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I got a wild idea yesterday and redesigned the motor arbor I made a while back for sanding with a motor. While I was at it I made a couple more, since I was already setup for the work, and I figured someone might find them useful.

Like I mentioned, this is an improvement on my original design which I did on my wood lathe. These were made on my (new to me) metal lathe, and are a significant improvement over the previous incarnation.

In the photo below you can see the relief cut at the end of the arbor that has the threads for the DA disc holder. The previous version of the arbor did not have this recess, and the rivets on the disc holder that I use would hit the arbor before it was fully seated. That is no longer a problem:


Here you can see the disc holder threaded onto the arbor, and seated onto the anti-lock washer at the base of the threads:


And another view:


And here's a shot of the whole deal slid onto the shaft of my sanding motor:


The arbor will accept DA (dual action) disc holders that have the standard 5/16"-24 threads. I get mine at McMaster-Carr, but you can get them damn near anywhere that sandpaper and power tools are sold. I prefer the ones from McMaster-Carr though, because they provide flex and are not too rigid. In this case, the disc holders I use are also hook-and-loop pads so that I can use them with Abralon sanding pads.

The motor end of the arbor is drilled to slide right on to a 5/8" motor shaft, and is secured with #8-32 set screws. Using this setup, even if your motor doesn't have a keyway, the shaft will be held secure. I actually run the set screws right into the keyway on my motor shaft, and that works out very well.

What I do is pre-mount all my sanding discs onto disc holders, then when I want to change grits, I just spin one off, and spin the next one on. It takes me a couple seconds as opposed the several minutes of centering/checking/recentering that I endured before coming up with this idea.

Since I have a few extras, I figured I'd offer them here to the first takers. I'd like to get $39 each, plus shipping via USPS Priority Mail. PayPal, check, money orders all accepted.

Specs:
material: 6061 aluminum alloy
length: 2-1/2"
diameter: 1-1/8"
shaft size: 5/8"
DA threads: 5/16"-24
Includes set screws, but no DA backup pad.

If there's enough interest, I may start another production run. If you have a motor with a 1/2" shaft, and are interested in one of these, send me an email and let me know.

Put me down for one, Kurt. I gotta upgrade from these 3" pads. Then I need a Baldor or equivalent. I guess I'm going backwards by starting with the arbor, but it'll push me to make the next step. I'll email you with details.

Nice you got your metal lathe up and running so quickly!

Nice job, Kurt. That's exactly the improvement I was going to make to mine, thus eliminating the arbor adapter. Incidently, do you think your thick rubber disc holder works better than the wooden disc holders like mine and Love's?

Having fun with your new toy, eh?

I don't know that it works better, but I find it really convenient. I like the idea of being able to spin on disc holder off and spin another on, and change grits in just a couple seconds. One advantage of the DA pad is that it's a little flexible and has a bit more give than something made from metal or wood. I don't know, it all depends on your preferences I guess.

The new toy is a godsend. Stuff that was difficult on a wood lathe is super easy with this. It's right on time too - I've got some very interesting pipes on order, with very unusual stem arrangements, that are going to be very easy to do on this, whereas they'd be extremely difficult and time consuming on a wood lathe.

Hey Kurt, I received the arbor, thanks! But I can't find the 6" Abralon discs in McMaster-Carr. I know this was discussed on the forum somewhere, but the search function isn't very friendly today. Only 2 post show on an abralon search, though I know the word has been bandied about more often than that. Does McMaster call the Abralon "style" disc pads - "Contour-Conforming Hook and Loop Foam Sanding Discs" (pg. 2612)?

kbadkar wrote:But I can't find the 6" Abralon discs in McMaster-Carr. Does McMaster call the Abralon "style" disc pads - "Contour-Conforming Hook and Loop Foam Sanding Discs" (pg. 2612)?

Yes, those are the ones, bottom of the page. MM-C search function is a bit sucky, with all the thousands of items they stock it's sometimes hard to find what you need.

Thanks, Frank. I'm sending this week's paycheck to the Master Carr. Can you imagine their warehouse?... everything is always in stock.

Frank's got you onto the right stuff. The other thing you want is the "backup pads". I use item 4724A47, 5" with no holes, and let the sanding disc hang over the edge by 1/2".

I was the lucky recipient of a a pair of these new arbors from Kurt. I stopped by his shop yesterday and picked them up. I got to work last night and I really cant say enough good things about the arbors. Perfectly round with no vibration. They will be extremely useful.

*waves hand*

"You don't see a disgustingly cluttered workshop. This is not a complete mess."

I finished up the furnace modifications this afternoon. Tomorrow is workshop cleaning day!

(Previous owner must have known nothing about forced air heating. Either that or they hired one of those really bad contractors you hear about on the DiY network.)

I'd buy a couple of these made for a 1/2" motor arbor. I have some of the DA pads and can't find a good way to mount them to my motors - your arbor is just the ticket.

Fred (and anyone else),

You can find these now in my online store here:
http://www.pipecrafter.com/pipes/tools/motor_arbor.php

Note that there are two buttons, one for 1/2" and one for 3/4" motor shafts. The price is the same for both sizes, but it just helps me keep things straight. I have both in stock and usually ship daily at about 4:30PM. If you want to pay via check or money order, that's fine too - just send me an email as a heads-up.

I have two and am VERY pleased.
What a time saver they have proven to be for me.