I don’t need a spindle sander often enough to justify a dedicated machine. So I bought a set of sanding drums for my drill press. While these are very handy, they aren’t as effective as a spindle sander because they don’t oscillate up and down to distribute wear on the paper and minimize deep scratches. So I thought up a simple solution.

It starts with a shopmade platform that allows the drum to pass through it. The other component is a foot pedal, which lets me move the drum up and down while keeping my hands free to control the work. The pedal is attached to a cord that pulls the drill-press handle down, and the spring in the drill press returns the chuck and handle to its upper (retracted) position. I made the pedal from two pieces of scrap and a spring-loaded gate hinge, installed so the pedal rises when foot pressure is released. Attach the cord to the pedal and the drill-press handle, and you’re ready to start tapping your foot and sanding smooth curves.

—JIM BELKNAP, Vero Beach, Fla.

Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking issue #293

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Hedgehog featherboards

The Hedgehog's unique spiral shape and single knob make it easy to set up and fast to adjust.

Buy at Amazon

Grizzly G0495X Industrial Helical Cutterhead 8-in. Jointer

Regardless of the board’s grain, this jointer produced excellent results. Its fence was totally flat, worked smoothly, and locked well, staying in place even after jointing multiple edges. Getting the fence to 90° was very easy, but the 90° stop was a little tricky to set and the fence did not go back to square when using it. For those who would use it, there is also a digital depth-of-cut scale.

Buy at Amazon

Oneida’s Super Cell Dust Collector

30-Gal with Wall Mount

Buy at Amazon