Post edited 9:58 AM – May 18, 2010 by Tyler

Material: Steel and Aluminum
Units: (in)

Here's another nice set of plans for the Miscellaneous category, submitted by Bill P. Here's what Bill had to say about his 2″ x 42″ Belt Sander:

"A little background: 2-3 years ago I got them off the HSM forum from member George B. The sander is a good resemblance of an existing commercially available sander – I have seen pics of a couple but don't know what brand. At a later time I asked George – through the HSM forum – if he minded my giving copies to a couple friends and he readily agreed, so Ive been parceling them out here & there ever since.

As typical of us HSM'ers my friend and I tinkered around with the plans — as drawn, they are for a 2×42 size, but 2×42 belts can be a bit of a problem to locate, and get a selection of grits, whereas 2×48 are readily available and in a wide assortment of grits, so — we just added 3″ to the height of the frame! Also the plans don't show a table & platen or any type of belt guard so we got that on our versions also.

There can be a bit of a snag to making the sander in being able to find the 2 wheels – especially the 6″. Since I had done all of Dave Gingery's projects and had a furnace, I just made a mold and cast the wheels. Have heard of guys using casters, and supposedly, laminated wood!. And apparently, there are some commercially available wheels the knife makers use in making their big belt sanders — that's where the scrounger in you can shine!

And speaking of "scrounging" — the first one I made was in the 2×42 size (how I discovered the scarcity of that size belt!) and I used what ever was laying around the shop. I had a 1hp 1750rpm motor and a piece of 1/4″ plate steel, so I made it up using that. The motor was non-reversible so I had to devise a jack-shaft. I later got a 1hp 3350rpm (you really need the 3350rpm!) motor and a nice piece of aluminum so I made the next one in the 2×48 size and added the table, platen and guard."

- Bill P.

Update (12/18/2009): Fransisco sent me pictures of his completed sander a few weeks ago. Here's what he had to say:

Hi Tyler!! I want to tank you for share this plans. I built it and can say this sander is very useful tool. I’d love it!!. I Live in Brazil and the belt used was 1″ x 48″. Well, tanks again!! Regards Francisco

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