How to make a grinder out of a drill

Making a grinder from a drill

From a drill with your own hands, you can assemble a productive belt sander. In this case, the tool acts as a drive. The design itself is simple and does not require significant investment. For DIY manufacturing, you will need the following materials:

  • metal rods with and without thread;
  • profile pipe;
  • plywood;
  • steel sheet;
  • bearings;
  • hardware;
  • wood glue.

You should take care of the availability of plumbing tools, an inverter and devices for sawing metal.

Stages of work:

  • Manufacturing of pulleys. The drive and driven pulleys are designed to transfer torque from the drill to the grinder. They are made from plywood.
    make, grinder, drill
  • By changing the diameter, the required torque can be obtained. One pulley consists of several round timber, which are connected with wood glue. In the center, you need to drill holes for steel rods. After the glue dries, the workpieces are finalized, making a groove that should match the width of the drive belt.
  • Manufacturing of driving and driven shafts. They are also made from plywood similar to pulleys. round timber should be prepared for them.
  • We collect the lower part. To do this, you need a profile pipe. First of all, you need to make the bearing mountings and connect them. This is the base for the working shaft.
  • We make the upper part. The tensioning mechanism will be attached to it.
  • We make a thrust piece from a steel sheet.
  • Installing the drive. Please note: for normal operation, it is better to take a powerful drill.
  • Finishing work. All that remains is to install the pulleys, tighten the drive belt and assemble the protection. After that, the self-assembled device must be covered with paint.

For small and precise work, it is better to purchase compact drum or cymbal-type attachments, depending on the type of work.

Drill Hack // Make A Bench Grinder Using Drill

Hand tools for grinding

The simplest hand-held devices include sanding pads, which can be named: sanding blocks, sanding stones, etc. Depending on their shape, they can process both flat and shaped surfaces.

The sanding pad consists of three main elements. a body with a working surface on which the skin is pulled, a clamping mechanism that fixes the skin on the pad, and a handle, to which force is applied during grinding. The latter as an independent element may be absent, in this case its role is played by the body. The clamping mechanism can also be replaced with other elements that fulfill its function, for example, or with Velcro.

Many types of branded pads are produced, differing from each other in the shape and method of attaching the emery cloth. The body is most often made of plastic, the working surface of which is covered with a soft material that helps smooth out irregularities.

The simplest sanding pads are easy to make yourself. A tree is best suited for this. It is advisable to paste over the working surface or upholster with a soft material, for example, felt.

The simplest design of a bar is two pieces of board or chipboard, tightened together with screws. so that the skin wraps around the bottom piece, and its ends are clamped between the parts.

If you make a little more effort, you can make a more functional block in which the skin will be clamped with a wing nut, which is much faster and more convenient than using screws for this.

For processing large surfaces, if for some reason the power tool is not suitable, it is best to make yourself a grinding “plane”. Its possible design is shown in the figure below. It is so simple that it needs no explanation. The dimensions of the device are determined by the specific working conditions. the parameters of the processed plane and the physical data of the working.

For grinding edges that are strictly 90 ° to an adjacent surface, a tool will be useful to provide the required right angle. It is shown schematically, the concrete implementation can be any.

One of the main tasks in the manufacture of homemade bars is to securely attach the skin to them. In addition to mechanical clamps (using screws, nuts, etc.), other methods of attaching sandpaper can be used in homemade sanding stones.

You can just nail it at the ends with small nails. The method is simple to implement, but inconvenient if you have to frequently change the skin.

How to make a grinder with drill machine at home!!!!

An acceptable way of securing sandpaper is by gluing it. For this, adhesives are suitable, which make it relatively easy to separate the skin from the base when replacing it.

Use a drill to make a grinding machine

Sometimes they use wedges to fasten the skin. Cuts are made in the bar, into which the edges of the skin are tucked in and wooden wedges are driven. Cuts and wedges are available in a wide variety of sizes.

Making a belt sander with your own hands

It is not at all difficult to make a belt sander yourself, you must complete the following steps:

  • select suitable materials and parts;
  • make a solid foundation for fixing the tool;
  • install a suitable countertop;
  • fix the vertical struts with a tensioner and a drum;
  • mount the motor and drums;
  • fasten the sanding tape.

To process fairly large parts and elements, it is necessary to make a large copy of a serial grinder. For example, if you take an electric motor with a power of 2 kW or more powerful with a rotor speed of 1500 rpm, then the gearbox can be omitted. The power of such an engine is quite enough to rotate a drum about 20 cm in diameter and process parts about 2 m.

You can also use an electric motor from an old washing machine. In this case, the frame is made of a thick sheet of iron, preparing a place for installing the motor and carefully fixing it with bolts to eliminate vibration. The design of such a machine is 2 drums, and one of them is fixed, and the second can be pulled and rotated on bearings around an axis. It is advisable to make the base for the machine from metal or several sheets of thick plywood. The drums are made on a lathe from chipboard. The tape is cut from sandpaper sheets with a width of about 20 cm and fixed on the bed. The larger the table size, the larger the parts can be stacked and processed in the future. Drawings of finished products can be found online.

Do-it-yourself grinder from a grinder

As the name suggests, the grinder is designed for grinding. Scraping discs successfully cope with rough work: removing old paint, removing metal deposits or traces of corrosion. For finer cleaning, special attachments made of emery sheets of various grain sizes are sold.

Models for household use work in one mode, and the number of revolutions reaches 15 thousand per minute with an average of 11 thousand. This speed is great for sawing materials, but great for sanding work.

The grinder motor has excess power. For polishing, 300-400 W will be enough.

The grinder from the grinder will have a lot of weight compared to the factory tool, but it is possible to adapt the homemade product for yourself, which will increase the comfort when grinding.

For angle grinders, you can make a simple attachment that turns the device into a miniature belt sander. In this case, work is carried out without a protective cover.

If you do not want to use attachments, you can adjust the number of engine revolutions. Self-modernization of the circuit will require specialized knowledge in electrical engineering.

On professional devices, you can set the number of revolutions manually, however, their cost starts from 200.

Making a grinder from a drill

To turn an ordinary household electric drill into a grinder, you need to equip it with a special attachment. a working drum or a special support plate, depending on the task.

The backing or sanding pad is a plastic or rubber base with glued sandpaper and a shank for clamping into the drill chuck. Trays with a flexible shaft are suitable for work with a loose drill, and with a rigid one it is better to use only for a well-mounted drill.

Grinding drums for household drills are structurally an ordinary cylinder, a shank and sandpaper glued to the cylinder. When using drums, the working surface of the grinder is parallel to the axis of rotation.

Attachments for drills and grinders

Sanding pads. These attachments are a disc made of plastic or rubber, to which an emery cloth is attached in the form of a circle. Plastic plates have a soft or not very soft layer between the base and the Velcro, for better adhesion of the skin to the treated surface. Trays for drills have a shank in the form of a rod, for angle grinders. a thread for screwing them onto the output shaft of the grinder. The grinder attachment can be converted into a drill attachment by screwing an adapter with a shank into it.

But due to the rigidity of the grinder attachment, a strictly vertical arrangement of the drill relative to the plane during grinding is practically impossible. When using a rigid plate (flexible is easier to work), any slight tilt leads to the edge of the plate gnawing into the workpiece and the drill trying to break out of the hands, which leads to an increase in the tilt and deeper nibbling of the edge of the circle. This leads to clearly visible indentations on the surface to be treated. Therefore, only grinding attachments capable of compensating for the inclinations of the drill are suitable for the drill: either rubber, or with a thick soft layer between the plastic base and Velcro, or with a movable pin attachment.

Rigid pads are only suitable for working with a fixed drill, for example as shown below.

If you do not find a suitable nozzle for a grinding drill on sale, and there is a hard nozzle, then you can make a thick soft layer between the plastic base and the Velcro with your own hands.

The velcro is carefully cut off with a clerical (construction) knife, and a large round body wash sponge is glued as a soft layer. When the sponge is compressed during grinding, symmetry may be broken (the Velcro with the sandpaper moves to one side), but at the speed of the drill (3000 rpm) this is not critical, it may not work with the grinder.

Combined attachments for grinding on a drill are available, in which the shank can be in two positions relative to the working surface. be rigidly locked with it or have a degree of freedom (unlocked). In the latter case, the working surface of the tool has the ability to adapt to the tilt of the drill, so that the processing is obtained without the formation of indentations. But the price of such devices is close to the price of orbital sanders.

To make the shank movable, a flare nut is twisted (in the photo below with a similar device, it is twisted to the chuck).

The skin is attached to the plates with Velcro. This method of fastening requires special emery paper, on which a reciprocal layer of Velcro is applied.

Grinding drums. Grinding drums for a drill are a cylinder with a shank, sanding paper is fixed on the cylinder in the form of an endless tape (an emery cloth tape glued together at the ends) or a strip of sandpaper with free ends. Unlike a support plate, in which the working surface is located perpendicular to the axis of rotation, for drums it is parallel to it.

In order for the skin to sit tightly on the drums, the latter have different tension mechanisms. According to the principle of operation, there are two of them. increasing the outer diameter of the drum (used for an endless belt) and tensioning the abrasive belt using a special mechanism (used for open belts). The increase in the diameter of the drums is realized in different ways. by pumping them (for pneumatic models), compression in the axial direction (for drums with rubber elements). The tension of the open belt can also be performed in different ways. This is most often done with a rotating screw that tightens the ends of the sandpaper. Below are several options for drums with different types of skin tension.

A drum for endless sanding belts can be made by placing rubber pads between wooden discs. When the axle bolt is tightened, the rubber is crushed, expanding radially and securely fixing the sanding paper put on the drum.

Grinding tools using a drill. Grinding parts with a cymbal or drum while holding a drill is not as easy as it might seem to someone who has never done it himself. In many cases, a better surface quality can be achieved by holding the tool stationary. Especially when processing small parts that are easy to manipulate by hand. Grinding attachments are available to secure the power tool by making it fully or partially stationary.

You can use proprietary drill guides, which are primarily designed for drilling, but can be successfully used for grinding. mainly with a drum. There are two ways to work with them. By fixing the drill in the guide motionlessly and moving the workpiece relative to the tool (photo A below), or moving the guides together with the drill relative to the workpiece, pressing the supporting surface of the guides against the latter (photo B below). In both cases, drum tilt is eliminated, which ensures surface treatment at the desired angle.

You can independently make the simplest sanding device from two boards, which allows you to ensure the angle of the sanding edge with respect to the main surface is exactly 90 °.

Dust removal. When sanding wood, a lot of dust is generated, which is not only inconvenient, but also harmful to health if inhaled. Dust must be dealt with. The easiest way to do this is to suck it off with a vacuum cleaner, placing the hose closer to the grinding area.

There are many uses for the homemade sander in the household. We are talking not only about a private house or a personal plot, but also about housing in an apartment building. It can be used to process any surface. The degree of cleaning depends on the type and used abrasive materials. Unlike industrial models, a self-assembled device will favorably differ in cost, since the design budget will depend only on the master. With locksmith skills and basic knowledge in electrical business, you can easily assemble the device yourself.

How to make a grinder out of a drill

There are various attachments for manual and mechanized grinding. All of them can be divided into two main types.

  • Tools that directly process the part itself are hand-held devices, which include grinding blocks (pads, bars) and grinding attachments for a drill or grinder, which are all kinds of support plates and drums.
  • Devices that ensure the required position of the grinding tool relative to the part. guides, support surfaces, etc.

A separate type can be attributed to devices for dust extraction, which, due to the abundance and harmfulness of grinding dust, should also not be neglected.

Making an orbital sander

Currently, making an orbital machine with your own hands is possible only from a broken orbital machine. This is due to the complex device for rotating the working disk, which is quite problematic to repeat on your own. It should also be borne in mind that a machine made by a specialized company will not cost too much, and it will be very difficult and time-consuming to make it yourself.

Do it yourself wood sander

Manufacturing option of a tape machine

To assemble a belt-type grinder, you will need an electric motor, a strong frame and rollers on which the belt will rotate. Be sure to have on hand a drawing or a detailed diagram showing all units and dimensions. An example of a diagram of a machine with a wooden bed, we suggest looking at the photo.

The following photo shows the finished design of the machine. In this embodiment, the arrangement of the three working shafts is made so that the moving belt forms a vertical grinding plane. A belt drive is used as a drive.

Four rollers can be used in the construction of the machine. One of them is the driving one and is mounted directly on the motor shaft. The photo shows an example of such a design. Installation of four rollers allows you to get two grinding planes: horizontal and vertical.

The wooden frame smooths out the vibration of a running electric motor, however, wood is short-lived. Optimally, a workpiece measuring 50×18 cm is cut out of steel with a thickness of 2 cm. One edge of the bed is made perfectly flat in order to fix the platform for the electric motor to it. For the next part, you will need steel 1 cm thick. The platform is cut out with a size of 18×16 cm, and then fixed to the frame with a bolted connection.

A large electric motor power is not needed for such a machine. The engine from an old washing machine will do. If a high performance of the grinder is required, then it is advisable to find an electric motor with a shaft speed of 1500 rpm and a power of 2.5 to 3 kW. High-quality grinding can be achieved by moving the sanding belt at a speed of 20 m / s. To achieve such parameters, work drums with a diameter of 20 cm are used.If the rollers are made thinner, you will have to reduce the speed of the motor shaft using a gearbox, which is extremely inconvenient.

The drive drum can be slid onto the motor shaft. If this option is not suitable, a separate unit is made. The drive shaft with bearings is fixed to the bed. From this end, a belt pulley is inserted, and from the other end, a drive drum is installed. Then a pulley is also put on the shaft of the electric motor and a V-belt is put on. Driven rollers rotate randomly on bearings.

The pulleys of the belt drive will have to be turned on a lathe, and the rollers can be made from square pieces of chipboard measuring 20×20 cm.The plates are stacked on top of each other until a total thickness of 24 cm is obtained.A hole is drilled in the center of the square plates, a threaded pin is inserted and the plates are tightly pulled together on both sides with nuts. A square workpiece is grinded so that a drum with a diameter of 20 cm is obtained.

During the groove of the roller, a thickening is provided in its central part. The difference in relation to the edges of the drum should be 3 mm. Due to the thickening, the belt will not slide off the rollers. The surface of the wooden drum is covered with rubber. An old bicycle camera will do. Rubber will prevent slipping of the belt on the rollers.

For the manufacture of a sanding belt, sandpaper with a cloth backing is suitable. You can cut a solid strip of the required length, the edges of which are glued end-to-end. If there is no long strip of sandpaper, cut a strip of strong fabric and sew it into a ring. The sandpaper is cut into rectangles and then glued onto a strip of fabric. When making a sanding belt, it is important to choose high-quality glue so that the sandpaper does not peel off.

We make a grinder from a computer hard drive

Any old hard drive can be converted into a miniature sander. To do this, follow these steps:

  • completely disassemble the hard drive and remove from the case everything that is located to the left of the magnetic disks;
  • cut out the working circle from sandpaper, make a hole for the spindle in the center of the circle;
  • stick several strips of double-sided tape on the rotating disk of the hard drive and fix sandpaper on it;
  • make a protective screen that protects the eyes from the possible departure of the manufactured emery disc;
  • connect the finished structure to the power supply from the computer and use.

Of course, such a design does not have high power, but it is quite possible to sharpen a small knife or scissors.

Making an orbital sander

Currently, making an orbital machine with your own hands is possible only from a broken orbital machine. This is due to the complex device for rotating the working disk, which is quite problematic to repeat on your own. It should also be borne in mind that a machine made by a specialized company will not cost too much, and it will be very difficult and time-consuming to make it yourself.

Existing types of grinders

The industry produces several types of machines that differ both structurally and in purpose. Here are the main ones:

  • Eccentric or orbital, in this case the sole of the instrument simultaneously rotates around its axis and in a certain orbit. It turns out that each time it passes a little in a different place, so scratches and burrs are rubbed with each pass more and more.
  • Vibration model. Here the work sole performs reciprocating movements with a frequency of about 20,000 movements per minute. It is due to these movements that grinding occurs.
  • Angle grinder, which is popularly called “grinder”. With this tool, rough processing of parts, large logs, etc. is carried out. Abrasive wheels of the required grain size are used for processing.
  • Belt sander that is usually used for working on large surfaces. Structurally, it consists of rollers driven by an electric motor, on which an emery tape is worn.

Making a grinder from a drill

To turn an ordinary household electric drill into a grinder, you need to equip it with a special attachment. a working drum or a special support plate, depending on the task.

The backing or sanding pad is a plastic or rubber base with glued sandpaper and a shank for clamping into the drill chuck. Trays with a flexible shaft are suitable for work with a loose drill, and with a rigid one it is better to use only for a well-mounted drill.

Grinding drums for household drills are structurally an ordinary cylinder, a shank and sandpaper glued to the cylinder. When using drums, the working surface of the grinder is parallel to the axis of rotation.

How to make a sander

When the work with the wooden surface comes to an end, the stage of finishing sanding begins. To perform grinding without burrs, scratches, beautifully round off sharp corners of any part, you need to use a wood sander. This tool will help to perform professional grinding even for a beginner who first took the device in hand. If you wish, you can make a grinder yourself, using only available tools.