DIY Drum Sander for Thicknessing Wood

Making a Drum Sander at home for thickness wood in guitar construction.
In guitar-making, a Drum Sander can be of great use for thicknessing and leveling hardwood plates. In some species of wood, the grain is interlocked and it can be very tricky to thickness with a hand plane, especially thin pieces of valuable timber, where a tear out can be disastrous.
Where I live, though, the cheapest Drum Sander retails for about 1.200 euros, so I have decided to try and build my own, and it worked! All in all, I had to order some hardware online, but the whole build cost me just under 100 euros.
It works reasonably well. Of course, it is not something like a professional one, but at a fraction of the price, I am very pleased.
The main design came from other KZbin videos, please check them also if you want to make something similar:
JKS-Koubou:
• Make a simple drum sander
Zen Crafts:
• [DIY] ドラムサンダー製作 Drill ...
YASUHIRU TV:
• Making a 3 in 1 Sander...
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www.patreon.com/user?u=86396077
Check out my website to see all the guitars I have made so far!
www.crevelsguitars.com/
Or follow me on Instagram, where you can also see my builds!
@chriscrevelsguitars
#woodworking #diy #guitarmaker #luthier #crafts

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Tell me what you think could improve the design! I am pretty glad with it, but if I do another one I will make it with a longer plate so there is more left to the outfeed side.

[@AndyCollier]

I would suggest finding a cheap induction motor with more power than the drill. Otherwise an ingeniously simple and effective design!

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

@@AndyCollier thanks for the input! It's definitely a good idea. I just happened to have the spare drill hanging around.

[@EduardoOliveira-cw1zr]

Usar uma parafusadeira no lugar desse trambolho de furação manual

[@phillipbotha7920]

I learned more about making a drum sander here than I have from the previous 100 videos I have watched. The flexible shaft coupler is a game changer

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

@@phillipbotha7920 It really is! Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful!

[@YegresAL]

It's really good that you have left/right screws to adjust thickness - I've worked with like 1500 euros drum sander with "hanging" drum and it was night mare to get even sound board - sometimes it was 0.75-1 mm difference between left and right sides - still have sacrificial board somewhere to use as a base to even that out... Nice work!

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Thank you! Glad you liked it

[@lush462]

@@chriscrevelsguitars How do you level out the left and right adjustment screws? You use some highly accurate level (waterpas) on the feeding table?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

@@lush462 Very technological gadgets: I test each side of the drum with a wooden "filler gauge" until is level. Then, afterwards I count the turns I make in the screw. 😂

[@Ninety2guits]

That is awesome! Love the simplicity. Thanks.

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Thank you! I'm glad that you like it. It functions pretty well, apart from the dust collection which could use some improvement.

[@MatheusFP104]

Cara, estava vendo seus vídeos de voicing do soundboard e é exatamente o que eu tinha em mente! Analisar a resposta harmônica. Estou iniciando na luthieria aqui no Brasil e seus vídeos estão me ajudando muito a criar coragem e começar meu primeiro instrumento!

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Opa! Que beleza! Curto muito quando escuto isso meu irmão. Então, qualquer dúvida mais específica pode perguntar tranquilo. Eu tô cogitando fazer uns vídeos específicos pra iniciantes, porque eu aprendi pela internet também. Quanto a começar o primeiro, melhor passo é de fato começar!! Mas se quiser te passo umas dicas

[@MatheusFP104]

@@chriscrevelsguitars Então, estou levantando ainda materiais e ferramentas, correndo atrás dos modelos e dos moldes/gabaritos mas achei muito salgado o preço dos projetos. Tenho receio de começar sem as dimensões corretas e acabar não dando certo. O que você acha?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

@@MatheusFP104 se inglês for de boa pra ti dá uma olhada no livro Making Master Guitars, do Roy Courtnall. Lá tem uns gabaritos com as medidas e tudo. Tem PDF na internet

[@jimmydevine4862]

Great work. Awesome design. Just wonder about the drill motor. Seams like a lot of strain.

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Thanks! Yes, it is a lot of strain on the drill. I'm using a very powerful old drill. Would not recommend using a cordless one though.

[@lush462]

Hi Christian, will make one myself for starting to build guitars. Do you still use your home made sander often for highly figured woods etc?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Hi! Yes, I always use it. So much so that it is now in need of some maintenance. Good luck on your project!

[@echoesofa]

Interesting build! How is it performing so far?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

It performs well! Its not perfect, of course. Overall, it is very easy to micro adjust height but it's also easy to get the sides unparalleled. To remedy that I'll flip the piece itself every now and then. This way, I end up with the center slightly thicker than the periphery. For guitar construction this is not a problem though.

[@frantatrojan746]

Hello. Those nuts on the screws should be against the pull from the other side, maybe. Otherwise OK.

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Thanks for the input

[@franciscojoselopez4964]

Hello, Could you tell me the measurement of the board where you slide the guitar tops?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

70 cm long and 40cm wide. Smaller wouldn't be adequate for guitar making. Bigger should be even better

[@franciscojoselopez4964]

Could you tell me the measurement of the board where you slide the guitar tops?

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Sorry took some time, I had to measure it again, couldn't remember! It is 70cm long and 40cm wide. Though if I would do it again, I'd make it at least 80cm long. Cheers!

[@EduardoOliveira-cw1zr]

Pra que usar essa furadeira de mão aí, nada a ver

[@chriscrevelsguitars]

Essa era a que eu tinha à mão, sobrando. Usei ela pra não comprar mais nada, e ela estava parada mesmo. Funciona bastante bem e já completei vários instrumentos usando ela.