VIEWER SPECIAL: Richard's Sander

Richard sent in a photo of his vertical belt sander he built using my plans. He added a few features of his own and shared his comments:

Hi Justin, I have been meaning to send you a photograph of my second belt sander which I am giving as a gift. There are only minor differences to your design. The top came from an old washing machine and appears to be dense chipboard sandwiched by plastic, which I then edged in hardwood. The 1/2” plywood that I used is only 11.5mm and so I glued hardwood on the inside, where the top screws down, and move the holes inwards a few millimetres. The feet as you can see are plywood with anti slip tape glued to the bottom. Prior to attaching the tape I applied contact adhesive to the plywood which strengthened the bond. The motor I used turns at 2,800 rpm and it works well. It is face mounted and so I used brackets to mount the face and a jubilee clip, extended by riveting narrow strips of thin stainless steel, to stabilise the other end. The design is excellent and I use the sander regularly.

Great build, Richard!