Thread: Power tooling for the poor

A few days ago, I had an epiphany. In bed, sadly, so I had to wait for the night to pass until I could go and act upon it. I am proud to say I still have enough fingers to type the following disclaimer:
This is not intended as a guide. Do not modify power tools unless you understand the risk, take full responsibility and are a little mad.

You see, I want a belt sander and a band saw to speed up my scale-making, but cannot quite afford those, being a student on a student's quintessential budget. I do have a jig saw and a buffing wheel, but lack the compounds for the buffing wheel: terribly hard to find at a reasonable price in the Netherlands.

So here goes: the buffing wheel as a sander. Tape wrapped with the sticky side out, two strokes of sand paper stuck on them (strokes weren't long enough to wrap the wheel with only one). To reduce the risk of the strokes coming off, I cut the ends at an angle and let them overlap slightly, so that no beginning of a strap can catch on whatever is being sanded.



After that, I trimmed the sides of the tape:


I made sand paper wheels of several different grits, marking the grit on the inside:


The result is very satisfactory. I finished modifying and rescaling a Gold Dollar yesterday (pics coming up soon) without hand sanding (which I loathe). If you intend to do the same, note that the sand paper may come loose or have small bits flying off, which may catch that which you are sanding and send it flying.


Next up is the modified jig saw. I drilled four holes in its bottom plate and screwed it upside down in a closet that the previous residents had hung on the basement wall. I wanted to make a small table myself at first, but lacked table legs and this closet is not in use anyway. I made a guide of a piece of scrap wood and screwed it some 3 mm away from the saw, just for scale-wide slats.

Everytime I use it, I check if the screws are still sound. Soon, I will also connect an emergency string: in case it comes off while working, it will be suspended from that string, where I will try to prevent the saw from being able to cut the string.

I took lousy pictures, here goes:



The saw and guide:



Again, the result is very satisfactory. I am able to saw scales much faster and more precise than I used to with my coping saw. The blades can be changed quite easily as well.
There are a few cons here. The sawing height is very limited and I need to press on the wood I'm sawing to prevent it from being thrusted upwards. Also, the saw can be difficult to see when there is a lot of dust, hence I place my fingers as far away from it as I can. As a last point, this being made inside a closet, the width is quite limited, but that does not bother me much if I plan my sawing well.

Again: this is dangerous! Hand-held power tools should be held in hand. I am aware of the risk I take and would advise anyone against repeating these modifications.

'Nuff said! I'm really happy with my upgrades and will be using them gladly. Comments and criticisms are very welcome, I'm curious what the discussion will lead to

Shows you're thinking. Thomas Edison would be proud of you. Just be careful

Thank you, and I will!

Necessity is the mother of invention. I am sure you will find ways to improve them as you go.
Nice work, and as has been said.....be carefull!

All above have said to be carefull,Be very carefull,at the very least wear safety glasses when using the sanding rig,full face shield would be best.
I understand the plight of the starving student,I was one.
Not raining on your parade,but IMO, those devices are accidents waiting to happen.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

All above have said to be carefull,Be very carefull,at the very least wear safety glasses when using the sanding rig,full face shield would be best.
I understand the plight of the starving student,I was one.
Not raining on your parade,but IMO, those devices are accidents waiting to happen.

I agree. The jigsaw is the safer of the two, IMO, but would benefit from a blade with reversed teeth so that it would work coming down instead of up. (if you see what I mean!)
Fine teeth to minimalise grabbing, I think. That sander? Don't lay into it too much. Scary! I hope the thing turrns slowly!

Guard your digits well, my friend. You can't pick your nose without them.

You sure did use your imagination though. Good job.....

I made my first set of kitchen cabinets with a circular saw mounted upside-down in a sheet of plywood and a router mounted in a similar fashion. It's good to see you working out what you need.

Buy something like this: Google Image Result for http://www.pammatools.com/estore/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/o/cone-loc_drum_sander_for_shop_rolls_1.png

You'll have a much better surface than buffing wheels and tape, no eccentric motion to drive you crazy or catch the work and fling it and you can use shop roll abrasives or sandpaper to your heart's content.

A sanding drum on a drill is a safe way to go too ! I have made a lot of my own tolls for the same reason you did but heed your own warnings. The hard lessons are remembered best but that does not make them the best way to learn. Good luck and play safe.

Ask for a Dremmel for Christmas !