Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

3/17/05, 1:18 AM #1

Ralph Tursini
Guest

Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

Ralph Tursini

>I'm looking for ideas on a better bowl sanding system as I'm getting tired of my my milwaukee close quarter drill for sanding bowls. I don't like the weight, bulk, and noise.

I've sanded with pneumatic drills while production turning for a bowl manufacturer. The compactness, light weight, and variety of configurations are ideal, but they suck plenty of air and for sanding all day I'd need a $1500 compressor.

I was thinking a 3/4 hp motor mounted overhead with and a flex shaft would work nicely. Does anyone have any experience sanding with one or have leads on sources for them?

For my purposes it would need enough juice to spin a 3" disk at 2500-3000 rpm and have reversing capability

Any insight would be appreciated.

Ralph Tursini

Tursini Woodturning and Bowl Works

Re: Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

3/17/05, 1:23 AM #2

Ralph Tursini
Guest

whoops, thats... sanding (NM)

Ralph Tursini

>

Re: Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

3/17/05, 1:46 AM #3

john lucas
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20,176 posts

Registered: 1/1/04

Re: Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

John Lucas

>Ralph

It works great but sometimes the shaft gets in the way. My good friend Komli sands work for a living for a professional woodworker. He uses the same thing at home. He bought the flex shaft that runs off a drill from Woodworker supply. I think it's $39 I made an adaptor that goes from 5/8" to the 1/4" drill size for his motor. Just a straight piece of metal bored to those diameters and tapped for set screws to hold it and the shaft in place.

This particular flex shaft is stiffer and not as easy to use but is really tough and handles the riggors of professional sanding.

I use an old flex shaft machine similar to the foredom but mine isn't very well built so I use it mostly for sanding carvings. I'm in the market for a flex shaft machine that might handle this task.

Flex shafts for bowl sandinger

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