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+-- Thread: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig (/showthread.php?tid=7173686)
Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - bennybmn - 12-22-2015
So last night I was cutting some legs for a child's stool. I wanted to sand a slight bevel into the bottom of each one, but having them be fairly uniform is important, at least to save me some time once I mount the legs. I don't have a disc sander, but I have a Rigid bench top belt/spindle job which I use a lot. Holding the piece at an approximate 45 degrees is always an option, but it's tough to get it consistent. And clamping a piece of wood is tough along that edge of the sander's table.
Then, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the miter gauge for my band saw. Woefully inadequate and small for most jobs, it drops right into the slot on the sander. I should have stepped back a bit to take this pic, the board is clamped on the left side and just acts as a stop. I adjusted it so it's sanding just ahead of the flat support plate behind the belt, so it softens the bevel just a tad. It's still tough to get a super consistent bevel, since I can't rotate my wrist a full 360 degrees, but having the end of the work piece hang off the table helps actually.
It's just one of those "use what you have at hand" moments that I've come to appreciate when people post here, so I thought I'd pass it along!
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - bennybmn - 12-22-2015
Up next, I need a poor man's vertical drilling rig for the hanger bolts!
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - macpiano - 12-22-2015
I have that sander and probably a miter gauge that will fit. Thanks for the tip. There's many times I wish I had done that.
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - JGrout - 12-22-2015
Quote:
It's still tough to get a super consistent bevel, since I can't rotate my wrist a full 360 degrees, but having the end of the work piece hang off the table helps actually.
Add a stop to the miter gauge or the table so the work can only feed in so far then stop cutting.
instant perfect bevel
Good idea with the miter gauge as well.
Joe
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - bennybmn - 12-22-2015
Thanks!! Great idea.
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - SceneryMaker - 12-22-2015
bennybmn said:Find a ShopSmith. I paid $50 for mine. Makes that job easy.
Up next, I need a poor man's vertical drilling rig for the hanger bolts!
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - bennybmn - 12-23-2015
I'd need to do a bump-out in my garage to fit it
Re: Ah-Ha! moment. Poor man's bevel sanding rig - bennybmn - 01-04-2016
JGrout said:
Add a stop to the miter gauge or the table so the work can only feed in so far then stop cutting.
instant perfect bevel
Good idea with the miter gauge as well.
Joe
Per your suggestion, I made a little stop. I also made a quick and dirty vertical drilling jig to get a couple of good pilot holes for brass screws in the end of the thin strip, so I used it on the hanger bolts for the stool legs too.
In case anyone is wondering, I positioned it deliberately right behind the roller, but in front of the flat support plate of the belt. That gives the bevel a bit of a curve, softens it some. It also allows the flat end of the dowel to hang off the table, so I can spin it by hand.
