Use spindle sander as die filer?

[misfitsailor]

Does anyone here use a spindle sander as a poor-man's die filer? It would be helpful to have something other than hand files, band saw and belt/disc sanders to clean up raw castings. I am not sure how long the sanding sleeves would last used against cast iron, especially if the castings are not annealed.

 

[RandyM]

Basically you are just using an oscillating drum sander, correct?

 

[misfitsailor]

Yes, Oscillating drum/spindle sander. I was curious how these hold up to castings before buying one.

 

[Charles Spencer]

Many years ago I worked at a shop that made cutting dies. We had small cylindrical grind stones mounted on a spindle that faced out. We'd do internal grinding with that. Then we'd use a mounted point in a hand-held grinder. Finally a buffing cylinder to clean it up. It was fairly quick and did a good job.

 

[Eddyde]

If you are talking about a industrial grade spindle sander then yes, I think it would hold up. If you are considering a cheap "big box store" version, I'd think not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kd4gij]

If you can find a cheap used one at a good price try it. Nothing to lose. If it doesn't work well on cast. You'll find lots of other uses for it.