Found what I needed on the job site in the dumpster. :D Well except the sander!
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/cengert74/100_2342_zpse2baf3a1.jpg)
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/cengert74/100_2343_zpsfdf694f5.jpg)
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/cengert74/100_2345_zps6d40f0eb.jpg)
Very nice
I've got the same sander and have been thinking about making a lam grinding jig. It looks good. Is the spring board just to prevent kick back??
D,
Yes and it also keeps the lam agaist the fence so I can keep the skin on my fingers.
I was using that at one point but never showed it because it had no guard and I managed to get a finger caught and took the top of my pointer finger off in a split second... Scary stuff but I will have to admit it worked good and for a very reasonable price.
I would only try this if you are willing to take the time to build a guard so fingers can't get caught since your fingers are the auto feed function.
Great job! I have the same sander and will definitely build a similar contraption. for now I still have 10 fingertips :bigsmyl:
Ralph,
I put the oak board on there to keep my string pullers out of the way, but after your mishap I'm going to build some kind of cage. I will definately post a pic of the cage. I want everyone who builds bows to be able to shoot them.
Cory
Cory , it did jack up my good shooting hand and it had me out of shooting for over a month. Looking at the 3rd picture if ya were to put that on the other side as tall as the sander I think it would be safer. I was able to get cocobolo veneers as thin as .025" with 60 grit as long as I kept a steady feed rate.
I would also imagine any kick back would explode a veneer with your kick back stop behind the feed opposed to putting the kickback stop in front of the feed and also stop it from pulling a finger into the feed.
Ralph,
The set-up does a good enough job that I think I can make a box with only enough room for the lam and lam sled to slid through, then there will be no danger on either side. Thanks for the advise. :thumbsup:
build one of them D i would like to see it in action...
I don`t know about professional thicknesssanders but with my shopmade one I`ve never noticed any kickback- no matter how deep I ran a workpiece into at one time.
A cage would be easy to install on this grinder I think- just put it to the upper frame.
All I would worry about is the squareness- isn`t it affected by setting the belt on right track?
I am digging that design! I have been thinking about making a lam grinder, but didn't have a good idea of how. Thanks Cory! :clapper:
Moe,
The belt tracking is adjusted by the smaller roller. I do have a small shim under the base to square up to the front roller. It's off about .001 to .002 so i just flip the lam and run it through the other way then I'm good to go.
I'm also planning on attaching the cage to the oak board on the fence.
Hi
New boy here. Just started bowmaking and have been watching the laminate grinding devices with great interest. I just need a trip to the nearest scrap yard!
Just picked up one of the ridgid sanders and I'll be copying your idea soon. Thanks
Got the cage put on, nothing fancy but it will keep me from taking some skin off. Both sides look the same, just made the gaps wide enough to fit sled and lam.
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o641/cengert74/100_2362_zps6c30bf68.jpg)
What part of NE are you from?
Now this is some good information to pass around! Good job!
Galen,
Live in Exeter it about 45 min west and south of lincoln.
Thanks Ralph, I feel better now since it'll be safe for whoever make this jig, thanks for your insight.
Cory
Cory I lived in Louisville for a while. Lots of deer around there.
Galen, the deer got hit hard with EHD this year, the game and parks had around 6500 reported so I'll bet it was at least 5 times that high. I found dead deer everywhere I hunted this year. The mature does got hit the hardest where I hunt hopefully there were still enough running around for good breeding.
Cory my new sander seems to have a lot of vibration does yours?
Galen, try taking the belt off and see if the vibration goes away, mine doesn't vibrate to bad. Did you rubber pads come off the bottom of the sander?
Cory it has the pads and I've had it 2 days now. But yesterday it appeared to be running pretty smooth then the nut that holds the sander on the shaft flew off. I put it back on and tightened it by hand and it kept coming loose. It ran pretty smooth when the nut was loose but when it was tight it shook quite a bit. Think I'll take it back and see what they say.
Galen, yep I'd definitely take it back, sound like maybe something in the belt carrier or motor went outta wack. Its brand new I wouldn't think you'd have any problem exchanging it. Its a pretty good sander, out trad club has three of them and we abuse the heck out of them at our annual selfbow build
Good luck,
Cory
Cory, have a brand new Ridgid sitting in the garage waiting to be made into a lam grinder. Also waiting for temps to get at least above 25deg :eek:
A question I have is about the feather board. Am I seeing that it is spring loaded??
That's actually fancier than how Bob Sarrels used to do it.
Mike, yeah it's spring loaded helps keep a little pressure on the lam as I slide it in. More than anything it keeps my fingers out of the danger zone. It doesn't do to bad of a job either, I've already ground more than enough lams to pay for the sander.
I'm sure it doesn't work near as good as a nice drum sander but it will do until I make that investment.
It takes a few lams to get er figured out but after that it's easy sailing. Even push pull feed is the most important thing for decent lams. I also use a sled for all of my lams, parallel included. Just take your time and you will have good lams and glue lines.
Cory
I posted this before but here's what I ended up with on my Ridgid.
I picked up this Ridgid sander & made an adjustable fence for it. Works great. I put a dial indicator on it which is pretty accurate for adjusting the thickness. Made the base out of mdf with a layer of aluminum glued to the top. Did a little shimming to get things squared up so it does a pretty good job.
I added additional mounting holes to accommodate larger pieces.
(http://i.imgur.com/f38nxRr.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/KhVuvfM.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ZyZfzuq.jpg)
My setup is a little different, it's a small horizontal drum (3"x3") instead of the edge sander, but I also find it suprisingly useful.
The things I find that make the biggest differences are a slow steady feed rate, running the lam through multiple times at a given setting (4-6 runs at final setting to reach precise thickness) and the quality of the sled and feed ramp(or fence). If you use a perfectly true sled and fence, you will get perfectly true lams.
This is what I have, no motorized feedsystem though.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam1.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam2.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam2.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam3.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam3.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam4.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam4.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam5.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam5.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam6.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam6.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam7.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam7.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam8.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam8.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam9.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam9.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/buemaker/Lam10.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/buemaker/media/Lam10.jpg.html)
I guess it's ok, Bue:)
Nice setup Bue
I built this one that I use also. The ridgid just takes wood off faster.
Saw powered sander (http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=003078)
You guys are a bunch of freaking inventors! Impressive work guys. I took the easy route an got a store-bought drum sander :D