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What do those of you who have an edge sander use it for?

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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We have a little Rigid oscillating edge sander and it is perhaps the tool in our shop that gets the most use -- no kidding.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I have three. A Ridgid like mentioned above that gets used a lot for making the tailblocks and head blocks, a custom made 6x48 that I use for brace making, setting the neck angle, shaping the headstock and a whole host of other tasks, and a 6x89 that gets used a lot for making fingerboards and neck blanks and jig making etc. There are always different ways to do different tasks, but I sure do like having them around...good dust collection a must.

Pretty much what Ed said. I have a 6 x 80 that I was reluctant to use a lot, until I got good
dust collection. Now it's a go to tool. I've used mine for shaping braces, neck-tail blocks, cleaning up for scarf joint.
Anything that needs adjustment and won't (shouldn't) go through the thickness planer or thickness sander gets touched
on the edge sander. Small parts get held in a clamp or fixture to save on fingers.
Ken

I have an older Powermatic, which at the time was the same as the Jet. 6 x 89, I believe. I found that I had to wire it 220 because at 110 it couldn't keep up and would overheat.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks for the input guys. I have been going back and forth on one for a while. Still can't make up my mind. We will see if I can find one for the right price.

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Chris,
I have a Taiwanese 6 X 89 sander that I leave set up 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the table. I use it fro alot of stuff like making braces, tailblocks, heelblocks fretboards etc., etc. It is a great tool I think I paid around $400. new for it 15 years ago.

I also have an American made 6 X 48 Rockwell sander that I use for "freehand" activities like neck shaping, bridge making etc.

It also has a 12" disc on it,but I hardly use it.

I couldn't live without these tools.

I have a 6 x 108" edge sander which sees daily use in the shop. I als have a small cradle I made for my portable belt sander which converts it to a 3 x 24" edge sander. Immensely useful and well used.

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

Are we talking about oscillating spindle sanders? Or a real oscillating sander? The kind that has a belt turned vertical that oscillates up and down? (I want one of those)

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

This is the little one we have --- highly recommended for the guitar maker

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/oscillatin ... dle-sander

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Ken, that is nice. I bet it is a lot more useful than my little spindle sander

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Ok, well you convinced me. I drove 10 hours round trip yesterday and got it off the trailer today. I forgot to take a picture before I took the machine apart. It is an Indiana Line No 12 from Indiana Foundry- a little light weight 2500ish pound edge sander around 6' long. Should be a great machine once I get it up and running.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
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Sweet. You'll find all sorts of uses for it!

Pics!

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

Well I forgot to take pictures of the machine before teardown. I have reached out to the previous owner to see if he will send me his pictures of the machine so I can have a nice before and after. Here is what it looks like in its current state:



A real beauty, right?!

The rest of the parts are sprawled out around the shop- including the motor which I estimate to be around 300lbs. Moving the things was actually kind of a fun challenge. With it weighing so much, it required a lot of critical thinking. It was like a huge puzzle. We did most of the moving with pipes and a tractor. I felt in touch with my inner ancient Egyptian.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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That is a serious chunk of iron - should keep your shop from blowing away.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

The previous owner sent me the original picture. Here it is how it looked upon pickup:

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
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I totally missed the part of "what do you use it for?".
I use it for a variety of things, but mainly for preparation of neck blanks. I also sand the arches in braces, clean up some of the overhang of top and bottom plates on a guitar body, sand the nut angle into headplates, etc. There are so many uses for these things that it's definitely one of the most important tools in my shop. I've also used it on occasion to sand my fingers, so you need to be careful as with any power tool!

The only feature it doesn't have that I would have liked is oscillation. Julius Borges has an old unit that is a smaller belt size but the thing oscillates too, which is great for getting a nicer surface on something.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I was just going to recommend OWWM.org but I see you're already there.

Nice score!

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Hardcore!

Aw, now that's better:



I still need to make a dust collection hood for it. I will also be making an auxiliary table for it as the main cast iron table is pretty beat. Plus the auxiliary will have a part of it that has a bushing style stop for template work.

If you notice the end table is on the floor. The belts that were provided with the sander are actually too long- which explains why there is so much belt wear damage all over the thing. Honestly, I don't know how the previous owner was even able to use the thing in the shape I received it. But it's better now!

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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It sure does look better. What a beast!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Quite the contraption!

Thats my kind of heavy metal.

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

What a beast! Congrats! Man, they sure don't build them like that anymore...

It's the one tool that I have now that I wonder how I ever lived without. Seriously, I think I fire mine up every time I'm in the shop. Brilliant tool!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...