I finally made a French Wheel...

[KurtHuhn]

I've been sitting on this project for a while now - something more shiny or interesting always came up, so this seemed to always slip to the back of the list. I also have been "making do" with DA backup pads, which actually work very well, but I wanted to make one of these in order to see how it differs from my current process, and if it can help me get better/sharper detail in shaping. In the process of cleaning up for Thanksgiving I stumbled on the raw materials again, and decided to make some time to "just do it".

The completed tool. The big, wide diameter flange nut on the rear is necessary, as it turns out, to snug everything flush and true. If you use just a plain nut, it won't snug perpendicular to the bolt axis, and will wobble and be frustrating. I machined this nut from a scrap of aluminum rod I had laying around. The face is soft felt with an adhesive backing.













The sandpaper with tabs cut for folding over. I made a template in AutoCAD, which seemed to be the most time consuming part of this process:



Tabs folded over, and everything looks pretty good.






And the wheel mounted on my motor/arbor:




I think I'm going to make another that will accept hook and loop discs, just for additional flexibility when needed - especially for larger woodworking projects where I can take advantage of "pipe making muscle memory".

[UnderShade]

Looks pretty badass...

[caskwith]

Be interested to hear your thoughts. I never got on with mine.

[DocAitch]

Kurt
Might I suggest a different way to fasten your paper to your new wheel?
It does take more time, but it has several advantages over the precut paper and is slimmer than the folding method.
Cut the paper with a circle cutter:

Mark the diameter of the wheel and cut radial cuts from the wheel diameter to the periphery about 1/2” apart (by eyeball-not critiical)

Fold the tabs in a CLOCKWISE fashion and tape every group of 5 or so with electrical tape.

Tuck the last flap under the first


The resulting wheel presents a tangent to the material being sanded rather than an edge, the tabs are much less likely to fly loose, and the back and edge of the wheel can be used lightly if need be.
I believe that paper used in this manner will last longer and the variety of grits is only limited by what you have on hand.
DocAitch

[LatakiaLover]

Doc knows.

I've used the overlap method for years and always found it superior to having gaps on/near the edge.

[KurtHuhn]

Aaaaand, Doc hit on the first improvement (and drawback I found). Truth be told, never having used one of these (if you can believe it), I faithfully copied all the examples of all the high end guys using these funny tabs on their sandpaper, and cut the first piece accordingly. I mean, it works, but I don't like it.

Then I remembered Trever Talbert telling me years ago how he folds the paper without cutting slots. That works great, and takes less time. I'll also give this method a try as well - because trying new things is what I do!

[DocAitch]

Inspired by Kurt, I finally made my own French wheel. I have little in the may of machinist skills, so I used plexiglass.
The learning curve is sharp but brief.



I can PM tips and photos if anyone wants them.
DocAitch

[UnderShade]

Very nice Doc! What is the backing pad made out of?

[KurtHuhn]

Nicely done!

[Doug535]

Ha, that's funny Doc. I just made one like yours out of plexi also. I have a J.Alan 4" and so, made a 6", just gotta get some coarser sheets of paper for it now.

[DocAitch]

Very nice Doc! What is the backing pad made out of?

That is felt that I purchased in a fabric shop. I coated the face of the plexiglass with a generous amount of carpenter’s glue, put the wheel in a vise, face up, placed a piece of felt (sized approximately), followed by plastic sheeting on top of which I put a 1” thick piece of upholstery foam. On top of this, I put a small bowl (near the diameter of the wheel but a saucer might work better) and on top of the bowl, a lead weight (~3lbs).
This molded the felt to the face in about 30’.
I put a second piece of felt over the first with the bolt head cut out to give a flatter surface (in the photo, the second layer of felt has not been applied).
After allowing time for the glue to dry I trimmed the felt to the wheel with shears and put the wheel back on the lathe and gently shaped the felt near the edge with a moderately coarse file.
DocAitch