Slow turning horizontal disc sanders!

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
I thought I posted about this when I first got it up and running but I did a couple searches and couldn't find anything.
This sander has made such a difference in the quality of my folders it's amazing!
It makes keeping everything dead flat and square a no brainer.
That in itself helps makes your folders work smoother.
I initially built the sander for deburring and just cleaning up parts. I had no idea it would help me so much on my folders.
I used a dc geared motor I bought on Ebay and a controller I already had. I made the base disc out of an aluminum disc and an aluminum hub. Since it turns so slow, 50 rpm, the thing doesn't need to be dead center. I drilled a hole through the disc and hub and put a bolt through them. Then drilled 4 holes through the disc into the hub for screws. It's held up fine so far.
The discs that have the sand paper on them are cut from a salvaged computer desk. It's laminate so it's smooth and hard, perfect for gluing sand paper to. I cut 11 discs out and I glue up 60, 120, 220, 400, and 800 grit paper on them. It's nice to be able to change grits quickly on a disc sander. One trick I learned for removing old sand paper from a disc is to spray it with WD40 and let it sit for a while. It usually peels right off. Then spray some WD40 onto the disc and use a sharp wood chisel to clean the rest of the glue residue off and wipe it clean with alcohol or acetone. Sure is a lot easier than scraping the paper off.
The black line on the laminate disc is a witness mark and corresponds to a groove I filed in the aluminum disc. Makes it easier to line up the pins with the holes.
I just wanted to share this with you guys and suggest that any of you who are thinking about getting into folder making should get one these slow turning horizontal disc sanders. You'll love it!
Take care folks!
Michael
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Michael,
I have a VS motor that I intend to use for just the same purpose. I
still haven't quite decided between horizontal and vertical. At the slow speed it would seem to be useful for final shaping and cut down on the handwork for sharpening.
You don't find the extra weight to be a problem? I really like the idea of quick changing discs!
Thanks for the ideas,
Lynn
 
The changable disc system is definitely cool, but what I've done is to hang a heat gun over my horizontal disc station and just change them out when they're worn directly from the disc. This tool really saves time in getting flats really flat as well as flattening out a flat grind nicely...then go to the jitter-bug sander and work through the grits and pull a few times with a Micarta block to get paralel lines and you're done! :) a huge timesaver imho.

:)

-Darren
 
Michael,

That rig is super! I have a question though... Is the variable-speeds necessary? Do you find yourself slowing down from 50 rpm much?
 
jhiggins said:
Michael,

That rig is super! I have a question though... Is the variable-speeds necessary? Do you find yourself slowing down from 50 rpm much?
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I'm not Michael, but I think I can answer this one! :) I have all of mine on variable speed DC motors and wish I had them either on variable speed AC VFDs or a reduction gearbox to really slow them down, as I always run them at a pretty slow speed...basically anything that would allow them to run slow without dropping out on the torque would be a good thing! While my variable speed 2 h.p. DC treadmill motors work well for my buffers, the work for the horizontal grinders, but I will opt for a different solution as soon as I can afford one.

:)

-Darren
 
Thanks guys!! I love building whacky things!
I got the interchangeable disc idea from Tracy Dotson when I visited his shop a couple years ago.

Lynn, I don't understand what you mean by extra weight. If you're referring to the load on my rotating work bench, nawe, that thing is built like a tank. I think you could sit a truck on it and still turn it, lol.

Darren, I just got a new jitter bug and I'm setting up a reversible disc sander and plan on flat grinding some of my smaller folder blades. Thanks for the tips!!!

JH, nope, it doesn't really need a controller, I just didn't know any other way to hook it up. I never run it slower than 50 rpm. I don't remember what the horse power is. I'll check it out when I'm in the shop today. It sure is a torquer! No matter how hard I push down on the thing it doesn't slow down a bit.
 
L6steel said:
Thanks guys!! JH, nope, it doesn't really need a controller, I just didn't know any other way to hook it up. I never run it slower than 50 rpm. I don't remember what the horse power is. I'll check it out when I'm in the shop today. It sure is a torquer! No matter how hard I push down on the thing it doesn't slow down a bit.
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I'm sure that practically anything with 60:1 reduction will suffice even if it's less than 1/2 hp. I have a couple dc gearmotors and drives, but not sure I want to go to the trouble of using the drives if an AC motor churning a fixed speed would be okay. I guess I'm having trouble deciding if a speed less than say, 50 rpm is beneficial. Darrel... how low of a speed do you use yours? I can buy gearmotors that will chug down to 2 rpm with no loss of torque whatsoever, and would yank your arm off if you wanted it to.

So... is the variable speed feature absolutely necessary and practical? Comments please! :D
 
So... is the variable speed feature absolutely necessary and practical?

Not unless the motor you're using is too fast, lol!
 
L6steel said:
So... is the variable speed feature absolutely necessary and practical?

Not unless the motor you're using is too fast, lol!
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Does the 50 rpm speed you prefer seem to be "about right" for what you are doing? I guess I'll have to mock one up and look for the right speed (for me). I'll swap out to an AC motor when I find the speed that suits me.

By the way... a handy little device I picked up is a contact tachometer/speedometer. It's a handheld digital readout with a little rubber wheel on one end. You hold the wheel against whatever you want, and it will read the speeds in feet per minute and also rpm. Pretty clever little device. I think it was MSC where I got mine.
 
Well done! Thanks Michael. I think I know what my next project is now...

Shalom,
Mark
 
If anyone's interested, I have one of those gear reduction, double shaft VS DC motors, and the control on the knifemakers equipment for sale. Have to go back a ways, but it's there, and it's still for sale. :eek:
 
JH, when I first got the motor I was worried it would be too slow but it's just right. Sometimes the piece I'm working on will slip out from under my fingers and at this speed it doesn't get shot across the room and my fingers don't get mauled. Plus you can work a piece for along time without getting it hot. I guess that's what made me finally turn my Wilton down to a crawl. Super slow makes such a difference in the finishing stages.
 
L6steel said:
JH, when I first got the motor I was worried it would be too slow but it's just right. Sometimes the piece I'm working on will slip out from under my fingers and at this speed it doesn't get shot across the room and my fingers don't get mauled. Plus you can work a piece for along time without getting it hot. I guess that's what made me finally turn my Wilton down to a crawl. Super slow makes such a difference in the finishing stages.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bubba. I guess I gotta make me one then. You come up with some pretty cool ideas!
 
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