sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Discussions of tools wether you bought them or made them yourself. Anything from screwdrivers to custom chucks and drilling rigs.
wdteipen
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by wdteipen »

Yup, disk sander. I've used both and disk is better, IMHO. I've never used a slack sander though.
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mcgregorpipes
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by mcgregorpipes »

Thinking about trying a different wheel for rough shaping, up until now only used 60 or 80 grit 5" hook and loop velcro type on a 5" wheel on the end of motor arbor. it works but maybe its the brand of sand paper I use, the paper tends to tear off around the edges and some times doesn't get through one pipe. tried the 36 grit hard resin fiber type sanding discs that mount with a center screw and washer but the only backing pads for them seem to be the flimsy rubber type that tend to have a small gap between the backing and the disc and just feels wrong when pressure is applied. so recently I tried glueing a velcro disc on the back of the fiber disc so it would work with my usually backing pad it was an improvement, cuts faster just much courser and doesn't wear out. does anyone else use that setup? should i be trying a 8" resin fiber shaping wheel for better results, and if so what type backing pad works well?
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oklahoma red
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by oklahoma red »

mcgregorpipes wrote:Thinking about trying a different wheel for rough shaping, up until now only used 60 or 80 grit 5" hook and loop velcro type on a 5" wheel on the end of motor arbor. it works but maybe its the brand of sand paper I use, the paper tends to tear off around the edges and some times doesn't get through one pipe. tried the 36 grit hard resin fiber type sanding discs that mount with a center screw and washer but the only backing pads for them seem to be the flimsy rubber type that tend to have a small gap between the backing and the disc and just feels wrong when pressure is applied. so recently I tried glueing a velcro disc on the back of the fiber disc so it would work with my usually backing pad it was an improvement, cuts faster just much courser and doesn't wear out. does anyone else use that setup? should i be trying a 8" resin fiber shaping wheel for better results, and if so what type backing pad works well?
I'm liking J.Alan's wheels and the pre-cut Korean paper (J weight I believe) he's supplying with them. They have a thin felt pad between the disc and the back of the paper. If you are careful about applying the paper to the wheel you can use the rim pretty well and a bit of the back side of the disc. Paper is expensive but I'm getting good life from it. I use the 8" resin wheel with 80 grit then switch to the small J. Alan wheels starting at 120.
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baweaverpipes
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by baweaverpipes »

Sanding wheel.
pipedreamer
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by pipedreamer »

I use both, but made a wheel with the center dished in and one that is dished out also. I don't get along with flat wheels, unless I go slow.If I don't use these I catch something at the wrong time and
get more crazy than I want anyone to see :twisted:
pipedreamer
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by pipedreamer »

I use both, but made a wheel with the center dished in and one that is dished out also. I don't get along with flat wheels, unless I go slow.If I don't use these I catch something at the wrong time and
get more crazy than I want anyone to see :twisted:
socrates
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by socrates »

Both have a place in my shop.
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Tyler
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by Tyler »

mcgregorpipes
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by mcgregorpipes »

what type of backing pad are you using? I tried this once with a 5" fiber disc and the backing pad was some type of rubber. when the disc was attached with a washer and bolt it left a small gap between the disc and backing pad and just didn't feel rigid so i've stuck with velcro.
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Tyler
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by Tyler »

Angle grinder backer. It's not attached to the disk. It just provides a mostly-rigid support for it.
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oklahoma red
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by oklahoma red »

mcgregorpipes wrote:what type of backing pad are you using? I tried this once with a 5" fiber disc and the backing pad was some type of rubber. when the disc was attached with a washer and bolt it left a small gap between the disc and backing pad and just didn't feel rigid so i've stuck with velcro.
The grinding discs themselves appear to be a bit sensitive to temperature and humidity changes along with a need to be "bedded in". I've seen gaps between the disc and backer that are quite pronounced, particularly on brand new discs. I take a chunk of 2 x 4 and bear down on the disc and get it hot. That will usually take the set out of them and bring them in contact with the backer. The more you use the disc the less likely it will return to its original form. Also when I'm not using the disc I take some mini spring clamps and go around the perimeter clamping the two together.
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Tyler
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by Tyler »

Image

Image
Charl
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by Charl »

That is a nice backing pad, Tyler. I wish we had something similar over here.
For rough shaping, I use the resin backed type of discs, with a backing pad that I made from an old cutting board.
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andrew
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by andrew »

I use aircraft aluminum.
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andrew
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by andrew »

Accurate to a fault for what we do. It will cut like a saw on the edge. There is no give to speak of.
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andrew
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by andrew »

Here are my other wheels (and arbor):
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sandahlpipe
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by sandahlpipe »

I remember it's been said elsewhere, but what kind of bolts do you use to attach or adapt the standard 7" fiber-disc backer to the arbor?
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andrew
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Re: sanding wheel or belt grinder, whats your prefrence?

Post by andrew »

You can use quite a myriad of types, but the beall accepts 3/8". Make it as short as possible. It does not true to the threads, it positions itself off the face of the arbor and the contact area on the backing. The threads only hold/align.
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