Best way to square a riser

[Chad Orde]

So I have been building bows for a very short time and after I cut out my risers I go to sqaure them and thin the fade outs with my drill press fitted with a clesco drum sanding unit. Problem is they are rubber drums and are not completely flat and they leave the risers out of square then I have to take the hand file and spend hours squaring them up.
I need help should I get a spindle sander a disc sander use a router???

[kennym]

The router would get you close,but most likely break the fade before you get thin enough.

Disc sander is good for the back of my bows(I grind that side before cutting the belly side),but won't do the belly side ramp curve(without seein your riser,just a guess)

Spindle sander is what I use for the belly side curve. I bought the cheap one from Grizzly,it is worth every cent,very very close to square(I check my fades both sides and both ends with a dial indicator at 1" and 2" from end)Well spent $140.00

Marty does (or did) his really well with a handheld belt sander!

[IdahoCurt]

What diameter drum sander do you use?
I use a 3" drum from binghams and never had a problem getting even fade outs.Is you drum square to the drill press table? that's the only time I had trouble getting square fade outs.
How do you square the riser before sanding the fade outs? maybe the block starts out not square?

[IdahoCurt]

Oh,spindle sanders are the way to go for shaping.

[Apex Predator]

I used the handheld belt sander for the first couple, and then went to a drum in my drill press.  I've since moved to the Rigid belt/spindle combo unit that Home Depot sells for $200.  Awesome unit for bow building.

[sw]

I use a rigid belt/spindle combo as well. Gets the job done fast and accurate. Best tool i have found for this type of work.

[Robertfishes]

d i y, I had the same problem with the last 3/8 inch of the rubber drum  being out of square. What I did was to take a piece of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood left over from building forms and made a 24 inch table top for my drill press, I cut out a 3 inch round hole to drop the drum sander into a 1/2 inch, check for squareness and sand away, checking progress and squareness often. I bought a used/as new Jet ossilating spindle sander a few months back but still used the drill press sander set up for the last riser.

[Chad Orde]

Thanks guys I think a spindle sander and a disk/belt is needed. I knew they where coming soon just didnt have the money for them right now... Are the spindles on the rigid rubber or metal??

[TimZeigler]

Make sure your Riser stock is square before you put it to the sander, else it won't matter how square your sanding rig is.  Ask me how I know.    :D  

I use a Rigid belt/spindle setup as well.

It comes with a multi-tuide of rubber spindle drums.