[How do I?] Seeking Assistance With Jig-machine Build

auto.pilot said:
What a great idea! the shell interior needs to be smooth as well, and parallel to the exterior. I can't envision an internal sanding method. my biggest concern would be achieving consistent results both interior and exterior while using two different methods. need to mull this around because your suggestion is excellent .
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What I was thinking of was simply a long sanding drum on an axis parallel to the shell axis. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D1...id=1479398502&sr=8-5&keywords=9"+sanding+drum, length depending on the "height" of the shells. I don't see why it wouldn't work for both surfaces.

In any case, if you had a rotating drum you could secure it on both ends of its axis, so it would be very stable and could be held in parallel with a high degree of accuracy.
 
karim said:
What I was thinking of was simply a long sanding drum on an axis parallel to the shell axis. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D1505-4-Inch-9-Inch-Aluminum/dp/B0000DD1UG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1479398502&sr=8-5&keywords=9"+sanding+drum, length depending on the "height" of the shells. I don't see why it wouldn't work for both surfaces.

In any case, if you had a rotating drum you could secure it on both ends of its axis, so it would be very stable and could be held in parallel with a high degree of accuracy.
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Ohhhh... I thought you were referring to a belt sander method. I like this even more! thanks
 
karim said:
In any case, if you had a rotating drum you could secure it on both ends of its axis, so it would be very stable and could be held in parallel with a high degree of accuracy.
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Don't understand this part... if the wood drum shell is spinning, how could the sanding drum be secured on both ends?
 
auto.pilot said:
Don't understand this part... if the wood drum shell is spinning, how could the sanding drum be secured on both ends?
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You could control the drum with rollers, but I'm not sure how to do that and maintain precise diameter control since the rollers would need to transition from unfinished to finished surface.
 
Here's how I would do it...
I would use a rotary table and a mill. Make a fixture plate to hold the drum to using parallel clamps from the outside to do the i.d. Once the i.d. was done, add clamps to the i.d. and remove the clamps from the o.d. to hold down for work on the o.d. work. Spin the rotary table with an electric motor or a drill, and use a fly cutter in down feed boring mode. You could finish with a drum sander in the same way.
 
Now that I understand the end goal, I think I would buy an older but large metal lathe, maybe in the 20 inch swing range. This would give you a massive and precision platform to work from. You could mount any tooling, live or otherwise, or fixtures needed to accomplish your end goal.
 
I would love to do that and have considered it. right now I'm looking for something with a much smaller footprint but a large metal lathe may be in my future
 
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Like this! 26 x 48 for sale near me with an asking price of $2,650.
 
More machine than you need, especially considering that you are going to make a dedicated purpose drum shell machine. Price might be a bit high, at least around these parts. You may even find a used VTL (Bullard) cheaper, and larger yet. You don't need a lot of bed length.
 
That lathe would look nice sitting in my shop :grin: But yeah something like that is what I had in mind.
 
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