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Small wheel alternative?
- Thread starter Ferret
- Start date
G'day, mate, and a belated Happy New Year (still eight hours to go here). Rob Frink has an aluminum block, small wheel device on his site that clamps to your work bench and could be adapted to most grinders--pretty nifty. I'd like to hear other ideas too (no dowels!
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- Joined
- Oct 6, 1998
- Messages
- 2,300
Ferret,
A few years ago I picked up a Sears (Ryobi) benchtop occilating spindle sander. It has wheels from 1/2" to 2". I have the same wheels on the Square Wheel but with this sander I get a true 90 degree grind. It's the best thing I've found for sanding the radius on the inside of my folder backspacers.
A few years ago I picked up a Sears (Ryobi) benchtop occilating spindle sander. It has wheels from 1/2" to 2". I have the same wheels on the Square Wheel but with this sander I get a true 90 degree grind. It's the best thing I've found for sanding the radius on the inside of my folder backspacers.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 1999
- Messages
- 3,745
I hadn't thought of that Ferret. For a less expensive route, you could make a wooden table to fit on your drill press table. In the middle of the table(s). drill a hole the size of the drum sander that matches the curves your working on. Raise the table so the drum is in the hole and grind away. As the drum wears, raise the table more.
- Joined
- May 30, 2001
- Messages
- 243
mount a router upside down and put a carbinde bit in it and go to town
another thing I did was get a cheap bench grinder and get a tracking wheel and put it behind it and take the wheel on one side of the grinder and put heater hose over the shaft and put a belt on and
start grinding it works On my first knife which I am almost done
that is how I did the finger groves in it.I got my tracking wheel
from koval.just a couple ideas
another thing I did was get a cheap bench grinder and get a tracking wheel and put it behind it and take the wheel on one side of the grinder and put heater hose over the shaft and put a belt on and
start grinding it works On my first knife which I am almost done
that is how I did the finger groves in it.I got my tracking wheel
from koval.just a couple ideas
Ferret
A cheap local alternative might be to use die grinder bits. They are a small ceramic grinding stone set on a metal spindle. Die grinders are used a lot to port heads on engines (smooth out inlet manifolds) as well as tool making. A proper die grinder hand piece runs off compressed air, however they work fine in a normal power drill. I picked up a couple of packs(5 or 6 different ones in a pack) for about $5 from some discount stores (Crazy Prices @ Northrocks) when they had them. If you can't find them there, the tool sellers at Parklea Markets always has them around $8 to $10 a pack. If you have trouble finding them or need more info drop me an email
Regards
Pinpoint
A cheap local alternative might be to use die grinder bits. They are a small ceramic grinding stone set on a metal spindle. Die grinders are used a lot to port heads on engines (smooth out inlet manifolds) as well as tool making. A proper die grinder hand piece runs off compressed air, however they work fine in a normal power drill. I picked up a couple of packs(5 or 6 different ones in a pack) for about $5 from some discount stores (Crazy Prices @ Northrocks) when they had them. If you can't find them there, the tool sellers at Parklea Markets always has them around $8 to $10 a pack. If you have trouble finding them or need more info drop me an email
Regards
Pinpoint
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2000
- Messages
- 2,468
Die grinder bits do work but they tend to load up with residue rather quickly. Also, using a handheld tool never seems to get things as smooth as when the tool is fixed and you're bringing the work into it.
I like the idea of slipping a rubber hose over the end of a motor shaft and a belt over that. Also, the set up that DC knives has is WAY cool!
I like the idea of slipping a rubber hose over the end of a motor shaft and a belt over that. Also, the set up that DC knives has is WAY cool!
That's a nicely made rig DC.
For Kit Carson, do the Ryobi sleeves last very long on metal? Thanks.
I just might try that heater hose set up too, add a shaft or two (three or four? wheel) and rotate it to horizontal ala DC. A quarter inch wheel would be nice at times too, though the bearing system would have to be set up similar to Rob Frink's design (for longevity).
For Kit Carson, do the Ryobi sleeves last very long on metal? Thanks.
I just might try that heater hose set up too, add a shaft or two (three or four? wheel) and rotate it to horizontal ala DC. A quarter inch wheel would be nice at times too, though the bearing system would have to be set up similar to Rob Frink's design (for longevity).
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2000
- Messages
- 265
Some of the tooling suppliers sell rubber drums mounted on a 1/4" shank and abrasive sleeves in various grits which cover them and hold the abrasive sleeve in place by expanding the drum slightly with a jam nut.
Sized from 1/2" thru 2" diam. and several legnth options available. I have a 3/4" and 1" that I chuck in a drill press at 3400 rpm. I think the 1" long ones are most useful for me and at the best pricing. Boxes of 50 or 100 sleeves on sale from time to time. Inexpensive and work surprisingly well.
Some hardware suppliers carry them also but the abrasive sleeves seem more expensive.
ENCO carries them and others also. WWW.use-enco.com
Sized from 1/2" thru 2" diam. and several legnth options available. I have a 3/4" and 1" that I chuck in a drill press at 3400 rpm. I think the 1" long ones are most useful for me and at the best pricing. Boxes of 50 or 100 sleeves on sale from time to time. Inexpensive and work surprisingly well.
Some hardware suppliers carry them also but the abrasive sleeves seem more expensive.
ENCO carries them and others also. WWW.use-enco.com
Thanks for your kind comments.I was using the abrasive sleeve method on both drill press and Dremels and just figured there had to be a better way.I found that the sleeves didn't last very long for me especially with the Dremels.I have a 1"x42" Craftsman that I use for handle work, so figured it would be a good size to try this.Total cost with new motor,new wheels from Bader was around $250.I find that is much faster,the belts last longer and has been a fun project.Dave