Thin walled aluminum drum

[dennys502]

I would check it with an indicator. If there is a dent it has likely raised the aluminum around it and that is causing the noise.

 

[Eddyde]

I never liked the performax sanders. My boss has one. I don't care for their design. He has a similar 18" open ended sander line mine. Also, his has a lot of flex due to the way it's built. Quite unreliable. However, I assume a dual drum is supported on both sides with a set sanding width.
I would like a dual drum, tho... It would be nice to level and finish on one machine rather than two.

Yes, it is 37" wide and supported on both ends. Even so, it is a bit persnickety to get it sanding just right but once it was dialed in it worked fairly well. I actually still have it although it is disassembled and in storage. It became obsolete once we got the Martin thickness planer.

 

[Hukshawn]

I would check it with an indicator. If there is a dent it has likely raised the aluminum around it and that is causing the noise.

Not on that dent, or at least not enough to notice.
But the other smaller dent is raised as much as it is dented. About .005". And yes, that one would be noisy - one of the reasons I was considering loading it into the lathe to take a skim pass. But, sending a piece of sandpaper glued to a piece of wood should lower that enough as well.
I may still take the drum out to clean it up because I don't like how I field fixed the belt pulley a few years ago.
I'll do the bondo first to make me happier for the time being (hopefully), then between projects, because my job list may have just gotten longer this morning, I might rebuild the whole machine. From the table height belt, the drum, the drive pulley, I might slow it down... I don't know about that one, tho.
I replaced the pulleys a while back, before I was into machining. I arc welded a weld on pulley on an arbor and it doesn't run true, it vibrates. The old flat stepped belt slipped really badly. The drum would just stall on even a medium cut.
The whole thing is ripe for a redoing.

 

[Hukshawn]

Yes, it is 37" wide and supported on both ends. Even so, it is a bit persnickety to get it sanding just right but once it was dialed in it worked fairly well. I actually still have it although it is disassembled and in storage. It became obsolete once we got the Martin thickness planer.

How wide is the planer? I only have a 13" wide one at home. Boss has a 15", friend has a 21, wife's uncle has a old, poorly maintained, 24".
Planer is a better way to go sometimes. Faster, nicer finish... Sometimes....
I find on the bigger planers (up to the 24" general I've used) even with new blades, it gouges if the chips aren't extracted properly. Then you have to sand anyways. Mind, I've never used a helical planer. So, I'm sure I'm missing out on what the professionals are using.
I'm just a home shop. I still do quite well in my small basement shop. Everything has to roll out of the way. And it turns into chaos pretty quickly.... Observe;

 

[Eddyde]

Nice Shop!
The Martin planed just shy of 25", it left no decreeable knife marks or end snipes whatsoever, you could go straight to secondary processing and finish sanding. It was in my old shop when I was in the custom woodworking business (I'm out of that scene forever...). It is probably the best planer on the market but a bit of a stretch for small shops as it costs around $30k new, https://martin.info/en/product/thicknessing-planer-t45/
Now in my home shop (also in basement), I have a newer DeWalt 13" with a helical cutter head, I highly recommend this upgrade as it leaves a much smoother finish, almost like the Martin, albeit slower and still snipes the ends of the boards. I also have an older Delta 13" cast iron planer that I am considering to restore and add a helical head, at which point I'll prolly sell the DeWalt.

 

[Hukshawn]

Holy crap... I wish...

I've been thinking about the DeWalt too. I think it's the 735? The one that looks industrial and squished into a lower package. Likely not helical as I don't have that kind of money. I've been using an old Ryobi 1301 for almost a decade. Back when Ryobi still made half decent tools. It just keeps working! I've been waiting for it to die so I have an excuse to get a new one. But I might just bite the bullet this year and do it. I think the Ryobi is getting tired. I've only ever had to replace a chain sprocket once before, other than that, I've not done anything to it. It just keeps hogging off material.

I had a custom shop in my 20's. Not nearly on the scale you were, it sounds. I was surprised how many people were willing to pay quite a bit for a custom made piece of furniture.
But, I was a one man shop. Couldn't afford to grow, couldn't afford help, couldn't build fast enough to make more money to take the next step. It plateaued. Eventually, I closed up and went back to working factory.
Now, I dabble when it arises. Sometimes I think about getting back into it again. My boss wants to do custom live edge tables. The new fad that's going on. Live edge with metal legs.

 

[Ironside]

Here's the stuff you need. I've used it for years in both auto restoration and marine applications. It's super tough and stays tough, even when feathered down really thin. Never had a problem with it lifting. It has aluminum in it and is designed to use on metal. It bonds like crazy and sticks like a fat chick to a donut. It's a bit pricey but worth every penny. Be careful how thick you apply it. It sands kind of hard and leaves a super thin skin that you have to waste the first sheet of sandpaper on before you actually start removing material. Use it, and thank me later. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Evercoat-M...826007?hash=item35da7bff17:g:lcoAAOSwcF9UWT4N

 

[Dave Smith]

Shawn--just curious-- what is the actual length and OD of your drum-also the OD of the shaft inside it---just wondering if I may have tubes the same size to make a new one---thanks Dave

 

[Hukshawn]

Shawn--just curious-- what is the actual length and OD of your drum-also the OD of the shaft inside it---just wondering if I may have tubes the same size to make a new one---thanks Dave

Its a 5" drum, 18" long. Shaft is 1" but it has a flange or the shaft inside the drum is 1 1/8". Hard to tell. The webbing has notches for the tensioning springs.
If the shaft is 1 1/8 inside the drum, then those are some thin walls...

 

[Hukshawn]

When there was a replacement drum available, the drum came with the shaft installed as one piece. So, it must be pressed in. Or, it's two seperate shafts one on each side. Because it looks like there is a flange on the shaft and the shaft diameter is actually 1".
I took a wack at with with a hammer and opened up that gap between the flange and the drum, you can see it in one of the pictures.
So, I'm not 100% what's going on there.