I mean, that's one of those hand held 1/2" belt sanders right? So do you clamp the scale in a vise, or is it easy enough to handle that you can hold it with one hand and hold the scale (or whatever) in the other?
 
There are no good sanding drums for a drill press. The spindle on an cheap drill press isn't made to take any side load at all. The spindle on a quality drill press is too valuable to use this way.
Besides that, sanding drums clog up in seconds. You have to run them dead slow to get any life at all.

A slow speed oscillating spindle sander is a good option if you really need to sand inside curves between 1/2" and 2". They are fairly cheap when on sale, and often found in the Trader papers and online sales because people get one and realize it has very few uses.
 
bladsmth said:
There are no good sanding drums for a drill press. The spindle on an cheap drill press isn't made to take any side load at all. The spindle on a quality drill press is too valuable to use this way.
Besides that, sanding drums clog up in seconds. You have to run them dead slow to get any life at all.

A slow speed oscillating spindle sander is a good option if you really need to sand inside curves between 1/2" and 2". They are fairly cheap when on sale, and often found in the Trader papers and online sales because people get one and realize it has very few uses.
Click to expand...

not to be cantankerous, but if there are no good sanding drums for a drill press why do they make them? should i assume that all sanding drums are only for spindle sanders? i have used sanding drums as a kid on wood in a drill press a long time and had good success.

does the clogging come from sanding G10 and Micarta handles? just wondering.

really just trying to get things that i can make work in my "apartment shop".
 
harbor freight has drums that you can cut your own sand paper and attach to their drum. Since its hard to find drums at higher grits this might be a solution.

I use the drums to square things up on the handle. Yes not ideal but it will do in a pinch.
 
mjderstine said:
cool. thanks for the help.

i am trying to get something i can use after i get all my filing done. and something around 2" tall.
Click to expand...

Forgive a possibly stupid question, but are you buying these drums to sand the edges of the newly made blank down flat?

I'm interested in that step also, and will need to get some of these drums myself.

Is 120 grit the right coarseness to start with just to flatten off the edge?
 
You can find many "health foods and sup[liments" sold that are not good for you, and many things sold as tool add-ons that are not good for the tools. Sanding drums are readily available for drill presses.....because people want an easy solution for needing a small drum sander, not because they are a good augment to a drill press. It won't destroy a drill press to use one occasionally, but it will place wear on the quill bearings/sleeves.

What I did when I needed a drum sander years back was take a 1/2HP motor and put a threaded shaft adaptor on it. I got several sizes of the sanding drums that you change the paper on with 3" wide roll abrasive, and used them on the motor. This worked well for many years. I think it is still in my old shop at my daughters house ( my old house).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top