Thread: W.A.S.P. Invention

I dunno i'll probably get shot down... but... whats so new and special about it? This type of thing has been round for ages.

Whats the impact with the lateral stress on the bearings?

Hello Shane and Iain,

What's new?
Let me give you a list
- change form a coarse, to a medium, to a smooth grit in seconds. That means you are more likely ot choose an appropriate grit for the job rather than putting up with whatever belt happens to be on your sander because it's too fiddly to change it.

- Get your belts at any hardware store.

- A choice of a flat platen, or a curved one for large radius convex curves. Or alternately use no platen at all because the floppy, unsupported part between the drums is very useful. This is a feature that is not on your normal belt sander.

- Have a choice of different diameter drums (12mm up to 100mm or more)- all using the same belts.

- Have a choice of hard drums or soft sponge rubber covered ones (and, did you see the bit about the 'hourglass' drum). This gives a sanding action like a pneumatic sander but with the option to have a range of diameters.

- Speed control built in to your machine - I have sold to customers for use with glass because you can use slow speed, silicon carbide belt, and a water stream which falls away from the electricals on the drill model(good for lapidary too).

- Look at the comfortable and convenient height and angle of presenting the work to the device - right there in front of your chest on the drill model.

- Look at the control you have on the squarenes of edge sanding when you present
your work to the belt while working off the drill table.

- Have you really seen anything like my W.A.S.P.? I haven't and none of the thousands who have seen my demonstrations have either - except one - I was told some months ago by an old craftsman that he built a similar device for himself about 30 years ago - he used the bearings out of his Alvey fishing reel and the spring out of his fly screen door hinge - a lovely old guy he was.

- side thrust on the bearings?
The spring on the arm is not very strong and does not introduce significantly more load than the working load. In 30+ years I have experienced no difficulty using a drum sander on a drill press ( and I am talking about use in my high school classes with hundreds of students who really know how to punish machinery). I do accept however that there will be el-cheapo machines that will suffer. I have no answer for the el-cheapos.


Shane, I suspect you knew these answers if you went to my website - you were simply giving me a chance to spell it out for this forum and I thank you for that. Will I get a chance to demonstrate for you at the Canberra Show?

Thanks for your response - I'll bet you didn't expect a novel like this to be written in reply.

Terry G

I may be wrong but I seem to recall Woodfast having the same or similar. Or was it yours that I saw on their lathes in Adelaide and I think Sydney.

Cheers - Neil

PS Personally I think it's a pretty good idea for someone without a linisher or belt sander, however I too am sure that something similar has been around the traps for lots of years, especially for use on bench grinders and drill presses. Using it on the lathe also seems familiar from the days of the multi purpose lathes that also incorporated into their design a drill saw bench and linisher. The name of these machines escapes me for the moment.

Hello Neil,
Yes the Woodfast W.A.S.P. is in fact my invention. They are manufacturing it for me under licence - both the drill version and the lathe version.
The bench grinder unit you are thinking of is called the Multitool - another v good Ausie invention. I am often asked to compare my gadget with it. My answer is that the multitool is excellent but with mine you can control speed, change belts much more quickly, you don't lose a grinding wheel to accommodate the ad-on and you get the choice between
1. floopy part between the drums, or
2. back up the in-between part with either a flat or curved platen,
3. choice of drum diameter and soft or hard drums.
I am getting repetitive aren't I

Terry G

I would not recommend it for lapidary.
for obvious reasons.

------------------
p.t.c

No good for lapidary?
Educate me please p.t.c. - what are the "obvious reasons"?
I don't do lapidary but this use was suggetsed to me by a lapidary enthusaist.
The reason being that you can run it very slowly; use a fine silicon carbide belt; use a water stream (because the water falls away from the electricals.
Certainly no good for faceting but maybe for other polishing operations (using a 'dop stick'?)
It has also been used on glass with the above approach - for polishing edges of small pieces.

Tell me more p.t.c. I would rather hear arguments earlier rather than later.

Terry G.

Terry,

My question on lateral stress I thought was reasonable as I have heard adverse comments on sanders on drill presses where a fair amount of side pressure is applied. You addressed this and I appreciate that.
Lapidary, don't know and I know nothing of lapiday work and I trust that ptc will enlighten us as to the pitfalls.
ptc, please advise the obvious as some of us do not know.
I have never undertaken lapidary work although I know what it is but lay no claim to technique.
Back to Terry, I have not seen your device, will it be at WWW Melb next month, if so I will look out for it.

[This message has been edited by (edited 09 September 2001).]

Iain,
Melbourne show?
I hadn't planned to but now I am thinking I should - I will see if I can be fitted in at this late stage.
Tonight I am heading off to the Canberra Timber show.

Terry