I HATE small rubber barrels for small sanding drums!

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
5,703
This is what I am talking about:

small_barrel.jpg

I hate them with a passion. :mad: I always have the hardest time taking the drum off. Most of the time I end up using pliers and having to destroy the sanding drum to remove it. Then there is trying to get a new one on. If it's too loose I can't tighten the screw on top enough to prevent the drum from spinning. Or it's too tight and and I can not get the drum completely on there! Did I mention I HATE them! :mad:

Anyone has any tricks that can, if not make them work perfectly, at least help me keep the little sanity I have left? :(

Thanks
 
Me too! They're definitely a love hate thing. Since they do cut pretty good I don't want to give up on them. I've tried spit and nose oil, but still can't get the little buggas on. Maybe a little talc powder? I can't remember if I ever tried it by pulling the drum through the sleeve from the shank end. Hmmm....
 
I have fair luck by rubbing the drum with chalk, but sometimes nothing seems to work.
 
I tried talc but it didn't always help that much. It's really frustrating when I twist the screw in so hard it breaks... and the sleeve still doesn't fit... and the last sleeve wouldn't go on!

I wonder if atmospheric moisture is having an effect on the sleeves?

...feeling the pain...
 
I use dozens a day. Here is the trick;

The rubber drum takes a set while squeezed down tight to hold the sanding sleeve.
Loosen the screw a lot ( at least four turns), and set the sleeve/drum on the table top. Roll it back and forth applying firm pressure with the palm of your hand. This will compress the drum back into normal size. The old sleeve should slip off and the new one go on now.
Also, to help avoid this problem, only tighten the screw just snug enough to keep the sleeve in place.

Tip #2 - get a twelve pack of drums. Put sleeves on all of them....and change drums as the sleeves wear out. Then when all the dozen are used, take a few minutes to change all of them. This only costs a few extra bucks, but saves a lot of time and cursing.

Tip#3:
Buying the drums individually and the sleeves in 12 packs from the hobby shop is very expensive when compared to buying the drums by the dozen and the sleeves in a box of 100/1000 from a supplier. In bulk from a supplier they are usually 1/4 the price or less .
 
Great tips, Stacy. Thank you!

bladsmth said:
Tip#3: Buying the drums individually and the sleeves in 12 packs from the hobby shop is very expensive when compared to buying the drums by the dozen and the sleeves in a box of 100/1000 from a supplier. In bulk from a supplier they are usually 1/4 the price or less .
Click to expand...

I can vouch for that, too. I get better prices, better quality, and more grit choices buying my sleeves from MSC. I imagine there are other suppliers worth looking into as well.

On the other hand, I stumbled across these and think I'm going to give them a try. Available in small sizes for those itty-bitty spaces, looks much easier to change out the abrasive, and you could put whatever paper you want in there. 2000-grit finish on the inside of the sharpening notch? Yes, please!
There may be a little fiddling around involved to deal with different thicknesses of paper but I think it's worth a shot for a couple bucks apiece for the mandrels.
 
The small ones like you use with a dremmel, I usually have more trouble with getting them on all the way, more so than getting them off. I coat the rubber before inserting the rubber drum into the sleeve with a can of spay silicone. Spray it on and it will lube it up where it slides the drum up on it easily. It will dry under the sanding sleeve and then when done I have found that it seems to make the used drum slide off more easily! But I also have used Bladesmth's tip of rolling them too, to help release the drum if they sometimes if it wants to be difficult to get off.
 
I hate the ones with the screw on top. I use the ones that have the nut at the shank. Buying multiple drums is the way to go. You can put different grit sleeves on them, and just switch drums when you're ready. Beside the rolling around on a flat surface I throw the rubber drums in ice water before I put sleeves on them.
 
In addition to buying/using multiple drums I find that if I use hairspray on the drum it helps the sleeve slide on when wet and works as a light adhesive when it dries to stop them from spinning on the drum. A dip in warm water disolves the hairspray when you want to change them out. I use this to put grips on bicycles or also on tools with a similar type handle that starts to spin after use.


-xander
 
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