Franken-AMP Sander

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FramingFool

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Joined
Sep 5, 1998
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528
Loc
New Cumberland, PA
Thanks to a front-tine garden tiller that just about ripped my shoulders from their sockets a few years back (it was pretty clumpy dirt..), I have had a recurring bursitis problem in both shoulders .... the AMP sander, in spite of being the greatest thing since sliced bread, tends to compound the agony over time. (Those wide mouldings take some cranking...)

I've been thinking about attaching a low-rpm washing-machine motor under the counter, and running a V-belt, with appropriate pully configurations, up to an extension to the bolt which holds the disc on the AMP, removing the handle, rigging up a rheostat and letting her rip (as slowly as I need).

(I know ... I've got entirely too much time on my hands...)

Has anyone tried something like this? And, if so, how's it working??
 
Can you reverse the polarity on one of those motors? Gotta be able to turn the wheel both directions.
Sounds like a good idea, in a Rube Goldberg kind of way, if you can get the rpms down to about 60.
 
What about mounting the motor next to the wheel and having some kind of rubberized drive wheel engage the edge of the sanding wheel? You could start and stop it by literally moving the drive wheel on or off the edge of the sanding wheel. This would not require modifying the shaft, which would seem like more engineering than it's worth.
The other thing you could do is buy a Delta benchtop electric sander and a 45 degree jig for the miter gague slot. You could be gentle on the speed by just pulsing it on and off like a food processor. This would take some practice to control but might be the simplest solution to your problem.

:cool: Rick
 
Oooooo ... I like it .... and you're right, wpfay, the reverse polarity thing is part of it ... (the friction wheel sounds interesting, too ... would allow it to be manually operated, too, .... all you have to do is avoid the spinning handle...


As far as the rpms are concerned, ya just gotta get the right pulleys goin'.....


(BTW, Rube Goldberg can be fun....)
 
ALA Rube Goldberg:

Stationary Bicycle A turns band B turning overhead driveshaft C, turning drivebelt D which in turn turns E the gears system that gears down the RPMs to turn the friction wheel that rubs against the driveshaft that turns the AMP sander.

This'll give you a workout and be able to turn that disc!

OR you could just get an old fashioned foot operated sewing machine and drive the sander with that. No electricity no real hassle, just good old foot power! No rheostats, no flying breaking fan belts, just pedal power!

Too fast, slow down: not fast enough drink more coffee!
 
You could always invest in a pet ... run a drive shaft between the wheel and the sander!

hamster.gif
 
Great stuff ....

Another alternative is to strap down all those annoying Silly-Xmas-request customers to run the thing (I can just see 'em in a squirel cage....
 
There is a local guy who has the reputation of resident crackpot inventor.
His inventions seem to work amazingly well, though and he makes good money selling his clip-on bicycle mirrors.
He uses all recycled materials to make these durable mirrors, including scraps of mirror glass whose edges he grinds silky smooth with a bicycle powered grinder. His contraption was quite simple and effective. I think a clever mind could easily rig this kind of thing.
He also uses a bicycle powered lawn mower, btw.

edie the itsallaboutbicycles goddess
 
Maybe some kind of treadle arrangement might work (like an old sewing machine).

As a quick and dirty experiment, take a piece of wood about 12" - 18" and tie a string to one end. Then put the handle of the disc at its lowest point and tie a string to the handle so that the end of the board with the string attached to it is about an inch off the ground. Give the wheel a little spin to get it going and pump the pedal and see if that works. Given the weight of the flywheel and the light sanding pressures involved it seems to me like it should.

If the experiment works, then it is just a matter of refining the implementation (fix the pedal to the floor, perhaps move the effective attachment point on the flyweel inwards etc...)

Note that I haven't tried this (don't have the sander).

If you decide to try it, please let me know if it worked.
 
Edie- If you didn't already have a serious boyfriend, I would recommend you get together with that inventor guy. Sounds like you would have a lot in common.
:cool: Rick
 
(Am I being compared to a "Crack-Pot-Inventor"...????)


Maybe a whole BUNCH of squirrels.......

(or is it a "Scattering of Squirrels"....?)

(as opposed to a "Flummox of Framers"....)
 
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