Month: November 2010

  • Future Projects

    Over the years I think I’ve probably thought about building just about everything imaginable. Rather than forget these whimsical musings I thought I’d put together a list of things that I’ll try and build one day.

  • Belt Sander – Design #1

    Belt Sander – Design #1

    I initially started designing my belt sander around some cheap and cheerful belts I picked up from B&Q that were in a discount bin. As per my requirement for easy belt changing I have stuck the main belt wheels out the side of the machine. The two red things that look like bolts are in fact bolts…

  • Belt Sander – Springs

    Belt Sander – Springs

    The design (I currently have) for the belt sander requires the use of springs to provide tension on the belt through action on the idler wheel. I’m fairly happy with the design now but I know very little about springs and for such a simple looking component there are a surprising number of variables to…

  • Belt Sander – Calculations

    Belt Sander – Calculations

    As part of my belt sander build it is necessary to do a little maths to determine the best size for the belt rollers to give an appropriate length of flat sanding area and belt speed. The first thing to do is to determine the desired belt speed. I looked up the belt speeds of…

  • Paint Stripping

    Paint Stripping

    Our tumble down house has progressed a long way since we first bought it and it’s got to the point where we need to start tackling the hectares of gloss paint that needs attention. Over the past 200 years or so most of the woodwork had been painted at least a dozen times or more…

  • Belt Sander – Requirements

    Belt Sander – Requirements

    Since first deciding to write this article I’ve learnt a lot about bearings, axles pulleys and everything else that spins! The design of the belt sander is pretty much complete in my head but here’s little point in trying to re-invent the wheel so I’ve looked as some real belt sanders and borrowed some design…