I still have no good source for sanding sleeves for my oscillating spindle sander but I do no longer care because the sanding drum presented here comes to the rescue. This somewhat expensive tool allows to attach sheets from ordinary 100 mm wide sandpaper rolls and is usually used on large shapers. Felder offers drums in three different diameters. I bought the smallest one with 45 mm diameter.
The sanding drum is made of aluminum and consists of two parts: an inner tube that acts as a clamping lever and slotted outer sleeve.
Fixing the sandpaper to the drum is straightforward. Stick the paper ends into the outer sleeve as shown, insert the center tube and turn it clockwise to lock the whole assembly plus the paper. This patented system works because of the CNC machined excentric outside of the inner tube that acts like a cam. The drawing above shows a cross section of the inner tube.
Great. But wait, this is intended for European shapers with 30 mm spindle diameter and my spindle sander has a 1/2 inch spindle!
My mounting solution consist of a custom made aluminum adapter tube, a star grip and a large diameter mudguard washer.
The 10 mm x 40 mm mudguard washer keeps the sanding drum at the correct height on the spindle. I enlarged the 10 mm hole of the washer on the drill press using a 1/2 inch drill bit.
The 100 mm long adapter tube with 30 mm outer diameter and 12,7 mm (1/2 inch) inner diameter centers the sanding drum accurately on the spindle. It was made on a lathe by a metal shop using my drill bit.
The sanding drum is a bit longer than the ones that came with the machine but the M8 star grip reaches deep enough onto the spindle thread to allow fixing the drum.
And here it is, my economy spindle sander with attached professional sanding drum. Looks good doesn't it?
I'm happy because my search for proper sanding sleeves is over. Now I can install any grit I want. Attaching new sandpaper is easy. This was money well spend.
Manufacturer link: FELDER (Look for the product under Tooling > Sanding > Grinding or sanding tools).
CLARIFICATION. I don't have any relationship with the manufacturer and bought the tool at a regular price for my own use.