# Pipe Sander



## rdean (Mar 22, 2015)

I had a need for a pipe sander for a 6" X 35" column I am making but the price was way over my budget.  
So I went to HF and Lowes and for $15.95 made my own and it really works great.




Enjoy
Ray


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## Franko (Mar 22, 2015)

That's pretty spiffy, Ray.


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## Johnwright (Mar 22, 2015)

I presume that the white pulleys are Delrin (acetal).  Can you provide the dimensions and the bearing numbers?  I have recently had a need for something very similar recently.  Good job, especially the price.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 22, 2015)

A neat solution to your problem.  I'll have to file that one away for future reference!


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## rdean (Mar 22, 2015)

The grinder is from HF $9.95 and the sanding belts are from Lowes 1"X42" $5.95 for package of three.  The rest of the materials I had in the shop.  The plastic is a mystery material but probably acetal. The grinder turns 11,000 rpms so I made the drive pulley the smallest diameter I could safely get away with to lower the belt speed.   I drilled and taped the grinder output shaft 1/4 X 20 to attach the drive pulley.  The idler pulleys  are a little larger with sealed ball bearings but the size is not critical.   I thought I may have problems with the belt tracking properly but that is not an issue and the geometry can be quite a bit off before there is a problem.  

Thanks all

Ray


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## Johnwright (Mar 22, 2015)

rdean said:


> The grinder is from HF $9.95 and the sanding belts are from Lowes 1"X42" $5.95 for package of three.  The rest of the materials I had in the shop.  The plastic is a mystery material but probably acetal. The grinder turns 11,000 rpms so I made the drive pulley the smallest diameter I could safely get away with to lower the belt speed.   I drilled and taped the grinder output shaft 1/4 X 20 to attach the drive pulley.  The idler pulleys  are a little larger with sealed ball bearings but the size is not critical.   I thought I may have problems with the belt tracking properly but that is not an issue and the geometry can be quite a bit off before there is a problem.
> 
> Thanks all
> 
> ...


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## Johnwright (Mar 22, 2015)

T


rdean said:


> The grinder is from HF $9.95 and the sanding belts are from Lowes 1"X42" $5.95 for package of three.  The rest of the materials I had in the shop.  The plastic is a mystery material but probably acetal. The grinder turns 11,000 rpms so I made the drive pulley the smallest diameter I could safely get away with to lower the belt speed.   I drilled and taped the grinder output shaft 1/4 X 20 to attach the drive pulley.  The idler pulleys  are a little larger with sealed ball bearings but the size is not critical.   I thought I may have problems with the belt tracking properly but that is not an issue and the geometry can be quite a bit off before there is a problem.
> 
> Thanks all
> 
> Ray



Thanks Ray, I will surely be putting one of these together.  I have some acetal and have been looking for a small project to see how it turns.  John W


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## pineyfolks (Mar 22, 2015)

Good job.  Buy the harbor freight router speed control and you'll have variable speed.


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## jumps4 (Mar 22, 2015)

nice project
I could see a lot of uses for that
Steve


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## savarin (Mar 22, 2015)

I wish I had seen this some years ago when I wanted a very narrow belt sander.
Nice job.
On an aside I wanted to sand the outside of some thin steel tubes so I flipped one of those belts inside out so the grit was on the inside, held the tube in the vice, used a skateboard wheel tight in the drill and placed it inside the belt loop, pulled tight and turned on.
It took a couple of goes to get the hang of the angles and belt tension but I was soon ripping paint, smoothing welds and the belt contoured around the tube.
http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showt...inker-and-sander-part-1?highlight=tube+sander


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## rdean (Mar 22, 2015)

pineyfolks said:


> Good job. Buy the harbor freight router speed control and you'll have variable speed.



I will have to try that but I am a little concerned that the power will drop off quickly with the speed reduction.

Thanks All
Ray


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## Tony Wells (Mar 22, 2015)

Good work. Saved yourself a bundle too. I have a couple of Dynafile belt rigs....wonderful things, but pricey.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dyn...ei=PHwPVZvdOoWbgwSk14Ew&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg


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## fahrphrompuken (Mar 23, 2015)

Terrific idea, simple and inexpensive. Could think of a lot of uses for that.


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## Hannadog (Apr 1, 2015)

Very cool idea & savings! Well done


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## gheumann (Mar 15, 2017)

I've been looking at these. The new cheap chinese ones at $~175 are within reach, but I also thought about building one. Didi you make any drawings you might care to share?


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## FanMan (Mar 15, 2017)

Nice... I'm visualizing a smaller version, perhaps with a Dremel motor...

Why three wheels?


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## rdean (Mar 16, 2017)

That was design #1 and design #3 is much shorter and somewhat different.
The third wheel pivots so that the sanding belt can wrap around the  material as it works.
I do intend to make the plans available in the future but sure when.
Thanks 
Ray


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## FanMan (Mar 16, 2017)

rdean said:


> The third wheel pivots so that the sanding belt can wrap around the  material as it works.



Gotcha, makes sense now.


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## cheesecutter (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi there,
new Member and I already think that with "shop-made tooling" I have found my favorite part of the Forum.
Its hard to tell from the Pictures but the idler Pulleys should bulge in the center. Does not take much and helps the Belt tracking tremendously


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