Making a Ukulele Part 2 (Thickness Sander Build)

[@davidbrousseau4591]

Great Job Kenny! I think you do a excellent job of making sure everyone understand exactly what and how to make one of these for their self. I look forward to watching the rest of the build. Thanks again! David

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+David Brousseau Thanks for the kind words on the show. I appreciate that. Thanks for tuning in to the show and thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. Great to hear from you.

[@timothywilliams7561]

Great idea I take back my last weeks commit that I don't have the money for one. Can't wait to watch the rest of the build.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Timothy Williams I told you that you could probably handle the cost on this one. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the show. Thanks for tuning in.

[@barryroberts6470]

'IT'S ALIVE' ha ha Well done my friend on your new addition to the shop, really enjoyed the episode.Looking forward to it in action next week on your Ukulele Build.Take Care my Friend, Barry (from England)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Barry Roberts It IS alive and I've use it more than I ever thought that I would. Thanks for tuning in again this morning and have yourself a great day.

[@julesjenkins9044]

Great show again Kenny, appreciated

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Jules Jenkins Glad to hear that you are enjoying it. Thanks for tuning in again this week.

[@markgarrett2971]

I picked up a 30 " pipe so I could have two grits of sandpaper. My plan is 13" I'm making end grain cutting boards and sanding with a palm sander is taking forever and I'm not doing a good job getting it flat or even. As a test case I simply inserted two wooden plugs and then made a table similar to yours the piano hinge and an old car jack. In 15 minutes I was able to thickness an end-grain cutting board. It worked like a charm. I love the idea of your clamp on the bottom of the table to hold it to the lathe. I also love the idea of turning down the end caps so that they're perfectly round and also mounting it to the end cap. After 15 minutes of my test case the tail stock and began to wobble. I love the idea of putting a nut in the center . Thanks for all the great inspiration. Since you put this video out four years ago, is there anything you would do to change and or improve the drum or the dust collector you built in the second video?

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Glad to hear that you found this video to be helpful and that you made your own. I like the idea of the two different sandpaper grits. If I were to change anything, I would change the nut at the tailstock. I would install it a little tighter so that there is less of a chance of wobble. After using it for quite a while, it does wear and start to spin out of square. The tail stock starts to wobble ever so slightly and the nut has to be removed and glued back in place as square as you can get it. Possibly a larger steel block with a punched centre point to allow the tail stock to sit firmly in place would be better than the larger hole of a nut. As for the dust collection shroud, I wouldn't change a thing. It performs perfectly for my needs. I also use it to sand end grain cutting boards so I completely understand how you would like the speed with with it does it. Just make sure to hold on to that board because if the sanding drum grabs it, it's going for a flight. Thanks for tuning in to the show. I appreciate it.

[@WigWagWorkshop]

Really enjoying this series.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+WigWagWorkshop That's good news. Hopefully, you will stick around for the entire build. It's a long one.

[@WigWagWorkshop]

I am in it for the long haul!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

That's great to hear. At least one person will be watching. LOL

[@petermitchell10]

Hi what a brilliant idea for a drum sander so simple to do. Thanks for sharing. Pete

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Peter Mitchell Glad to hear that you enjoyed the show and like the project. If you decide to make your own and have any questions at all, feel free to ask. I'd be more than happy to help you out if I can. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for taking the time to leave me a comment. There's a lot more to come on this build and I hope you're going to tune in for it.

[@petermitchell10]

I will be there to watch it thank you. Pete

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Glad to hear it and you're very welcome.

[@Dave51262]

Kenny - Really interesting idea for the thickness sander. Now you are really set for any kind of thin stock.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Thanks Dave. This was definitely a great project to make and it has come in handy on many occasions. I would like to get a commercially built sander one day, but until that day comes, this shop made one works just fine. Thanks for tuning in.

[@Dave51262]

Kenny - I may have missed it, but how is the right side of the drum set up? Assume you are using a live center but is it just set into the wood flange or is there a nut embedded into the wood for a bearing surface? Thx.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Starting at about the 10 minute mark Dave, I explain the process for embedding and gluing in place a 1/4-20 nut to keep your live centre from wearing the wood at the tail stock. The steel of the nut keeps the whole unit centred and spinning true on the lathe bed and prevents the wobble that would be created if the tail stock wood were to wear and become oval or off centre. I hope this answers your question.

[@Dave51262]

Kenny - Yes. Thanks very much. Really love this whole idea and plan to make one. Thanks for all the great details.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You're very welcome sir.

[@cillyede]

Wow! Great solution.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Hu “cillyede” Ko Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad that you enjoyed the solution that I came up with. I hope that you will continue to join me on the show for the rest of the build. Looking forward to hearing future comments from you.

[@cillyede]

I'll stay with you! Hello from Germany.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

That's great news. Glad to have you with us.

[@pcorlis]

Kenny, great solution and one that could save me lots of money in the future. Really enjoyed the build. Thanks for posting, looking forward to what comes next. Paul / paulsmessyworkshop

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+pcorlis Thanks Paul. I appreciate the kind words. I'm very pleased with the results of this build and I am sure that it will serve me well for some time to come. If it starts giving me trouble, I will turn new caps for it and go from there but for now, it seems to be working flawlessly. Thanks for tuning in this week.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Neat sander!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Mitch Peacock - WOmadeOD Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear that you like it,

[@willemkossen]

That is an awesome solution! I only see one little thing you could improve. I think the adjustment screw on the table will eat into the top board. A little metal plate will solve that. I love this solution! Great stuff!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Willem Kossen Great suggestions. I may have to drill out a shallow forstner bit hole and epoxy in a small fender washer. Great suggestions. Thanks for tuning in.

[@PinHolePip]

Your sander is brilliant.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+PinHolePip Thanks for the kind words. On last week's show, I made a dust collection shroud for the sander. It truly does work extremely well and is a fairly simple project for anyone.....as long as you have a lathe and access to the material to make the drum.

[@PinHolePip]

+kennyearrings1 As luck would have it I came into a nice little Grizzly lathe last week that will fit the bill just fine. Thanks again for a great little series with the uke build.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

You are very welcome. I hope that you will find other episodes of the show interesting as well. Thanks once again for tuning in.

[@thedivinehammerswoodworks1895]

Nice idea! A lot different idea than I thought you would go, wish I had a lathe.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+michael hoyle Hopefully, one day, you will have a lathe and this idea will still be waiting for you in the end. I would have liked to make a stationary one, but I just don't have the room in my small shop. I'm pretty packed in there now. Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to leave me a comment.

[@thedivinehammerswoodworks1895]

I am looking for a good used Rockwell/Beaver lathe to round out my Collection of vintage Rockwell/Beaver tools. I laugh because most of my power tools like my saw, or hand tools are way older than me, but hey they just don't build tools like that any more, and the ones they do are way out of my budget LOL!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I hear ya. Some of the best quality tools are the oldest quality tools. Way too many cast white metal parts nowadays whereas before, the parts were good quality steel. Sad really. That, combined with the fact that our selection of manufacturers is getting less and less makes it harder and harder to get good tools for the hobby. Good luck on your search for a lathe. I've got my fingers crossed for you.

[@chemcody5119]

Very creative solution Kenny. I wasn't really sure where you were going with this so you had my full attention the whole time. :) I was wondering about the live center and the nut you glued in. Do you think it will damage the live center as those two rub against each other over time? Looking forward to the next installment. Keep up the good work!

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Chem Cody I did think about that and I'm not really sure. That's why this is NOT my good live centre. I don't really think that it will damage it as it isn't really rubbing. There's enough tension on the tail stock to engage the live centre and allow it to spin so the rubbing is eliminated.

[@ItSeemsDark]

nice work indeed man , tnx for sharing :) i wonna build one of those thing for quite some time now , but i never thought about using the lathe as motor . i'll can even use my big metal lathe ... mhhh ..... will see , will see ...

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+ItSeemsDark Good luck with the build. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to help you out. Thanks for tuning in.

[@МихаилПопов-и1э]

Great idea with the sander sir! Thank you. What is your opinion on using the plastic quarter inch thick tube instead of the metal one? Best wishes for your show from Russia.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Михаил Попов Thanks for the kind words on the show. I considered using plastic pipe for my sander as well but I feared that the friction of sanding would cause too much heat for the PVC pipe. I don't think there would be enough heat to melt the pipe but there could definitely be enough heat to mis-shape the pipe out of round, making the sanding drum useless. It was for this reason that I went with metal.

[@TheFalconJetDriver]

kennyearrings1 I was thinking about PVC pipe also for about 30 nanoseconds and abandon that idea for the same reason you did.😁🛫

[@dougprentice1363]

Sweet. Now I want to buy a lathe

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

Well what are you waiting for?!?!?! Get out there and get one. LOL. Thanks for tuning in to the show Doug.

[@markgarrett2971]

I just picked one up two weekends ago. It was with the soul intention of creating a drum sander. And now I have a lathe!

[@billmckee5618]

The leading and tailing edge of thin stock get sucked up into the blade when the material is between the feed rollers. To stop this from happening, I cut my stock about 3 inches longer then I need and then use two sided tape to hold down each end of the stock on a back board of ¾ ply. I feed the ply through the planner and the two sided tape hold everything in place. Doing this I can cut down to about 1/16 on my machine. I then just cut the stock at the tape.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Bill McKee Nice suggestion Bill. That would be a perfect solution for those times when I don't feel like setting up the thickness sander. There are so many applications where double sided tape can be used in the shop and you have just provided me with yet another one to add to my list. Thanks for chiming in with your suggestions.

[@gianniskaragiannakis]

So, if someone is searching for a drum sander idea will never find this brilliant idea unless he is searching for ukulele. Change the title man, where is the ukulele;

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Giannis Karagiannakis The title of the show is not necessarily what determines the search. I do have all kinds of key words in the search sub titles to bring this video up when a thickness sander is searched out. Maybe a small sub title in the title of the video would also help. Thanks for the suggestion. (title has been changed)

[@gianniskaragiannakis]

+kennyearrings1 ok I don't know how the search engine works. But, again, the title is a reason to click on a video, specially when it is in a list and I look for what it is interesting for me. I think you do believe so, that's why the updated title. Nice work.

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

I'm not one of those guys who says that it's my way or nothing. You can't deny a good suggestion and yours was a great one. Thanks for the contribution to the show. If the goal of my show is to help other woodworkers and a change in title will help them not miss out on something that could be of use to them, then a change of title will definitely be in order. Thanks again for chiming in and feel free to chime in at any time with any other suggestions you might have. Good or bad.

[@gianniskaragiannakis]

+kennyearrings1 you seem to listen, so I will the take the opportunity to do some suggestions. You asked. By the way I am non a video producer just one viewer. Suggestion. Make your videos sorter. How? 1. Some times you describe (or talk about) something twice. There is no need. I don't know if you watch the final edited video before upload but if you do this you will find those repeated tasks. 2. You take a lot of time to explain very very very simple things. Keep in mind that the average viewer of a woodworking chanel already knows the very very basics. I am not a pro wood worker, everything I know is from watching youtube videos. So I think I am the average viewer. You don't have a channel for professionals, ok I know. But neither for people with no interest on woodworking. These are my two suggestions. The point is "make it sorter". I told I am not a video producer, so I am sorry if these sounds "look who are talking". This is the viewer point of view. Greetings from Greece. (my English is not perfect I know)

[@acutabove_woodworkings]

+Giannis Karagiannakis Thanks for your honest opinion. It is appreciated. I always watch the final show before it is posted and I have noticed some repetition in my explanations. The problem is that when filming, sometimes I can't remember if I said something or not and to avoid not telling the viewer a certain point, I say it so that it doesn't get forgotten. Most of these are eliminated from the final show but there are some that just can't be done due to editing issues. If I were to leave them all in, the show would be about 1 hour long or more each week. My show, on average, is about 30 minutes long each week and I prefer to keep it as a teaching tool rather than a summary of what I've done. As one of my other viewers (who is fairly new to woodworking) pointed out, my show is one that shows you how to do something as apposed to just showing the final product. I explain the simple things because I can't assume that my viewers are aware of how to do the simple things. For all I know, the person viewing the show may be a complete newcomer to the craft and those simple explanations will help them in their journey to becoming a skilled woodworker. In the past, when airing a segment that seemed a little too simple, I provided a time that the more experienced woodworkers could skip ahead to so they could avoid viewing something that was simple to them. Maybe I could provide more of those skip times. The point here, is that if I shorten my show and stop providing the simple task explanations, it will only be a matter of time before some newcomer to woodworking misses out on how to do the simple things and my show no longer provides them with the answers they were seeking. As soon as my show has lost the ability to teach, then the show has lost its purpose. I struggle weekly with the length of the show and hope that it won't cost me loyal viewers, but I find comfort knowing that the extra length might help a newcomer. Like I've said in the past, as long as my show helps one person, then it was worth the effort it took to film, edit and post it.