Can I use a sander instead of a planer?
If you’ve used a sander before it’s tempting to think of it as a thickness planer. After all, both machines are effective a removing surface wood. But in reality, sanders are finishing tools, and using a sander to remove layers of wood can prove to be expensive and time consuming.
What is thickness sanding?
For those who don’t know, thickness sander is a machine that will sand off a small amount of material from the surface of a large wood panel. There are certainly commercially available thickness sanders but [Pat] thought that they were simple enough machines so he decided to give a go at making one himself.
Is a drum sander worth it?
The drum sander is an incredibly useful tool that will have a huge impact in your workflow. It will also open up a bunch of doors for you, especially when it comes to the world of home-sawn veneer. Although they aren’t inexpensive, I do consider them to be a worthwhile investment.
Do you need a planer if you have a drum sander?
The difference is that the purpose of the planer is to cut wood to size, and the purpose of the drum sander is to sand. If you’re looking to create a different depth for the wood, especially thick pieces, the planer would be the tool to use.
What is the difference between a belt sander and an orbital sander?
In a nutshell, belt sanders are on the powerful side, able to strip down a piece of wood in a short amount of time. Orbital sanders, on the other hand, are finishing sanders that are used to get wood ultra-smooth.
Can a drum sander replace a planer?
Drum sanders are great for fine surfacing or sanding wood, especially figured woods that tear out under planer blades, but it is not the best tool for removing large amounts of wood, such as you would do when leveling glued up boards or surfacing stock.
Will a drum sander flatten a board?
The thing about these relatively small drum sanders is the infeed and outfeed rollers that hold the work down don’t really exert much pressure like a planer does, and therefore they don’t force the stock flat to the table.
What is the difference between a belt sander and a drum sander?
Belt sanders simply allow one to slip sanding belts on and off without much effort. Drum machines take longer with abrasive sheets being wrapped around one single drum (photo above) and clamped into place by way of its own locking mechanism. What Kind Of Grit To Use? sanding grits to be used.
Are belt sanders better than Orbital?
Belt sanders are notably more powerful than orbital sanders. They are so powerful that it is easy to sand off too much material with a belt sander accidentally. Conversely, orbital sanders are not as powerful, but they are the perfect amount of power if you are worried about sanding away too much material.
Is a palm or orbital sander better?
As compared to a palm sander, orbital sanders are more massive tools, which means that palm sanders are smaller and more lightweight. The motions of orbitals are Circular and orbiting, and palm sanders only have orbiting motion. If you want to work with larger pieces, orbital sanders are better than palm sander.
Do drum sanders snipe?
Tim Inman: Yes, drum sanders will snipe just like a planer. Same cause, same effect, just different cutters. As with a conventional surface planer, correctly adjusting the tables and cutterhead positions will eliminate the sniping effect.
What can I use if I don’t have a thickness planer?
There are basically four ways to work around not having a planer in your shop.
- You can build a sled.
- Mill the boards by hand.
- Use the hand plane approach, but with a belt sander or hand power planer.
- Or use a wide form sander with a jointer sled/a>.
What can you sand with a thickness Sander?
The thickness sander will dimension wood with knots or burled grain just as easily and smoothly as regular straight-grained wood. Since grain direction is not a concern with thickness sanding, you can also sand projects with wood pieces glued-up in many grain directions.
Can the thickness Sander be connected to a vacuum system?
The plans for our sander include a shroud which fits over the sanding drum and can be connected to a vacuum system. Our experiences with vacuum systems have shown that some machines work well with vacuums, and others don’t; but the thickness sander works GREAT– nearly every last bit of dust is caught by the shroud and sucked away.
What is the difference between a thickness Sander and planer?
Think of a thickness sander as a planer that has a drum covered in sandpaper instead of knifes. The difference between a planer and a thickness sander is that you can run planks that have been glued up in different grain orientations on the sander and it will not be destroyed.
Can I use thickness sanding on wood with glued up pieces?
Since grain direction is not a concern with thickness sanding, you can also sand projects with wood pieces glued-up in many grain directions. A popular use for thickness sanding is flattening wooden chess or checkers game boards, which often have the grain of the “checks” alternating.