I'd like to share a few details of my recently-built sander, with comments. None of the ideas are original.
Using a softwood wedge in a slot in the drum was a technique from a thickness sander 'kit' (LMI??) I built about 20 yrs ago. It's effective and less cumbersome than hose clamps and screws.
Direct drive eliminates a lot of messing with belts and pulleys. If you are building a smaller sander, you can make it a 'tabletop' model using direct drive. This is a commercial flex coupling; on my first sander I used a chunk of heater hose and hose clamps. Both work.
Using epoxy and filleting blend makes an easy job of joining curves. The 'pipe' for the dust collector hose is a section of shipping tube, but epoxy sticks well to ABS and PVC as well (roughen before bonding).
This curved hood looks effective, but I've lost my handy spot to stack work in progress. The old 'flat-top' on my previous sander was better.
Having the 'table' sloped at the most common thicknessing position helps coarse sawdust make its way to the floor, rather than accumulating.
I'd forgotten how useful a thickness sander can be... the weekend I spent building 'sander central station' is worth it.
Cheers
John
I copied the shopnotes plans and it will eventually run on its own motor although it will be powered by my tablesaw initially - til I find one,
