Sam,
Thats awesome - the first reply is exactly what I need. I searched for hours and couldn't find one...the drum sander you recommended is actually one that I just purchased, and plan to use for this project. The problem is it's shippped with a 3/8" male shaft and I need to adapt that to my 1/2" electric motor shaft. (although the grizzly part says its a 1/2" shaft, they are referring to the shaft that's inside the drum, not the one that you turn the drum from)
Dustin,
Thanks for the link, this is exactly the build along I have followed up to this point. I wanted to do it just a bit different though. My plan is by using a drill chuck I can use the motor for not just a thickness sander, but also spindle sander. Thanks