sanding wheels

[pipeguy]

Hi all I was watching a video on you tube sigmund pipes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbd--Fe5g4 Has anyone seen that kind of sanding wheel before and if so what is it and where can I get one I think its great for rough stummel grinding thanx Bob Clark

[Frank]

He's possibly using somehing like this: http://www.grizzly.com/products/g1015

Man, I thought we were in a recession - that thing costs about $100 more than when I bought mine!

[RadDavis]

It looks like a French wheel.

You can get them from Tim West. They're not cheap. Around $125, I think.

Rad

[FredS]

Depends which wheel you're talking about. The black wheel he was using for roughing looks like an Eapander Wheel to me. They're slotted rubber wheels that hold a sanding belt. The slots (or in some case air pockets) are arranged so centrifigul force expands the outside diameter. They can conform somewhat to odd shapes. They're used a lot in metal casting & polishing industries.

[RadDavis]

Ha!

I skipped ahead until I saw him using a wheel. I missed the shots of that flat faced one.

Rad

[Frank]

I think you're right, Fred. Looks like an Expander, now that I look closer.

[e Markle]

I'm not sure which one you were referring to either, but one of the sanders reminded me of something Kurt said he used in a post in '07. Here's the link he provided back then: http://ausmultitool.com/Item/MT362TG.htm It's a lot more price-friendly than that Grizzly.

I believe you just mount that to your grinder and away you go. By the way, if you haven't seen that post, it's very informative. It's entitled "Hand cut stems photo essay," and you should check it out.

[ToddJohnson]

Hey guys,

I've been promising pictures of the shaping wheel that many of us use. I'm taking some time off this week and will post pictures of it here. It can be made from simple and readily available components.

Todd

[akr]

For what it's worth, I use something like this (from another thread) for rough shaping:

So here is what I came up with:

I found some hard plastic backing pads at Enco that were pretty thin, so I used those along with the 3M sanding discs and some 2" long 3/8x16 bolts. I turned some pieces of aluminum that the bolts go through and that hold the sanding discs and backing pads (that have 7/8" holes in them) centered. I put them all together, secured them each with a nut and washer, and the final products can just be screwed and unscrewed from the beall arbor--quick change style.

Thanks again for the help everyone.

For finer grits (above 120) I still use a motor and a beall arbor, but connected to a padded wheel (like those yellow ones Kurt uses) with a threaded adapter. A long thin sanding belt is also helpful sometimes (like the grizzly one Frank posted). You can make one with your own motor and it is a lot cheaper--I am in the process of making one that is 1"x100". I have an old grinder that has expander wheels on it, but I have never thought about using it for pipe making.

Good Luck!