Homemade spindle sander

Category: Guitar building

I decided I could use a spindle sander for finishing the edges of the guitar I'm building. Having looked online and seen that they cost hundreds of dollars, I thought I'd try build an accessory for my new drill press that does a similar job.

It's basically a box, with a flat top and a hole to connect the vacuum.

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The top has a hole and a bearing, into which the spindle sander fits. The other end attaches to the drill chuck. The hope is that the bearing will take some of the sideways force so the drill won't get too stressed about being used this way.

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The spindle itself has been made by bits of MDF that I've cut using a circle plug cutter, then sanded down to fit a cylindrical sanding sheet. I've made sure it's nice and straight by sanding it against a flat piece of wood while spinning the drill.

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