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Budget lathe sanding jig.

Terry

Chairman Plonker
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This is the sanding jig that I made for the lathe.
Photo 1 shows a 6in faceplate screwed to a 12in piece of mdf.
Photos 2 and 3 show the faceplate screwed onto the lathe with a blank sat on the Sorby box scraper platform which replaces the standard tool rest.
The sanding sheets are self adhesive and peel off the mdf easily when they need replacing.
I already had the Sorby modular tool rest and I bought the faceplate a few years ago for about £12. The modular box scraper platform cost £9.75. So for around £20 or so I have a sander.
 

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turnaround360

Caracktycus Pots
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Terry to get more life out of the sanding sheet ..when it gets clogged with wood dust take a thick plastic bag rolled up really tight like a block and run it across the sander and you will get more use out of it Frankie.
 

clumsysod

GOBBY GIT
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Terry to get more life out of the sanding sheet ..when it gets clogged with wood dust take a thick plastic bag rolled up really tight like a block and run it across the sander and you will get more use out of it Frankie.
Thanks for that tip, I will give it a try. I have a brass wire brush I have been using for that, the type used for suede shoes.

A nice lathe mod there I did a similar thing with the smaller discs I get from a local car body repair shop, I made my own rest from a pin found in somebody's tow hitch I have changeable plates at 45, 60 and 90 degree angles for grinding tools.
 

Penpal

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Terry, Neat and well made for squaring blanks a more certain way is to make a platform to hold a device that holds the tubed blank at right angles to the disk cause not many home cut blanks are 1.Not cut square or 2. Not drilled square.

Much safer way to clean your new disk is to go to cheap shop and buy cheap thongs (no not those) the ones you put on your feet last for ages I buy the super large size plastic ones.

Kind regards Peter.
 

Terry

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Terry, Neat and well made for squaring blanks a more certain way is to make a platform to hold a device that holds the tubed blank at right angles to the disk cause not many home cut blanks are 1.Not cut square or 2. Not drilled square.

Much safer way to clean your new disk is to go to cheap shop and buy cheap thongs (no not those) the ones you put on your feet last for ages I buy the super large size plastic ones.

Kind regards Peter.

Thanks Peter. I was going to look at making a platform for keeping the blanks square next. That is an unusual method of cleaning sanding discs and I'll try it. Thongs are known as flipflops in the UK but I knew what you meant having worked with lots of Aussies!!!
 

Jim

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I don't know if it is correct but i have heard of people using part of a garden hose to clean the disc's ... :thinks:
 

clumsysod

GOBBY GIT
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I made my own rest from a pin found in somebody's tow hitch I have changeable plates at 45, 60 and 90 degree angles for grinding tools.

Can you expand on that George please!!!!

Delayed answering because I thought I was going to get home and would have taken a picture for you of the various jigs I made for this sander, still away for a while yet so I will try to explain and drew a little sketch in paint please forgive my inability to do both.
Its a simple setup but you must remember that I work in the bedroom of someone else's house so have no space to spare and must keep machinery to a minimum, that's why I like to visit people and use their stuff when ever possible.

The pin from a Bedford TK tow bar fitted my banjo perfectly so it got lost in the mud and found after we had stopped looking for it.
Now I feel I have to explain how I knew it would fit so snug, I had used my tool rest to straighten a ring I wear that had gone out of round, a bit of gentle persuasion got it to fit over the stem perfectly and reshaped it. I happened to have said ring about my person when the idea popped into my small brain that I could use the banjo and a jig to go with the disc sander I had on my lathe.

Later in the week I saw some channel in a garden from some windows being exchanged, this would be ideal for my purpose. The window fitter was reluctant to part with it as it is alluminium and worth scrap value to him, this is where my time in the diplomatic corps came in useful, a persuasive poke in the eye worked wonders and I had my much needed channel. I selected the sliding parts which have a profile that one fits inside the other nicely and slides back and forth with ease an little or no play.

A visit to a friendly workshop and good man Brian used his metal turning lathe to shape and thread the pin and join it to the channel for me. Hopefully you will get the idea from my silly drawing that one channel turns upside down and fits in the other making a sliding box section.
As a box it is used as a tool rest which is twice the size of the one that came with the lathe. It is also at 90 degrees to the sander when fitted so sanding can be squared. remove sander add a Jacobs chuck and a router bit and slide a piece of wood across it and shape wood for boxes etc.
A piece of Arris rail cut in half lengthways gives me my 45 degree honing guide when fitted to another channel inserted upside down. The other half propped on a couple wedges does the 60 degree guide. Take the inner channel out and turn it end on to sander, slide pen blanks up inside channel to the sander for accurate squiring.

I have in effect a small milling lathe with a 360 turntable giving me X, Y, Z. Axis from the tool post.

I hope that load of old twaddle has explained what really is a neat mod for me.

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clumsysod

GOBBY GIT
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I'm sure I've missed something but how do you ensure that you get your "rest" at 90 deg to the disc ?


Sorry for being thick
Put a flat plate of the desired thickness against the faceplate or whatever you have in the headstock. Push the jig against it secure the jig and remove the plate you have squared up.
Of course the alternative is using an engineers square.
 

Woody

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The one I made before I stopped turning was made of disk wood with a dovetail on the back to fit the Axminster C jaws and the table and post from aluminum I have got to make another one now for my new lathe after I have mad my pen press which I'm going to make tomorrow thanks to Terry LOL
 

Terry

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Phill if you have the Sorby Scraper platform which fits their post and the sanding disc mdf is screwed to a faceplate which in turn is either screwed onto the headstock spindle or as Woody says fastened to a faceplate which hooks onto a scroll chuck jaws you will find it is automatically at 90 deg to the disc!!!! Hope this makes sense. Look at my photos again and you should see what I mean.
 

PhillH

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Thanks Terry, I think I'm getting it, probably just one of those things that if I saw in the flesh would make sense straight away.

I need a trip to a sorby stockist I think.

Besides any excuse is a good one right ! :whistling:
 
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