Blade restoration using Dremel

I have been thinking for a while how to improve my technique with Dremel for more consistent results when restoring blades, and I found a convenient solution.
For my restorations I use a 1/2" sanding drum and I make my own sand paper sleeves as described here .

I found that using those short sanding sleeves leaves uneven scratch pattern that I just hated , I like things to be nice and even and symmetric.
I do not have a work shop so I needed to get my hands on a sanding drum that was 2-3" long and fits Dremel, well there is no such thing suitable for Dremel.

Today I was reading the Caswell buffing tutorial and I came with an idea that turned out great for solving my problem.
I made a sanding drum sleeve that can be used on my 1/2"x1/2" drum for working on a whole blade at once.
I started with packing tape and sand paper (220/320/400/600/1500)
and made the sanding sleeves:

http://i47.tinypic.com/2i0bql2.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/o08m79.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/20p3i4o.jpg



I cut the sleeves roughly 2-2.5" long.
The trick to ensure that the sleeve will not bend/tear on the sand drum is to use 2 layers of tape under the sand paper. The tape is sturdy enough to hold well and not come apart.


http://i45.tinypic.com/20uo36s.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/29w0sgk.jpg

After the 1500 sand paper
http://i50.tinypic.com/15oufix.jpg

After some buffing with Maas
http://i50.tinypic.com/2v7uo75.jpg


All 4 razors were done in ~3 hours.
Now I'll run the razors in a Tumbler with corn cob media to see how the finish turns out.

Great idea. I wouldn't have believed it worked without seeing the result pictures. I'll definately look for a suitable rod or tube.

Is there any deformation of the sleeve where it's over the drum bit?

Perhaps a sleeve with a bigger diameter and custom drum would work better although I would already be happy if I get this to work :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Piet

Great idea. I wouldn't have believed it worked without seeing the result pictures. I'll definately look for a suitable rod or tube.

Is there any deformation of the sleeve where it's over the drum bit?

Perhaps a sleeve with a bigger diameter and custom drum would work better although I would already be happy if I get this to work :)

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no deformation over the drum. I believe that larger diameter drum will work even better since you will be able to cover larger area at once, I just do not have the means to make a custom one.

Man I love this site. Brilliant. I will be stealing that idea.

David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Proraso Man

not a bad idea- did you notice that there is a "grain" to the metal now from sanding the blade that way?

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yes there is unless you put it to a buffer, and possibly tumbler.

Have you tried this drum? Web Store Item Detail Page

Quote:

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Originally Posted by qballizhere

Have you tried this drum? Web Store Item Detail Page

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no , I was looking for one like this but with 1/8" shank and was not able to find. It should not be hard to make one too but I do not have the tools.
The one you posted is with 1/4" shank and will not fit a Dremel.

but you can take it down to 1/8" shank or use a drill with it ie cordless

I was wondering, is there some knack to keeping the sanding drum rigid? As there is 2.5" above the drum, I've been wondering on this for a while and google wouldnt give me anything, lol who woulda knew I only had to look around somewhere I go every day :p

I plan on using these in conjunction with my dremel and buying a dremel stand, that way I have a desktop workshop, sander, buffer and press drill all in one :D

Geek

Brilliant!!!! I love it. I Know exactally what you mean about the wobbly sanding marks from the 1/2 in drum on the dremel. What a cool Idea. Thanks for sharing.
Tony

This is a great method. However I experienced difficulty sourcing a metal or plastic rod of appropriate diameter. I had the idea of using a wooden rod so after a little searching around I found a suitable diameter of cane (which has a smooth surface) from the greenhouse and I cut the cane down to a suitable length. This works very well with the advantage that the inner sticky tape (with its smooth side in) can be secured with a pin so that its tendency to slip along the rod can be overcome when winding the tape down the rod.

Go to any hobby store and use a 1/2" wooden dowel can get it for under 2 bucks

What do you use for a mandrel for wrapping the tape/sandpaper?

How did you deal with sanding both sides of the blade with a non reversible dremel?
Didnt you run into the problem of sanding toward the blade end?

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Originally Posted by souschefdude

How did you deal with sanding both sides of the blade with a non reversible dremel?
Didnt you run into the problem of sanding toward the blade end?

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if you use a magnetic jig and are careful it works. Still the risk of messing up a blade is high.