Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a 16/32, which I keep as parallel to the conveyor as possible. I rough all my tops and backs at angles, which results in part sticking out of the open end. I use 60 grit or coarser, depending on the density, and take very light passes in various orientations. The cross-grain cutting action is more effective on dense hardwoods, just like with a hand plane. Once I get close to the final thickness, I go with the grain with finer grit. This results in very consistent thickness across the plates with no lines or burn marks. Granted I am doing 16-17 inches, maybe 18, but it works for me.

The key is preventing the belt from loading and keeping it tight so the strips don't overlap and burn. I try to wrap the drum so that there is a little space between the strips and make sure the ends are secured tightly.

YMMV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Before spending hard $$ on a cantilevered outboard thickness sander . I would spend the money this way L/N or veritas low angle jack , low angle smoother, scrub plane,a block plane with adjustable mouth and a number 6 or 7 for jointing. These will last one for a long time if maintained. IMHO the cantilevered design will flex sooner or later.I find them a PITA, I prefer a large well balanced commercial drum sander. If your going that route save your $$$$ for one.

An option that has not been mentioned would be to sand each half to near final thickness and carefully align the pieces when gluing up. Final sanding with an orbital sander could remove squeeze out and bring the plates to finished dimension.
Unless you do other wood working it might be hard to justify buying a larger sander for 1 or 2 instruments a year. But then again, do we really have to justify the money we waste on our hobbies?
Hand planes also work well, and cheap flea market finds can be made as serviceable as their newer more expensive cousins.

Cantilevered sanding drums do eventually sag.Knowing what I know now after 20 yrs .I would invest in L/N or LV jack plane low angle jack , smoothe,r home made scrub plane and a 6, or 7 jointer plane. On a budget . These can be purchased for less than$250 dollars used on E bay, old stanleys , sargents, /millers falls if one has the time to refurbish them. For the more adventurous Chinese planes are a great bargain when purchased new off e bay, or used japanese kanna , but they require a lot of tuning up when used.