Cutting Boards - Part 16

I did make some small improvements to my drum sander.

The first one is a small plywood wheel divided into twelve parts at the end of the screw for regulating the height of the tilting table. It allows me to finely adjust the height by allowing me to lift it consistently by tiny increments. Since one whole turn is about 0,9 mm, one part of the wheel means circa 0,075 mm.

The second improvement is also a repair. In the picture, you can see that the table got worn out really quickly in the middle and under the sanding drum. The particle board that I used unfortunately lacked a hard surface finish. I was searching for a long time for a suitable material to improve the surface but I could not find anything in an adequate size. All materials on offer are only sold either in huge pieces or in packages costing a few thousand crowns.

But I did find some old boards coated with bakelite in my garden shed. The thin layer could be peeled off fairly easily, but unfortunately, It was not of the correct width – just 20 cm instead of 30. So I used my angle grinder to cut off one strip 20 cm wide for the center of the table and two 10 cm strips for the sides.

I glued the strips on the table with PA glue and while it was curing, I weighed it down with plywood and bricks. As a consequence of using strips instead of just one piece, the result is not ideal but it is better and more scratch-resistant than the original surface.

Yesterday I finished the third batch of boards made from jatoba. And because the drum sander was not leaving a completely flawless surface finish, I bought an orbital sander. No matter how carefully used, the drum sander was always leaving ever so slight waves and stripes on the surface that were visible at certain angles after applying the oil finish. The orbital sander is perfect for blending in these imperfections and giving the surface the final touch-up before oiling it.

I planned to make a fourth batch of jatoba boards but I got bored with it so I decided to spice up things a bit for this batch. About that, next week.