Wobblycogs Workshop

  • Of all the parts of this project the one that probably caused me the most trouble was the tensioning and tracking system. It’s not strictly necessary for the two features to be built as one piece, you could tension the…

  • The idler carriage was the first part of the belt sander that I actually put together because it involved solving almost all of the main problems with the machine in one compact piece. The main problem I felt I was…

  • Now that the parts are all cut out it’s time to get started on building the case. I actually started making the idler carriage first but I’m presenting the case construction first as that seems more logical.

  • I’ve now cut all the pieces for my home made belt sander out of MR-MDF. I hate working with MDF, It seems no matter how much extraction I’ve got going the dust still seems to go everywhere. A problem not…

  • At last I think I have a design that can build and that is also built out of components that exist in this universe! By spinning the motor round and having the disc sander powered off the idler shaft I…

  • Right so I’m now onto design number three and the wheels have come off a bit. Thinking I had the design pretty much sorted I rushed out and spent a load of money on parts. What I should really have…

  • One of the things I really wanted to try and avoid was using springs in the tensioning design. My plan was to keep the design as simple as possible and use as few components as possible but after much thought…

  • 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.

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • A while back I read about a project by one of my woodworking heroes, Matthias Wandel, on how he made a wooden bandsaw and ever since seeing it I’ve fancied trying to make one of my own. It’s not that…