Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Curtis Haden on February 27, 2009, 02:07:00 AM
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Ok guys, need some friendly advice here. Is a 4x36" table top belt sander / 6" disc sander combo enough to be worth anything for bow building? Both Craftsman and Grizzly have affordable models in that size. No tools go to waste around here, but if my primary reason for buying it is to work on bows, do you think one that small is worth spending $120-$150 on? Both the Craftsman and Grizzly have adjustable beds on the belt sanders, 0-90 degrees.
My primary interest is in building t/d bows, so nothing really long to work on at once... I figured for shaping and reducing limbs, etc, you could work an angle across the bed.
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That's all you need my friend,I thought at one time I needed a longer one but a grand for a 86"long belt sander isn't justafiable,for a hobby.The only thing with a short length like this you have to watch when you shape your limbs you only do quarter of the limbs at a time or you will get wear groves at the other end of the belt sander.Or only put pressure on the place you want to sand and leave the other end off the sanding surface,or like you said go angle wise or across the bed...
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I started off with a Craftsman 4x36 belt sander with a 6" disc and used it for quite a few years. The one I have now is a Grizzly, 6x48 with a 10" disc and it is just right for me. If you are planning to use it a lot, I would rather have a bit more power than I need instead of one that was just adequate.
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I used the heck out of a $89, 4x36 Craftsman for 5 or 6 years. Replaced it w/ a Delta 6x48 for about $220. Then I build a table for the 4x36 turned onto it's side so I can sand square to the table, like riser fades. It still runs 10 yrs later, although one of the bearing squeels occasionally. I shoot it w/ a spray silicon or whatever and it's good to go for a while more.
I do 90% selfbows and the 6x48 w/ a 50 grit belt will throw a rooster tail out the back of my shop. Darned handy sometimes when you want do to a big reduction. 4x36 I could only find 80 grit. A little slower but will serve for most tasks.
I would not spend over $250 for a belt sander personally.
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That should be ok for you. I use the Grizzly bandsaw,spindle sander,4x36 belt/disc sander to make lam bows. I would love to get the Grizzly 80" beltsander, I used a friends and it was awesome for sanding down limbs, but it is about $400.00 more than 4x36.
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I have one of those small craftsman sanders in my shop that keep breaking belts. It finally died when the motor went kaputz. I think there are better units to purchase. I am currently using an old, strong hand sander tighten down into a portable Workbench stand. It is held in upside down. It has been less hassle than the old craftsman was.
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I started with one like that, then moved on to a 6"X48" for most of my work. I use mine to side profile limbs, and dress up riser blocks. Actually, I use it for much more. I still have the smaller one, and use it for overlays and such. The larger surface makes the larger one easier to use on long limbs that you don't want to gouge on the end of the belt.
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Sent you a PM David on where to get any grit belt for your 4X36, complete with a link.
The link won't work because the word Fleabay was edited out of it.
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I picked up a craftsman 4x36 used for 30 bucks off of craigslist. Works great. I also made a wood bed for it to grind down lams and to make taper lams as well. Around here I can get 40 grit on up for it no problem.
I actually would not mind one smaller for doing some of the tight stuff. But so far no problems and does everything I need it to! I have built one bow on it and almost done with my second.
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i have been using a 4x36 ryobi for a while. i set it up to grind my own lams. Its broke quite a few drive belts but i replaced the belt with one of those a adjustable vibration dampening ones from woodcraft. it does what i need, but don't think i wouldn't get a bigger grizzly if i could justify it. i would love to get a performax drum sander, saving up for that one.
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sulphur, the performax drum sander? it that a thickness sander for making lams?
John
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What do you guys mean when you say "beds" on a bench sander? Reason I ask, is I have a craftsman 4X36. And its difficult to grind long pieces due to the belt is not exactly nice and flat. Not sure if I explained that right.
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Mark, when I used the term "bed" I was referring to the surface and area between the belt rollers. I believe it is called a "platen" but I used "bed" for simplicity's sake.
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Sometimes the belt rollers are a touch higher then the platen (bed as someone called it) That can be a problem and should be avoided when purchasing.
I have a Ridgid osselating(sp) belt sander that Home Depot sells for 200.00 that has a lot of miles on it. It takes a 4 x 24" belt and also drums. It has 2 different size rollers which is really handy for shaping grips.
You can square blocks up, profile limbs, shape grips, make nice square fadeouts, etc. with it. I use it more then any other sander in my shop. If I only could have one it would be it. It is light weight so you can carry it outside on nice days as well.
Home Depot also is good about standing behind their stuff in my experiance. Also sometimes Ridgid offers a lifetime warrenty on this sander, at least they did when I bought mine 3 years ago.
Chad
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Originally posted by Bradford:
I picked up a craftsman 4x36 used for 30 bucks off of craigslist. Works great. I also made a wood bed for it to grind down lams and to make taper lams as well. Around here I can get 40 grit on up for it no problem.
I actually would not mind one smaller for doing some of the tight stuff. But so far no problems and does everything I need it to! I have built one bow on it and almost done with my second.
Bradford, can you show some pics or drawings on how to build the bed for lams? I would guess the same design would work for a Ryobi 4X36. Which BTW (to stay with the thread) is all I have ever needed.
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Being new to the hobby money was definately an issue. A 20%off coupon from the internet along with thier weeekly sale I picked up a 4X36 from harbor freight for $54.00 the 2 year replacement was 9.99. no frills all cast iron base with steel constuction. except for the on / off switch not a bit of plastic. So far so good.
kengineering
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http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/glass3.htm
Try this website. This is where I got the idea from and followed what he had. I will take some time and try to break it down on another thread.
The unit takes some getting used to, but once you do.. wow. I just made a veneer.. paper thin
I did realize that I had to use a piece of hard wood to eliminate any flex for the "bed".. but the rest I built out of mdf board from Home Depot.
I just bought a 2x4 piece for 6 bucks and a piece of 3x36 ash for the bed. Used my brad nailer gun and tight bond 3 to put it together.
Like I said, I will do a break down on a seperate thread for everybody.
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Somebody mentioned the Rigid ossciliating sander here on Tradgang a couple of years back, so I bougt one. It is the best piece of equipment for the price that I have, and I am close to having a complete wood working shop. It is a toss up between the Ridgid Sander and my Grizzly bandsaw as to which machine in the shop gets used the most when building bows. Like Chad, I highly recommend it to anybody that builds bows. It would take a deadicated 84" for shaping the limbs and and deadicated oscilliating spindle sander for working the handle, at close to ten times the cost, to replace my $200 Rigid.
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Went to Springfield today and bought the Rigid Belt/Spindle Sander... Yippee!!! Also made the mistake of going over to the Grizzly Store with less than a couple thousand $$$'s in my pocket...
:biglaugh:
Now, if that Bingham's order would just get here, I could start messing some stuff up!
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I had another bowyer tell me about that Ridgid sander. With all the positives here,i'll put that at the top of MY list.Thanks guys.
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I also have a Ridgid osselating(sp) belt sander and love it. Just as Holm-Made stated you can do a variety of jobs with this. This is the only sander that I have and would not trade it. I can square up blocks, profile limbs, shape grips, etc with it. Mine has 2" - 1/2" spindle drums with it also. It had a dust port to hook your shop vac to. Great piece of equipment. I bought mine as reconditioned for $150 with the factory warranty from Cummings Tools.
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I too have the Rigid oscillating spindle sander and recommend it highly. It is very useful for many things. I also like the blue belts for it as they last a lot longer. A 36 grit will really chew some stuff up in a hurry if need be. I bought 50, 80 and 120 grit drums from Rockler and they are great for handles. I also made an arrow taper jig to shape the knock and point ends of woodies. There was a sale last year and I got it for $175.
The other two tools I love are the Grizzly 14" Extreme bandsaw and the Jet 10-20 drum sander.
I also have a Bosch 4000 table saw that is really useful. I use it for cutting limb tapers. I had made a clamping fixture to hold the limb but have stopped using it. Now I use an 8" marathon, 30 tooth, thin kerf, carbide blade and cut them free-hand. That blade is really nice for this and also squaring up blocks and such. It really chews through hard stuff like cocobolo, maple, etc. The thin kerf is great and the finish is like a planer.
Kevin
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Here is what I bought.Rigid oscillating sander.Its a multiuse sander It has a small edge sander.With 5 drums great for risers and grinding limbs.Cant figure out how to post pictures?????
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After all the good things said, I went to Home Depot last nite and bought one of the Rigid combo jobs. Pretty nifty little tool! I'm sitting here today trying to order some extra sanding drums and don't know what length I need! It seems they make all different lengths. I guess I'll have to wait until I get home tonight to measure one. I couldn't find the length anywhere online today.
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I bought mine at home depot.I believe the lenght in 4 1/2 inches I would have to look.They came 1 set of 80 grit ond one set of 150 grit for 14 dollars.They are made by rigid.Sold right next to the machines.
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I have only used the belt on mine, never needed the drums. I buy the Ridgid belts. Once I special ordered some custom belts and they were a little oversized and the machine wouldn't run at all, kept binding up. Not the machines fault though.
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curtis i have one you can use just stop by sometime. loyd
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Hey Loyd! Good to see you posting. I already bought the Ridgid belt/spindle sander. Used it some too... Looks like it's gonna get used a lot. ;) We haven't even started on that osage yet, and I've already slipped into the dark side of making glass-lam bows... Apologize to that stave for me, would ya? :help:
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youll get over it, and come back to the old ways. loyd
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I use a 6x80 Grizzly and would never part with it. I built a bunch of bows on a 48" sander but when I got the big one I thought "wow" how did I ever get by without it. I can lay an entire longbow limb up against it and get a truly straight grind/.
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I have an 80", a 48" and a 36", they all have there purpose in my shop but I could settle with just the 48" if I was limited to just one.
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I'm like you, Chad. I switched to a drum once and decided that it really wasn't necessary....I was just trying to use it since it came with the machine. The belt drive has a large diameter roller at on end and a smaller one at the other. They seem to fit real nice where I need them.
Don
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+10 for the Ridgid! I just got mine about 2 weeks ago and LOVE it! I also have a small Delta combo (4" belt/6" disk) that will see very little use now.