Thread: Belt sander question

Originally Posted by vladsch

Jason, it won't work with an induction motor. You need a brush motor for the pedal to work. I tried anyway with my belt sander and it did not work.

Vlad, do you have any ideas for sourcing such a motor?

Try an industrial motor supplier. In Montreal we have Snowdon Electric. They sell all kinds of motors, parts and accessories. I am sure there are a few in Toronto.

You may even find a motor that fits the same form factor: mounts, dimensions and shaft.

Vlad, how did you try to slow yours down? The reason I'm asking is that I was discussing it with this mechanical engineer who had lots of hands-on experience with electrical work and he suggested a POSSIBLE solution using a SSR+pot setup. If you tried a different route and would like to try this one, I can scan the diagram that he drew.

Well I was Skyping with Joe today and convinced myself I needed a reasonable sander. Well that is..Joe convinced me.

I managed to find a Ryobi 1" vertical sander with side wheel disk sander for about $85.

I'm not going to use it on blades, just for scale shaping. I tried it tonight, what a difference, sooooooooo easy.

I also tried the doublesided carpet tape (found some Joe) and life is even easier.

Bill, if you're reading this, I've watched your video a few times and studied the pics and now all is clear as mud. Having the right tools makes all the difference.

Gary

Super, Gary! Ryobi makes a good tool, too. That's what my drill press is.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

.... and would like to try this one, I can scan the diagram that he drew.

Iliya, did you really need to ask? Of course I want to see it. Even if I tried something similar he might have a different twist on it.

Thanks Gary and Joe, that is all the prodding that I needed. I have a 4x36 belt sander. It is good enough for shaping the scales but not ideal. I have been eye balling 1" sanders for the last week and now you guys have convinced me to pick one up.

I've got a 1" x 36" belt and a little 6" wheel. You can usually pick them up for under $100, $50 on sale. It's a great little tool, good for shaping, sharpening (tools NOT RAZORS) and all sorts.

If you don't use it already, buy some of the rubbery eraser like blocks that are used to clean sanding belts. What a difference in belt and disc life. As long as you don't damage the belt or cake the grit with something like wax, these erasers can take anything off of sandpaper. I picked mine up at Lee Valley for under $10 and I've been using it on two belt sanders, dremel sanding wheels, drum sanders in my drill press and sanding discs that I've got on my lathe. It's about a quarter gone, since it rubs away like an eraser, but I've been using it for about a year or so. Realistically, one of the best $2.50 investments I've ever made. I just picked up a new one in the USA a couple weeks back. It was at a discount tool place and they were about $4, but bigger than the lee valley version. I'll see if I can remember the name of the place. It was like a big discount hardware, but they had some larger planers, lathes and bandsaws.

Hi Gary, Those scales that are on that razor that you bought from me were made on the Delta 1" sander that I bought. That machine really makes things nicer. I use it on everything that needs a little bit sanding. As soon as I remember where I bought them I will post the link to where you can get up to 320 grit belts.

That rubber eraser that Matt is talking about is also cool. It actually works and cleans the belts.

Ah ha I found it...........I bought the belts from here, coastaltools.com, the 1" x 42" belts are at the link below. I also found a bunch of them on eBay for some ridiculously low price:

The second link takes you to eBay for some 1" x 42" belts:

http://coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/SoftC...aaf+1162945985


http://search.ebay.com/1-x-42-belts_...tsearchZSearch

I have the eraser too. It does magic on the belts.

The one I have is 1.75 x 1.75 x 10". It lasts forever. I got it a couple of years ago and barely used up 1". These things pay for themselves in less than two belts by extending the belt's useful life.