Handy Sander

[WOODbTURNER]

I did a copy from an article in a Woodturning Design magazine. The grinder is a 100mm Makita with a Roloc grinding attachment shaft readily available from tool shops for about $20.00. Just screw on shaft to grinder. I use 50mm and 75mm Roloc grinding pads with various grits. For softer sanding I use Tim Skilton's sanding pads which screw straight on. Because the grinder isn't variable speed, I purchased a 220-240v speed controller from the US via Ebay for $22.00. I was a bit cautious at first but it works great. To buy a dedicated Makita angle drill costs a small fortune so for an outlay of about $40.00-$50.00 it was worth it.

[hughie]

very handy indeed

[mick61]

Nice work. Why can`t we use one of those controllers on a small lathe?
Mick

[kraits]

i had a sparky give me a variable speed control which i use i use on my vac/blower which is attached to my forge, the only vairiable it has is on and off. spoke to the sparky that made it and was told that the motor in the vac/blower isnt wound for variable speed.

[Cliff Rogers]

Good one.

[TTIT]

I tried the same setup on a variable speed Bosch but had problems accessing certain forms . Then I tried a flexible shaft, in-line setup which could get in these forms but was too hard to control .
Very happy with my current setup which is a 110 degree pneumatic die grinder running on 1/8th" line to help keep the speed down Very versatile and controllable

[sjm]

Nice work. Why can`t we use one of those controllers on a small lathe?
Mick

If it used a brushed motor, you could, but the noise would be horrendous.

[WOODbTURNER]

I tried the same setup on a variable speed Bosch but had problems accessing certain forms . Then I tried a flexible shaft, in-line setup which could get in these forms but was too hard to control .
Very happy with my current setup which is a 110 degree pneumatic die grinder running on 1/8th" line to help keep the speed down Very versatile and controllable

TTIT,
I use my set up mainly for flat and larger curved surfaces. As the bloke who wrote the original article said by using the Roloc stiffer pads you tend to get rid of the rippling effect between the harder and softer wood.
Iv'e got one of those CP 110 die grinders too but I (and neighbours) get sick of my bloody noisy compressor cutting in and out.
Iv'e got a Metabo SXE 400 3" orbital sander which is very handy too. I got it as a run out sale at 1/2 price a few years ago but I see they have put it on the market again.