April 2, 201214 yr Paul Miller is what one could call a renaissance woodworker. For many years, in BC, Canada, he built wooden boats. Sail boats, canoes and motor craft. Before he retired he and his wife built a fleet of tour boats and, for several years, ran a business offering tours of the waterways around the islands near Victoria, BC. A few years ago he sold the business and ventured down another woodworking path. He builds large and small boxes and decorates them with marquetry. His dodecahedron box is a marvel to behold. Not shown are his wooden hinges and latching mechanism. Just simply exceptional work! But, the purpose of this post is to show you his neat lathe based thickness sander. Very simple, exceedingly accurate and dust free. Paul uses it to level his marquetry. He uses 1/32 thick veneer, so you can imagine the deft touch needed in sanding it level. While visiting him at his winter home in AZ last week, I had an opportunity to see the sander in operation. He also sat me down at his home made Chevalet de Marqueterie and had me cut a desert scene. We'll save that for another time. Here is a link to a video of the sander in operation. If there is any further interest, I can post the build. Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
April 2, 201214 yr W O WOutstandingFredaka Pop's Shopwww.pops-shop.comEX-21'Don't complain about the storm - learn to dance in the rain.'
April 3, 201214 yr I see - - - this post is a Twofer.Cool box thing and a link to the sander at the bottom.The sander is such a nice job that I was surfing the shopsmith site to see about this drum sander attachment.Then I realized that is the lathe and the rest is shop built.OF COURSE you should post the buildAnd - - if you don't mind my asking:How does the drum hold up over time??? I've had a drum sander on my list of projects for a few years now and one question I can't seem to get answered is the one about the drums. People make them from MDF disks and string them along a shaft but I've not spoken to any one whose had theirs in regular use for a period of years.Here's another shop built sander that I was quite impressed by:http://www.woodworkforums.com/f44/huge-drum-sander-47750/I've PMmed him about his disks and no reply I think he's long gone.I think it's nice Paul let you drive his Chevrolet.  I saw St Roy with one some years back and was most impressed.I'd like to see that build too.
April 3, 201214 yr That's a pretty neat idea of changing the entire drum instead of the sand paper. I'm guessing he is using PSA type paper to attach it to the drum. I thought about this type of drum when I built mine but I was afraid the drum would be too heavy for my 1/3 hp motor.Lew Kauffman-Wood Turners Forum HostTime traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
April 3, 201214 yr Awesome drum sander. I never thought about anything like that. His boxes are absolutely beautiful!John MoodySite AdministratorJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
April 3, 201214 yr Author Paul's work is consistently superb. To my knowledge, he's only been doing marquetry for 3-4 years...maybe less. He explained to me that his many years of boat building has made him fanatical about tight fits. In all his work, not just marquetry, his joint seams just disappear. Much like those of Hal and John's rockers. I stand in awe at work like that. Cliff, Paul's drum is 4" PVC. He, at first thought he might need the MDF disks inside the PVC for stability. And he was a bit concerned about heat and warpage of the PVC. However, after running several hundred sq. ft, it's rigidity is no longer a concern. And, I'm sure the HF 2HP DC connected to it helps with the heat. And, remember, he's only taking off less than 1/64" on the 1st pass. Lewis, The paper is hook and loop from Grizzly. Yeah, even with hook and loop, changing drums is faster than changing paper. The hook and loop probably helps with the heat dissipation, too. I've never owned a dedicated lathe, so I don't know how easy changing the drums would be. On a Shopsmith, it's a snap. He laughed when he talked about his obsessiveness with tight joints, explaining that it took several attempts to get the angles on the end of the paper just right so the twists would lie together with NO gaps. I just wind it and accept the small gaps.  Would it be OK, if I just linked to Paul's build blog? It's quite extensive. He explains it all very well. SANDER BUILD When you open the blog, you'll notice at the top of the page there are links to the next part of the build. There are six parts. He's very thorough. Enjoy! Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
April 3, 201214 yr I din't realize this was the "Paul" you were talking about! I read his entire blog before starting my sander and was convinced that PVC would work for mine- and it did!Lew Kauffman-Wood Turners Forum HostTime traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
April 3, 201214 yr Author Lew, Did you post about building your sander? I tried to find one by you and was unsuccessful. But then, I'm a little stupid when it comes to tech stuff.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
April 3, 201214 yr The first part is located here- http://www.thepatriotwoodworker.com/profiles/blogs/making-the-thick... and I think that should link the the other parts. If you can't find the other links, let me know.BTW, Happy Birthday!!Gene Howe said:Lew, Did you post about building your sander? I tried to find one by you and was unsuccessful. But then, I'm a little stupid when it comes to tech stuff.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
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