[LeeWay]

Here is a video link that illustrates what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpY_...eature=related


That is softer than what I think I need, but the concept is similar.

[LeeWay]

Couple more progress pictures.

I did get the rubber glued onto the drum. It was pretty painless. Used contact cement. Should work out well. There is a slot on both sides of the drum. Under each is a clip that holds the end of the sanding strip that winds around the drum.
I looked a little closer at the pressure roller system too. The tension on all four springs are all the way out meaning very little spring pressure.
The way they are designed though, it is not a simple thing to adjust. They have a little nut on the bottom of each long adjusting screw. This nut sits in a channel and you cannot get a wrench of any kind in there.
This means I have to remove the drum bearing bolts on both sides to drop the pressure roller assembly. I will make it so that no wrench is ever needed. Like it should have been to start with.

Also these pressure rollers are not covered either. Look in post number 3 above. Those rollers are covered. So are any other ones I have ever seen. I didn't realize that when I ordered this machine. I should have. I watched the sand paper change video. The machine is post #3 is looking better and better. I used 1/8" thick rubber on the drum. I will use 1/32" on the rollers. They do hang down below the drum. There should still be plenty of clearance between the rollers and drum after covering and installing sand paper. There is at least 1/4" between them and the drum now after covering.

[LeeWay]

Time savers did get back to me today. I sure hope this little machine works out. The small machine Timesavers makes is nearly the cost of a Pulsar. Plus shipping. Then it's a 5HP main drive motor and of course it's 3 phase. It could use a converter though, so that isn't the biggest issue. They also have the wet dust collectors that are more than 3 thousand. Pheww. Doing them by hand isn't that much of a pain i n the neck.

I ordered some conveyor belting today. Off Ebay, so got a good price for a lot of it.
I studied the machines table some more and took the DC drive motor off and looked at it. The drive coupler on it looks similar to a spider drive, however there is no insert between the two. Just pie shaped studs that mess with the other half. Three on each side. I don't think I have seen that before.
The drive roller on the conveyor belt is rubber coated, but not the other side. I guess it doesn't really need to be.

I took the pressure roller assembly off as well.
I'll get some pictures of it soon.
Those rollers are solid steel bar almost 3/4" diameter. The bearings on the conveyor belt and these pressure rollers are bronze bushings. They seem to be a standard size. Should work okay.

The reason I have been using a plywood sled is because the minimum sanding thickness is normally 3/16". I have reduced that by adding 1/8" thick rubber to the main drum. Then this conveyor material will be thicker than what is on there now. It is .1" thick. That should take care of the spacing issue. I should be able just to run the parts on the conveyor like you are supposed to do. My next largest concern on this machine will be if the motor can handle it. The one that is on there is a face mount, but it is about a 4.5" spacing, so it;'s bigger than a 56C. Just a hair over 4". A 182TC is about 5 and 1/8" or so. What is in between those?

[LeeWay]

It won't be a big deal to expand those holes into 45 degree slot to fit any Face mount motor if that is needed. I'll bet it is a non standard motor mount size.
Anyway I did take a few pictures of the pressure roller system on this. I cannot say that I am impressed with it. I suppose it does function and is certainly low cost. At this point a better spring system would be wasting money I think. I will just add a little more tension to what is there. Cover the rollers and let her rip. They basically work like a butterfly or toggle bolt without the benefit of a hinge. This design works since it is a drum sander and the abrasive strip is wrapped around the drum. On wide belt sanders, these pressure rollers are independent and pressure can be adjusted on the fly with better machines. That way you can slip a belt over the drum.

I'll get these covered with rubber and post some more later.

[LeeWay]

Slow progress on this guys. I did get the pressure rollers covered in a 1/32nd neoprene rubber. I tightened up the pressure by 1/4" on the screws. Nice and tight now.
The initial conveyor belt arrived and I installed it. It says it has a friction surface, but that really is not the case. My parts still stall out under the drum which will not work. The parts slip on the conveyor. The good part is that I no longer need a sled to run the parts on. I ordered and received some super grip conveyor belt from Mcmaster Carr. Perfect size and this stuff should certainly keep the parts moving. I will get it installed soon. However the tension tracking mechanism on this machine has to be the very worst design I have ever seen. Honestly though it is probably adequate for wood in the original configuration. Even then though I would not recommend anyone purchase this machine. It's design is extremely lacking. I put a little more tension than normal on the screws and then the mechanism started bending. That is unacceptable for a tension/tracking mechanism on any machine or conveyor. It will get redesigned. Also the new belt requires a larger feed and idler roller. 3/4" will not do. It says that it needs a 2", but I think 1.5" would work okay too.
This will require a complete redesign of the conveyor system. The good news is that the motor that drives the conveyor is the strongest part of this machine. Zero issues there.
More will follow.

[LeeWay]

I searched high and low and had a RFQ in. Didn't get a response. Probably because this is such a small roller. I could not find anything suitable to use. I did consider machining my own or put in an RFQ here, but found a workable solution for about $30.00 total.
I am just going to sleeve the existing rollers.
I went with final roller size of 1.25". With the belting in hand, I could tell that this will work okay. Perhaps not quite the long life it would have at 2", but still usable I think.
The idler roller is solid steel bar. I bought a foot of aluminum tube. 3/4" ID and 1.25 OD. I will just use some roll pins to set in place. The drive roller has a rubber cover and I will leave that in place. I ordered a 3/4" ID and 1" OD tube for that side and then a neoprene tube to bring it to size.
Every fits nice and snug.
I will get some pictures soon. I also ordered 4 needle roller flange bearings to replace the bronze bushings. That should give me better life I think especially since I am using a much heavier belt than what came on it. The original belt is very thin nylon, BTW. No wonder it is slick.

Since I am using larger rollers, the platten no longer works correctly.
I have ordered a piece of Grade 50 A572 1/4" plate. That is one that ain't gonna be wearing out. I hope it is flat enough as is. The original table looks to be maybe 13 gage stuff press bent with three channels welded under it. The same thickness steel. It is stout enough for what it is and does check out flat. I am still working out the tensioning mech design. I haven't settled on one yet, but it will involve using thicker steel on each side. Probably 11 gage SS. More progress will follow at some point.

[LeeWay]

This project may be coming to a close. The real fault with this machine other than what I have corrected is the conveyor belt system. Really poor factory belt and not a very strong table. Sufficient for hobby use? Probably, but I would not recommend it. My Son mounts Deer Skulls for Buddies on the side and his material will fit this sander. At least it is accurate now with lots of upgrades.
This will be going to his shop. He is building a Pole Barn style shop and is still under construction. He will likely be getting my home made cnc mill with the base from the old Torus. Then my little cnc lathe too. I hope we are past the point of needing those for backups. Saying stuff like that usually gets me in trouble, so knock on wood.

I think I will be getting a much more suitable machine for our needs. It will be our first American made machine. A small Time Savers wet belt sander. It is far more appropriate than a dry sander would have been.
It is not cheap though. It is a 9" sander, but weighs close to 1200 pounds. Certainly not a lightweight. Anyway, I am not sure about it yet. Still crunching some numbers. This is 3 phase, so I will need a rotary phase converter. Already have one of those picked out from American Rotary. American Rotary Phase Converter AR10 10HP 1 to 3 Three Ph Heavy Duty HD CNC | eBay

This is the 5HP Timesavers 1100.

[LeeWay]

Well the machine and phase converter all arrived on Tuesday. I was expecting the converter, but the machine came much earlier than expected. I did have drop gate service as usual, so it sat in the driveway for a couple of hours. I have a forklift delivered and we were good. Next day we installed everything. I had also bought a 20' shipping container earlier to replace some old and failing storage. We leveled it out and are in the process of tying it down and we will wire it up for a 120 VAC line later. We were using an old camper trailer bought cheap just for storage years ago. It has been dry and served us well, but we had some rally high winds recently that blew a front corner apart. So, out it goes. The container was not quite as reasonably priced, but has few dents and was painted the same color as our house. Kind of vanilla ice cream. LOML loved it. Me too, but not for the color. It had very few trips actually.
Anyway the machine is fantastic. You would not believe the difference in the quality of our parts now. Still a bit of grinding and sanding by hand, but the major appearance portion is now machine done. My neck loves it.

I haven't taken pictures like I normally do. I think my Son has a few of the installation day.
I am installing leveling feet on it next. I will get a few pictures then. Every machine I buy increases production and quality and this one is no different. That means it will pay or itself quickly.
More to come. Stay tuned.

[Frank W]

I was hoping to see a better outcome on your sander Lee. I bought a wood planer with a 5hp motor on it to turn into a drum sander to do what you were looking to do.

Did the conveyor belt you got from McMaster Carr work better? You wouldn't happen to have a link to the style you bought would you?

[ger21]

Unfortunately, Lee passed away unexpectedly earlier this year.

[Frank W]

Ah man I hate to hear that. He was always willing to help anyone out with their questions.