Bench Polisher

[Paul.]

I found one of those supermarket bench drills in a skip recently, a quick look over and the only thing wrong with it is the start / stop switch has failed, I have no use for a toy drill so thought I would turn it into something useful.

So stripped down we have a working 250watt motor,a quill with 13mm chuck, belt and pulleys.


A quick rummage in the scrap bin produces enough bits to make a motor plate and base.


A coat of paint, and put it together


The quill is clamped in to the box section frame with 8mm set screws



Switch is rated at 10 amps so more than adequate for the motor, but it may get changed for something more industrial.

Finished, apart from a pulley guard, a quiet running, multiple speed bench polisher, which will also provide power for a flexible drive for polishing handrail joints and other awkward corners etc.

 

[wyn]

Nice work Paul

I like the way you used the quill as it was, do you reckon sideways loads on the drill chuck will give any grief ?

 

[Arsonista]

A perfect example of why this forum is so good. Nice work, but there's going to be people all over the UK now saying hmmmm, I fancy one of those. Not that that's a bad thing mind.

 

[Paul.]

Nice work Paul

I like the way you used the quill as it was, do you reckon sideways loads on the drill chuck will give any grief ?

I think it'll be ok, its fitted with a couple of sealed ball races so if they fail i'll replace them for next to nothing, my guess is the bearings will outlast that motor.

 

[Archie]

Nice one, Paul. There's one of those at home that's been on its way to the skip for a few years. I've been thinking of turning it into a tube notcher but I think I prefer your plan. Time to get the thinking cap on!

 

[Paul.]

Nice one, Paul. There's one of those at home that's been on its way to the skip for a few years. I've been thinking of turning it into a tube notcher but I think I prefer your plan. Time to get the thinking cap on!

It very nearly ended up as a tube notcher, But I decided a bigger motor and a slower bottom speed is needed for the type of tube that I cut,

 

[HasBean]

Excellent. Has all the makings of a lathe toolpost grinder or milling attachment too.

 

[simon718]

nicely made paul. with it being created from a cheap drill, is the motor quite easy to stall? although im sure you wouldn't be putting much force on it

 

[davenport]

sure beats autosol+cloth+elbow grease....

 

[Amit]

I want it!

Amit

 

[hareng]

Excellent work there Paul.
I do have to ask though 1/3 hp ****** motor running a 5 or 6" mop they dont have much torque, 1/2hp usually struggles unless a British motor.
Quite expensive that particular motor as a replacement.

Easy just slap a 3/4hp motor on.

A lot of ****** made items fail on the fragile magnetic stop start switch. Lost count of the number of replacements but try not to buy unless theres little workload for the specific tool. Incidently one belt sander from B&Q returned three times and replaced three times within 8 months, not used latest for 4 months and failed yet again 1 week outside the 12 month guarantee.

 

[scarecrow]

Very nice work Paul and a brilliant idea
I have been potting a similar idea for an old grinder with a wire brush on the to clean box iron or pipe just spring load the grinder with some kind of guide for the box iron and just run it through would probably work best with long length

 

[Paul.]

Thanks for all the comments and interest
Simon / Hareng, your right the motor doesn't have a lot of power, but it runs burrs, points and flap wheels perfectly, although too much pressure on a 5" mop though will stall it, not always a bad thing with open spindle polishers in the event of a snag, I do have access to full size polishing equipment if needed so it wont get overworked, It was made really just because I dont like to see usable components scrapped, and I had a couple of hours spare,

 

[Pete.]

Is it mounted on a morse taper Paul? If so do you have a drawbar securing the chuck?

 

[Paul.]

Is it mounted on a morse taper Paul? If so do you have a drawbar securing the chuck?

No morse taper on this, the chuck is on a jacobs taper, whilst it was apart I locktited it on and gave it a push under the flypress just to make sure, I dont want to be dodging or chasing a flying polishing mop

 

[Welderpaul]

Paul, what make is your flexible drill attachment?

 

[Paul.]

Paul, what make is your flexible drill attachment?

Haven't a clue, I bought it about 30 years ago from an ad in the exchange and mart, its done an amazing amount of work though, lost count of how many cylinder heads its polished out, the bearings are getting a bit worn now, it gets hot in your hand.
Screwfix do them, dunno about the quality though, I bet they wont last as long, http://www.screwfix.com/search.do?fh_search=flexible+drive

 

[Welderpaul]

Do you know of a decent brand to go for? Don't mind paying a bit, as long as it lasts.

 

[Paul.]

Wouldn't know what to recommend, I imagine all the small ones are pretty much the same, they are only a flex cable and a couple of bearings, for serious polishing jobs I have the use of a proper flex drive machine with its own drive motor, scary thing to use though, one snag and its out of your hand and leaping round the shop, similar set up to this http://www.scaleaway-tools.co.uk/WEB4 PAGE WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT PAGE.html
But about 40 years older.

 

[Welderpaul]

Bought a Porta Cable one today, pricey but should last...