Been thinking of trying out a woodworking spindle sander to help with cleaning up the inside radiuses of steel brackets, gussets, etc.. I came across this article, http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/toolguide/TT_SpindleSanders.pdf Anybody ever used a wood sander for metal use? How does it hold up?
I doubt it will handle the load or hold up for long. The best for steel are Burr-King, but they're very expensive.
I have the combination OSCILLATING SPINDLE - BELT sander (Ridgid) that's rated for wood. But if I don't abuse it, it's been working very well for fabricating metal brackets and finishing rough edges. (course I don't make a living with it)
I don't think the types of garnet abrasive rolls those things use would last very long at all on steel. I've used those rubber mandrel things with the garnet abrasive sanding drums on them for aluminum in a drill press to smooth up inside curves, and the sandpaper in them clogs up fast and gets dull too quickly. They work good for wood, but not that great for metal. You'd probably be better off using a die grinder with a carbide burr to rough it out and then use head porting type sandpaper rolls to smooth it out some more. My favorite all purpose carbide burr is a "tree" shape that's about 3/8" at the fat part and about 1" long. By changing the angle you hold it against the steel, you can get a variety of different radius cuts. A cylinder with a ball end, or a plain ball type burr are also handy.
That's the kind of usage that I am look at, home shop stuff. Burr King is out of my price range, unless I find a SMOKING deal on one. I have been looking at a slightly heavier duty version of the Jet in the above article. I have the cartridge rolls and rubber drums for my air grinder, but when I want to grind a nice 90 degree edge, well, I have no delusions of grandeur for my fabrication abilities. I see this sander as as great way to make really pretty brackets, with really pretty edges and/or chamfers.
If there is ONE drawback to my woodworking OSCILLATING SPINDLE - BELT unit; it's when your working with VERY thin material. (steel or aluminum) When the belt is at the top of its "stroke"; very thin material can slip under the belt and throw it off. I solved the problem by using a piece of 3/4" plywood on the table - same size as the table - that lifts the work piece up enough so that doesn't happen. Even though the oscillating belt moves up and down so thin material doesn't wear out the lower part of the belt; I use UNI-DIRECTIONAL Silicon carbide belts and tubes so I can flip them over and use both the top and bottom. Another thing, is USE belt dressing*, - it's like a big eraser - it extends the life of the belt - and spindle tubes - especially when working with aluminum. *Sometimes referred to as; "Abrasive Belt and Disk Cleaner."
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