Thread: Flap wheel questions

I bought the 120, 240 and 400-grit flap wheels from Widgetsupply.com. I tried one out today, and I'm getting some chattering. Should I be using more pressure, less pressure, more speed, less?

I'm using a Dremel with the flex-shaft, and the speed is on two, I think.

Any miscellaneous tips for using these things? I'm restoring a big W&B half-hollow.

Josh

I use the same flapwheels without any problem...

I use the in the most slow speed.....

When are you getting the chattering? at the moment the flap touch the blade? after the pressure?

They're top-heavy so you need to slide them all the way in and make sure you tighten well.

Ilija, there are certain topics that I KNOW will get a response from you. Flap wheels and chromium oxide are two of them.

I didn't slide the bar all the way into the Dremel's chuck, so I'll try that.

The chattering starts as the wheel hits the blade, as soon as it's doing more than just brushing the metal.

These are pretty cool, though.

Josh

Hi,

What size flap wheels do you use, meaning what diameter? And are these used in place of sanding by hand with the wet and dry? How bad does the blade have to be before you would use a flap wheel?

Thanks

John

1.5" diameter and 0.5" thickness. The 400 grit finish is a half-decent satin. To go finer you need to make Jason's drums or use radial bristle discs as fine as 1 micron.

FireStart...where do you get the radial bristle discs?

I didn't.. I was trying to find a good way to use the 2" or 3" ones without buying a Foredom, which is way out of my budget.

Bill in his CD use some bristle disks with his dremmel....a very small ones....

I search for them in Widget Supply without luck....

You can buy them from Otto Frei (google them). Joe said that the mandrel that fits the 5/8 discs should go into a Dremel. You need to stack about 6 of them per grit but they should be ok for dozens of blades.