best belt sander for bow building?

[razorsharptokill]

I have a 36" belt a nd 9" disk sander from Lowes that does ok but..... when sanding boo or cleaning up the edges of limbs I tend to make dips with the curved ends sometimes.

It seems that a longer belt would help with that. What is your take on this? I like the looks of the grizzly 48" belt sander with disk for $419.00 shipped.

[scrub-buster]

I use two of the 36" belt/disc sanders.  One is a Skill, which isn't the greatest, but works, and the other one is a Ryobi that works great.  I keep the a rough belt on the Skill and a medium grit belt on the Ryobi.

[razorsharptokill]

When sanding the edges of my longbows I always put some divets on them somehow. Guess I'm rocking the bow a little or not placing it flat at first.

[kennym]

The big sander would be great, but the 48" belt would only get you about 20 inches on hte platen,right?

Now the 6x80"................

I've tormented myself over buyin one for a couple years, but can never quite justify it.

[George Tsoukalas]

I have an 8 x 48 with an external motor which is good as it can be replaced. I use it or selfbows but wouldn't be much good for intricate sanding. Jawge

[razorsharptokill]

Maybe a table the same height to feed the bow in at same level?

[kennym]

Now that might work,prob only need one on the infeed end. The other end would be much less likely to eat much IMO...

[PV]

A table will help. Although I don't use it often I've got a 6X80 with a small table and lays over horizontal like the 6 X 48 you're interested in. Even with the longer platen it's still possible (easy) to get dips.Especially with the belt horizontal without the table. My buddy has the longer wrap around table  and that IMO is the way to go.

[Trux Turning]

Take a look at the ridgid oscillating  sander-$200 at home depot.  It is both a spindle and the belt sander. The belt sander is fairly short but having a platform to work off of makes all the difference compared to a normal belt sander-I had the same problem when sanding until I got this one. If I could justify the purchase- I'd get that 6x80-

[Dick in Seattle]

I have a 6x80 and do almost all my work on it, don't use a bandsaw for cutting out the bow at all.  I use the round end a great deal, and, as you say, always get dimples.  I don't worry about that.  I don't have a template for my bows, but rather draft each one onto fresh masking tape applied to the squared up blank. I use the round end of the belt sander and sand close to, but not all the way to, the limb lines, then use the long flat surface to clean up the dimples.  All of this is done freehand, not using the table.  

Should mention that the sander is a vertical edge sander, not a horizontal flat sander.  (Actually, now that I think about it, I guess it rotates down, but I've never done that....

 

This is a bigger sander than most folks are going to want to get or have room for.   However, it's vertical orientation is simply a fantastic advantage.   If I couldn't have this, I would have a 6x48 with at least a 3/4 horse motor.   I don't know of one of these that operates in this same vertical/lengthwise orientation.  I would build a new base for it, either of doubled 3/4" ply or have something welded up, such that you could mount it sideways to provide this.  I actually do have a 6x48 Grizzly and plan to do this simply because it's one of those things that once you plan it out, you simply have to complete it.  I will be taking the disk sander feature off of it.  Should also note that big sanders are fairly common on used lists and you might find a good candidate for mounting like this that way at a good price.

Hope some of this helps your planning...

[razorsharptokill]

Very cool. Thanks for the advice guys.

[bjansen]

I just took the plunge on a grizzly 6x80.  I bought the same one dick has pictured but I think if I would re-order I would get the 6x80 with a wrap around table (i think it is $50-75 more).  The wrap around table model also has a smaller idler drum which would be good for shaping.  

The 6 x 80 is a great tool though, you can shape the entire limb on one, big flat surface.  I ended up attaching an alluminum table on the driveside motor and made myself a simple pattern sander utilizing a static round ring mounted to the table, under the drive drum.  I havent had the time to make a template and try it but I think it will be pretty slick.

[7 Lakes]

I have one from Woodworkers Supply 6"x89" and I wouldn't want to be without it.  With the metal table and adjustable belt I have it set at 90 degrees, you can square up any piece of wood in seconds & fit handles to my form.  With 36 grit belts you can trim up the limbs in a few more seconds.  I've used it for 8 years now without a hitch.  

I like to look at tools like this.  I'm going to need it for another 20 years, for less than .07 cents a day I can have a $500 sander.  Sanders will cost $2000 if I buy a cheap, $100 one every year.

[ChristopherO]

RSTKill,
If you have the room in your new shop you may want to make one.  You've probably seen this picture, already, but it is a work horse now that I have it to use.  
 

It uses 6"x89" belts.  The dust collection port on the right side really works very well with a good shopvac.  A one horse motor, instead of the 3/4 horse speced out will be better, though.
To give you an idea, I had the motor, the MDF boards, the metal for the platen and the hardwood at my disposal.  The channel, springs, screws, shaft rods, bearings, pulleys, belt, 1 38" forsner bit and a few other misc items I purchased from Grainger and Rockler.  The materials I paid for ran right at $225.00.  If you have access to some of the costlier items like I already had in storage then this project was well worth it.
Plansnow.com sells the prints for $10.00.

Oh, yes, and it is exactly what I was looking for to shape limb profiles!!!

[camoman]

Does anyone use the Ridgid Spindle/Belt sander? I am debating on getting one. I currently have a disc/belt sander but the belt runs horizontally, not sure if I will be able to use it to make a bow.

[scrub-buster]

Originally posted by razorsharptokill:
When sanding the edges of my longbows I always put some divets on them somehow. Guess I'm rocking the bow a little or not placing it flat at first.

I don't use the flat part for sanding.  I only use the rounded end.  I just run the limb down, starting at the fades and working to the tips in smooth swipes.  This works for me.

[razorsharptokill]

Mine is a Ryobi 36" belt/disk from Lowes. The belt being parallel with the floor is easier for me to use.

I guess because it is all I have ever used. I can get a board bow to floor tiller pretty well using it. Yes it will work but there might be a better tool as you can see from the above posts.

I think I'm going to tinker with a feed end surface to prevent dips onto the radius of the belt for now.

[longbow565]

Don't plan on the lifetime warranty from rigid. I jumped thru hoops and spent a lot of time on the phone. They make it so hard that I could never make it happen. I have a rigid radio that went out and they replaced it no questions asked. Not the same deal on the sander.

[bornofmud]

I've heard lots of good things about the little rigid sander for shaping tasks, but to make a whole bow on it I would imagine would be a nightmare (depending on the persons setup of course).  I would actually really love to have one for shaping the riser, the 2" idler on the grizzly is just a little big (or a little small) sometimes.  

I use the 6x80 grizzly with the wrap around table.  It is great, though I must say that the table itself is a piece of crap.  It is not thick enough for it's shape to be stable.  I'm planning on making my own once I have the money to do so.  Thinking the same 3/4" mdf with a 3/16" aluminum top would be nice.  Also beware when installing that if the L brackets they give you to mount the table are not perfectly square, your table till also never be perfectly square.  I never have square edges the way it is right now, and it drives me insane.  

So all that being said, if I bought again, I'd probably get the normal 6x80 edge sander and the rigid sander to make up for the larger idler drum.  Lots more precision with those metal tables.  Either that or buy it and plan on making a better table for it haha.  

Lots of people get by just fine with a normal belt sander, or I've even seen 4x48 sanders flipped up on their edge to function like an edge sander.  Personally, it is the most used tool in my shop, and I do almost all shaping on it, so I would consider it definitely a worthy investment.  Beware though, it's huge, and you need a lot of space around it to maneuver the bow properly, and it runs on 220v, which is easy to install but intimidating if you've never done that kind of work before.

[monterey]

Nice to see you here, Dick!