pgosselin

Hi all,

I am well on my way to completing a homemade drum sander with a one hp, 110/220, one phase, reversible motor I got off of eBay. Only problem is that I can't distinguish which colored wires to connect to make this sucker run. I don't want to connect my wires incorrectly and blow something up.

There isn't a wiring diagram on the motor that I can tell. (Not even on the inside of the wiring access plate.) The other tricky thing is that this motor was manufactured in England so the colors of the wires may be different from the ones here in the US. If anyone can suggest how to wire this thing up, I would really appreciate it.

There are 5 wires: red, blue, yellow, black, and twisted yellow/green. After Googling electric wiring diagrams for an hour or so it looks to me like yellow/green is the British color code for the ground wire. It's the other wires I can't figure out.

Some other information if it will help:

The motor is reversible. It was manufactured by GEC Machines, Ltd. It is type BC2511/12DP. 1725 rpms. Frame 56. Capacitor start. 5/8" shaft.

Thanks for any help you can offer on this--even if it's to tell me how to use my multitester to figure it out.

Paul

I found this today and it looks cool. Just thought I would share.

Thickness sander

I noticed that he bought his polycarbonate drum in a kit from stockroomsupply.com. So I went to their Web site. They provide you with plans to build the box for the drum sander in the kit. However, their plan shows you feeding wood over top of the drum rather than underneath like most of the DIY drum sanders I have seen. The dust falls into a box underneath the drum. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to doing it this way? The kit is cheap enough for me. About half the price of the cheapest retail drum sanders I've seen. And if there is nothing wrong with the design of the machine, I will probably build it exactly the way they outlined it. I don't feel like reinventing the wheel unless I really need to. What do you all think of the design of this sander?

Paul Gosselin

I guess it would really depend on what wage you need. I would never be able to handle enough volume to match my families needs. I think you would really need to be a bit more diverse than just kits to make a living. It seems like a lot of people carry many lines of product, tech work, and custom work. Really though there is no reason why you can't test the waters. Do what you can while keeping your real job. If you get to a point where it seems like you can meet your income requirements then shift to part time. That is the best part you can keep it simple while you figure things out. I am sure you will find owning a full time business will demand more of your time than a full time job and a little part time dabbling in sales. Find that niche!

Peace,Rich

Thanks everyone for the additional replies. Rich you pretty much nailed what I am thinking about doing. I'll keep the day job and do some small tests to gage the interest out there. Hopefully, it will turn into a second string of income. If not, I won't lose too much money testing to see if the idea works.

Paul

Thanks for the advice guys,

I should have said this in the begining but yes i am trying to cut out the body shape and, I do already have a template, I orderd it off of Ron's site. It sounds like a router and jigsaw is the way that i want to go but i want to ask, which router and which jigsaw do you reccomend (does it have to be a Plunge router)? I want to know because the jigsaw that i looked at in the rental store would have had a pretty tough time cutting through the body blank.

Also Mickguard you said something about a template bearing bit from stewmac, is this it?

link

Thanks again.

Edit: Since ive already spent alot, do i need a router and jigsaw or could I make with just getting the router (not sure how that would work but....)?

I have to agree with one of the posters earlier. If you're serious about doing more of this I would recommend getting a bandsaw of no less than 14". I got mine from Grizzly Industrial (you can find them online) and I also got the riser block which increases the heigth so I can resaw raw lumber if I choose. The bandsaw itself is a good quality Taiwan copy of a Delta bandsaw. Not as nice as a Delta, but about half the price. It ran me somewhere in the $300 range when I bought it about 5 years ago. There are other Taiwan copies out there. The Jet brand comes to mind. Just shop around. The bandsaw can do a lot of jobs. With a thin blade it can also cut out pickguards. Don't scrimp too much on the bandsaw. You'll find it indispensable for things outside of guitar making, as well.

You also want a router for cutting out pickup caveties. You can do that job with a drill and a chisel, but it's not recommended. My router plunges, but I never use the plunge feature. I just slowly crank the bit shaft lower by a few eighth on every pass. Your bits will last a lot longer if you don't try to take off too much wood at a time.

Good luck.

Paul

I'm not sure anyone makes a living selling just kits.

I forget who said it first, but it was someone wise:

"In guitar building, the best way to make a small fortune is to start with a large one."

Thanks for replying, erikbojerik. I have heard that quote. I've also experience first-hand that many luthiers just eek out a living. (The one I apprenticed with certainly did. Then again, he seemed to really love his job.) I just keep looking at this hobby of mine and keep wondering if there is some way to make a decent living at it. Perhaps it is just a pipe dream.

Paul

Hi, everyone, I'm new here although I have been lurking around for months. There's a lot of great advice on this site (especially the tutorials) that you just won't finde at the Musical Instrument Maker's Forum, another great guitar building site.

Although I work 9 to 5, I have found myself thinking about starting an eBay business related to my hobby: guitar building. I'm thinking about focusing on the guitar kit market. Perhaps taking the Saga guitar kits and adding some upgrades to them. My questions to the board are:

1. Do you think there would be enough demand for me to start a business like this and eventually quit my day job?

2. What are your experiences with running a musical instrument retailing business on the Web? Good points and bad.

I'm purely in a research stage right now and just want to know whether or not I would be making a mistake. I would love to turn my hobby into a business, but before I take the leap, I'd like to know whether or not I can feed my family doing it.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Paul Gosselin