1 Attachment(s)
Razor restoration sander........
Here is a link to some pics of my new sander I use to restore straight razors and 3 razors that I tested the equipment on, with before and after pics.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyda...7628301756225/
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6...947366d7_o.jpg DSCN3115 by randydance062449, on Flickr
This started life as a wood lathe for pen makers. What made this so attractive for razor restoration is the variable speed control. Initially the distance between the headstock and tailstock was to short. So I asked my friend Dennis & Geezer what could be done. Dennis took a MT1 arbor with a machinable end, bored it out and drilled and tapped the threads for the headstock. Then He did the same for the tailstock but inserted an oilite bushing instead of a bearing. The shaft, 1/2", is thick enough to minimize centrifical force, is flat ground on the headstock end and turned to the proper diameter for the tailstock.
The sanding wheel is 1.5" in diameter, 1" wide, and has a layer of "cushion" wrapped around it, about 30-40 durometer. The cushion allows the wheel to conform more closely to the radius of the blade, but....it is not perfect, just better. The total diameter is about 1 3/4" and that fits 9/16" blades.
To attach the sandpaper a layer of double sided carpet tape is wrapped around the cushioned wheel. Then the sandpaper is cut and applied to the tape/wheel. I am using shop rolls for sandpaper up to 600 grit.
The sandpaper lasts longer than I thought it would and comes off the tape easily. The nice part is that I do not have to change the tape very often.
The best part is that you can sand out pitting etc far faster than buffing with greasless compound.
If I were to do this again I would use a lathe with a distance between centers of 20" or more. Then you could use a sandard 3 jaw chuck in the headstock and a cone live center in the tailstock. I would also increase the diameter of the shaft to 3/4" to be on the safe side. A 1/2" shaft works fine but the 3/4" would probably do better.
RodB and Skipnord were over to my home today so I gave them a brief demo.......RodB has already reserved time on the machine! http://www.razorandstone.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png