Router Drum Mill
Introduction: Router Drum Mill
Router mills are the go to shop fixture for stave and segmented drum builders who don't have or choose not to use a lathe. I'm not anti-lathe, but I'd want a precision setup with autofeed and a machine capable of turning 14"+ diameter shells isn't small, nor in the current budget.
A quick search will produce pages of results with varied designs, so I'm not blazing any new trails in that regard. Instead, I'm taking what I deem to be the best parts of multiple existing designs, combining them into a dual purpose machine, and further expanding on my modular drum fixture system.
The risers I made for the Table Saw Drum Mill will fit onto this fixture for the outside milling operation. And the conveyor rollers for this fixture are shorter version of what I used for my Drum Shell Roller Jig, so they're also cross compatible.
A lot of the components were built to fit and measured afterwards, so while I'll drop dimensions here and there, I'll also list them all in the final step for those interested.
Supplies
3/4" plywood
Screws
Carriage bolts
T-nuts
3/8" acme rod and nuts
5/16" star knobs
1/4" acrylic
1/16" aluminum angle stock
Conveyor rollers
Aluminum angle stock
Fender washers
5/8"top collars
Minimal blood and sweat
No tears
Step 1: Deck and Dadoes
The deck is made from 3/4" plywood - cut to 20" x 36" [Fig. 1-2]. In the dead center of the deck, I drilled a 1 1/2" hole [Fig. 3], which I then rounded over on both sides. I'll probably never use this hole, but I might want to the option of mounting a router on the underside in the future, and it's easier to drill the hole now than later.
Next up were dadoes - around 1/4" in depth. I'm using a dado stack set up for 3/4" plywood.
Fence Dadoes: A central field of 27 1/2" is necessary for the rollers, so I mark 13 3/4" left and right of center to establish the inside cut line. Once that was cut was made on both ends, the fence was moved and successive cuts made until two layers of 3/4" fit into the recess [Fig. 4-6].
T-Track Dado: A centered groove was cut down the length of the deck in one pass [Fig. 7].
Side Gusset Dadoes: Fence was set 1 1/4" from the blade edge and stop blocks used to make the cuts [Fig. 8-9].
Note: I did make two of the cuts from the backside of the saw (reverse). 582
That's like making a climb cut on a router, so don't do it unless you are comfortable with machine and accept the risk.
Step 2: Fence Laminations and Gussets
The fence stock is a 2 layer lamination of 3/4" plywood. It was glued up oversized and once cured, cut to final dimensions of 4 7/8" x 20" [Fig. 1-4]. Dadoes were cut into outer face to accommodate support gussets.
Note: The dadoes were cut at the same time as the deck to ensure accurate alignment.
The gussets are 3/4" plywood. The height of 4 7/8" was known and i just marked the width in place [Fig. 5]. The flat offsets were marked by eye, connected with a line, and then the Rockler crosscut sled used to batch out six identical parts [Fig. 6-8].
Step 3: Fence Slots
The fence slots were cut on the router table with a 1/2" bit, a lot of set up, and some clenched cheeks.
The router fence was tightened to the table and then a few more turns were made for good measure. Stop block on the left ... stop block on the right .. and a larger piece of wood clamped to the front of the table. The large block keeps the work piece tight against the fence.
This type of plunge cut on a router table can be intimidating because the bit can be "grabby" due to the climb cutting forces.
The slots were cut in multiple passes - raising the bit each time. A CNC would be more comfortable, but I don't have one. Another method could be using a template and guide bushing, but you'd probably need to make the cut from both sides for this depth and getting perfect alignment would be tricky. 599