Machine sanding rosewood

[Brian Burns]

Hello All, 

At age 78 I don't have the stamina that I had as younger man. I've been thinking that I ought to get a sanding machine of some sort to conserve my energy, and of course a drum sander is a more economical choice than the holy grail, a wide belt sander. 

My experience with drum sanders has not been a happy one. Sides can be fed in at an angle, but backs need to go straight through, for a couple of reasons. A particularly resinous back will gum up a drum in one pass. And, that back usually happens to be one of my best. 

I've been contemplating making a drum sander with a drum large enough, and slow turning enough, to avoid the heat build up that melts the rosewood resin. A big project! 

Anyone got any work-arounds? I have heard of spraying the drum with Pam from the grocery store, and I have thought of spraying with "GlideCote" teflon spray, but haven't tried it yet. 

Cheers,

Brian

[Brian Burns]

Hello Thomas,

I'm glad that your visit was a help---just what every teacher loves to hear! 

Cheers,

Brian

[Randall Curtis Bowman]

Quite by accident I ran across this WD40 product. It cleans gummy pine resin from my drum sander, and most grime/dirt. It seems to be water-based, so let your machine dry a bit before use. I initially grabbed it because I like their spray bottles with the non spill fill feature. I let it set at least five minutes, rub it a bit with a denture brush, and then wet vacuum the residue off. Good luck.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/WD-40-SPECIALIST-15-oz-Industrial-Stren...

[Brian Burns]

Hello Randall,

Thanks for the tip! I ordered some from Amazon.

Cheers,

Brian

[Brian Burns]

RE: Machine sanding rosewood (in reply to NorCalluthier)  Hello All,  Thanks very much for all your replies and suggestions---much appreciated!  After stewing about the problem for a month I've finally decided to save up for the latest model of Grizzly 15'" open ended wide belt sander. It has a polishing platen and some faster feed speeds that should produce surfaces ready for finish.  I looked at all the other wide belts, and drum sanders in the $1K to $5K price range, considered making a drum sander, and decided that the entry level Grizzly wide belt solved the most problems.  It's going to be awhile before I have anything to report, but I'll keep you posted.  Cheers,  Brian

[Glen H]

That’s the way I’d go if I had the room and the $

[Brian Burns]

Hello Glen,

I'm blessed with a big shop. It came with the house when we moved to Fort Bragg, but required a year and a half of restoration to be usable. Here is a link to a short video of an aerial view---scroll to the bottom of the page:

http://brianburnsguitars.com/about-me

The $ is always a problem, but my guitars are selling, and I think the wide belt will justify its purchase by increasing my productivity.

Cheers,

Brian