kgg Report post Posted November 11, 2021 (edited) I was looking to step-up from the inexpensive rotary tool attachment to a more professional setup. Sticker / spec shock would be an under statement as anything I would consider decent was about $750 plus shipping with adjustable speed control but only with 1/2" or less diameter shafts and amp ratings of 5 or less. After much looking and pondering I settled on a 8" buffing / polishing bench machine made in Taiwan from Princess Auto (Photo 1) as it pretty well covered off what I was looking for: i) 3/4" main shaft cut down to 5/8" (Photo 2) ii) CSA approved iii) 7 amp rating iv) adjustable speed control from 2000 - 3450 rpm. The price was $130, tax in, and all I had to do was purchase a burnisher ($75 tax in and delivered) and re-drill the 1/2" hole with a 11/16" bit. The next thing was to figure out the sanding wheel side. I chose to go with a 3" x 4 1/2" sanding sleeve which I could have in hindsight gone with a 2" diameter sleeve. This required me to get a 4 1/2" rubber sanding drum ($30 tax in and delivered) and 3" x 4 1/2" sanding discs ($28.50 tax in and delivered). Then I had to re-drill the 1/2" hole with a 5/8" bit and cut it roughly to the usable 5/8" section of the shaft. To cut the rubber sanding drum I stuck it on the shaft and with the machine running I used a utility knife to cut it to the proper length (Photo 3). This did work but the drawback was there was a lot of the sanding disc unsupported about 77mm (Photo 4). The piece I am holding is just too tighten or loosen the spacer in place / removal (Photo 5). To this point the cost is $263.50 for something that can do the job but... The sanding disc side of the machine was begging to get modified so I 3D some stuff: 1. A spacer which fills the unsupported and allows the use of the full sleeve (4 1/2 long x 3 inch diameter) rather then just 37 mm of the supported surface. 2. A 3.15 inch long x 3 inch diameter sander wheel for using standard sheets of sandpaper (Photo 6). This was a scrap piece of 1000 grit sandpaper I had handy just to show how it wraps around the drum. This way I can have a better range of available sanding grits and get three pieces of sandpaper out of a sheet. It's also cheaper as a sanding sleeve costs about $8 each whereas a 3 pack of the expensive 3M sandpaper sheets are about $8 and I get 9 pieces so it costs about a dollar per. I did like the principal that the Just Wood burnisher in the UK uses to attach the sandpaper to the drum but I figured I could build a better mouse trap. My thought on the Just Wood as I see it is once you cut the sandpaper sheets too the proper width along the length of the sandpaper sheet you have to trim the length by about 10mm and the sandpaper is being held in place by a hollow flatten pin that is dependent on a friction fit in a oblong hole. 3. A 4.25 inch long x 3 inch diameter burnisher with 1- 15mm, 1-10mm, 1-8mm, 2- 6mm and 1-4mm concave slots. This does work but if I like it I probably will use it as a guide and turn it in wood (Photo 7). The cost of PLA filament about $30. Total Cost including about $30 in PLA filament is $293.50. So far no problems like flying bits and pieces, fractures or catastrophic failures when run at full bore. Any and all comments are welcomed. Edited November 11, 2021 by kgg missing info Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MtlBiker Report post Posted November 11, 2021 Geez, that looks really professional! Good job! You're lucky, not only that you have the knowledge to do such things, but also to have the equipment and time to play around. The burnisher wheel... you 3D printed that? I'd bought a set of about a dozen different burnishing wheels from Amazon that fit into my Dremel tool. But I probably don't do as much of that as you do. And your setup is super as the burnisher/sander stays put and you can hold your assembly with both hands. Okay, I'll admit to a bit of envy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted November 11, 2021 Awesome !!! half the fun is making the tools especially when they turn out so well. a nice wooden burnishing spindle would be a nice upgrade . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted November 11, 2021 1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said: a nice wooden burnishing spindle would be a nice upgrade . I agree, just got to figure out what sizes of grooves that will get used the most. I think I am going to use some good old fashion Canadian ironwood (eastern hophornbeam ) which is the hardest wood in Canada and I have a lot of it. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 12, 2021 You're been a busy boy! Should be a good setup, the drum sander is a good idea. I just made a wooden burnisher and fitted it to a standard bench grinder (3400 rpm). How do you think the PLA burnisher will hold up? My experience has been that PLA doesn't take kindly to getting hot. It never occurred to me to fit a drum sanding thingy to a bench grinder, might be something to ponder on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted November 12, 2021 (edited) 15 minutes ago, dikman said: How do you think the PLA burnisher will hold up? My experience has been that PLA doesn't take kindly to getting hot. Not sure yet and the heat maybe the down fall but over the next day or so I am going to give it a go on a half round sheath that I have be playing with so we'll see. kgg Edited November 12, 2021 by kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted November 12, 2021 9 hours ago, dikman said: It never occurred to me to fit a drum sanding thingy to a bench grinder, might be something to ponder on. heck yea! for more than just leather too it would make a very versatile tool. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arturomex Report post Posted November 12, 2021 That looks great! Is that shaft threaded in SAE or metric? Regards, Arturo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted November 12, 2021 19 minutes ago, Arturomex said: Is that shaft threaded in SAE or metric? Thank you. The thread on the both sides of the the machine shaft are your standard SAE 5/8" - 11 just that the right side has your standard right hand thread twist and the other side is a left hand thread twist (commonly known as bastard thread). There is a silver color nut for the side with the regular thread and a dull sort of yellowish nut for the other. Also the machine did come with two 8" cotton polishing pads. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arturomex Report post Posted November 13, 2021 Thanks @kgg. I bought a variable speed 5/8" shaft unit from Canadian Tire last year looking to do the same thing that you've done. The clerk assured me it was threaded SAE and the damn thing was threaded metric. Canadian Tire doesn't seem to like giving refunds even when it's their mistake. I finally got tired of messing around with it and them so I just use it as a buffer now. Your success and detailed description has inspired me to give it another shot. Regards, Arturo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted November 13, 2021 2 hours ago, Arturomex said: Your success and detailed description has inspired me to give it another shot. Thank you. Give it a go, you got nothing to loss. The only problem maybe the length of usable shaft which could be extended with inside threaded shaft extenders or similar shaft extenders. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
