Mother's Belt Sander
Shaving minutes off your projects The project involves working with metal as well as wood, but the extent of the metalwork consists solely of modifying standard hardware-store items.
February/March 2001
Story and Illustrations by Will Shelton
Shaving minutes off your projects.
Now that you've made a workbench, there's nothing to stop you from building our belt sander. The project involves working with metal as well as wood, but the extent of the metalwork consists solely of modifying standard hardware-store items. We've included a buyer's guide for some of the hardware products (check the materials list below).
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Material List • 4 ea. 2-pc. drum sander set (rubber wheels)
• 2 pkg. 1/2" patio door rollers (nylon ball bearing)
• 2 pkg. springs (SP-9710)
· 1 pkg. drawer slides (14" liberty)
• 24" 5/ 6" all thread
• 2 ea. 1/4" x 4 1/4" bolts
• 8 ea. 1/4" finder washers
• 4 ea. 5/6" nuts
• 4 ea. 5/6" nylon washers
• 2 ea. 1/4" nuts
• 4 ea. 1/4" washers
• 1 tube Locktite
• 1 tube carpenter's glue
• 1 kit epoxy
• 24" x 24" 3/4" plywood
• 6" x 6" 1/4" spacer wood
• 18" 1/2" x 1" fir (cleats)
STEP 1: SUPPORT STAND
The wood support stand is easy to make - all you have to do is cut out the parts and glue and screw them together (see "Wood Support Stand"). Take care to be extremely accurate when you drill the holes that serve as attachment points for the metal assembly. The center spacing block is comprised of five separate parts that need to be glued together so that the channels that the two securing bolts pass through are perfectly aligned and centered (relative to the metal parts).
STEP 2: THE CRADLE
The cradle for your drill motor needs to match the contours of your drill motor's casing. What you want is a straight-line attachment between the chuck and the axle of the drive wheel. The cradle should bear the weight of the drill motor, keep the attachment point in line, and keep the drill motor stationary. Use only screws to attach the cradle to the stand - this will make it easy to remove the cradle if you want to use a different drill motor later.
STEP 3: SLIDE DISASSEMBLY
Referring to the " Track Frame " illustrations, locate the light-gray rubber bumper on one end of the frame that holds the inner slides, pull the rubber piece off to reveal a metal tab and bend the tab down so that it is flat and in line with the rest of the frame. The inner slide assembly should slip out. Be careful to collect all the ball bearings and plastic bearing holders - you'll use some of them later. Put the frame with the bent tab aside. To disassemble the two remaining tracks, locate the black plastic catch. Push the end on the catch to one side and these two parts will disengage. Put all the pieces aside except for the frame, two inner tracks and the gray plastic bearing holders. Clean the grease from these parts and line them up. You will need to be able to differentiate between the track frame and the two slide tracks in order to choose the correct one for modification. Note the hole shapes and patterns in the metal we have labeled "1 ", "2" and "3" in the two illustrations.
