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 about how I could make the two bolt design work I came to the conclusion …
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 of the machine. The two red things that look like bolts are in fact bolts …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 I couldn’t afford to buy a bandsaw, I probably could, but I’m fascinated by the …