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  1. #1
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Default Fatter Scotch-Brite wheels

    This is somewhat on the trivial side but it may provide someone with an idea or two.

    I like using Scotch-Brite wheels from everything to relatively safe removal of shallow rust to small burr removal and brush finishing metals, and go through one of these wheels about every 18 months or so. I have been using 8" 5 fold wheels from Abrasiflex that are around 25mm thick but have always wanted to get something thicker to cover a wider area or material exposed to the wheel.

    I looked around on-line and found a mob called AB tools on ebay in the hUK were having a sale on their 4 fold 25 mm thick wheels so I thought I would buy two of them and see if I could put them together.

    The wheels hubs use 3 thick leather washers, one each on the outside and one in the middle (in between the 2nd and 3rd fold) for added grip of the tapered shaft, all held together by 4 long nails.
    IMG_3387p.jpg

    The other side looked like this after I had folded out the ends of the nails out with multi grip .
    IMG_3388p.jpg

    I drilled out the holes in the middle of 4 of the now 5 leather washers (one between each pair) to 12, 14, 16 and 18 mm so they could better bind ono the tapered spindle.
    Then I just bolted them together with some 4 x 50 mm long bolts.
    The mops don't exactly line up but it won't take too long for then to wear into place.
    I thought the out of alignment mops might add a bit of vibe but it seems no different to the remains of the old 5 fold Abrasiflex wheel that I was using.

    IMG_3389p.jpg

  2. #2
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    Thanks for that Bob. You're a mine of information and ideas.
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  3. #3
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore View Post
    Thanks for that Bob. You're a mine of information and ideas.
    Thanks KB, SWMBO calls my head a can of forgetful worms. She's been away for a few days so I thought I would SMS he to see how she was going because I knew she had some flu bug thing. In her reply she signed off, "Don't forget to close the fridge and turn off the oven".

  4. #4
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    Thanks Bob. Not as splendid as yours, but I do a DIY version using the scotchbrite pads you get locally in painting stores etc. They come rectangular, but trim them down to circular (and keep the offcuts) and mount on a bolt and use in the drill. Not all being perfectly round or exactly centered doesn't seem to matter.

    Thanks for sharing - next time I might do the spacers thing as you have.

    Greg.

  5. #5
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by StrayAlien View Post
    Thanks Bob. Not as splendid as yours, but I do a DIY version using the scotchbrite pads you get locally in painting stores etc. They come rectangular, but trim them down to circular (and keep the offcuts) and mount on a bolt and use in the drill. Not all being perfectly round or exactly centered doesn't seem to matter..
    Good idea for small size wheels.
    I have seen larger sheets of Scotchbrite material for sale but they ended up being more expensive than most equal area wheels. The smaller pads probably benefit price wise from being sold in their thousands. What do you do with the offcuts?

  6. #6
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    Dec 2007
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    Default Scotchbrite wheel.

    Bob, Have you used these.
    I can’t remember where I bought them but they work well, about 100mm wide.
    On an old 2hp grinder which was very scary until I mounted it on the old heavy cast base.
    With the big wire wheel it would walk towards you.
    I tried the big wheels on a 960rpm motor but they bell too much.
    H.
    Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)

  7. #7
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    I would be very scared too, anywhere near that double ended monster...
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  8. #8
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by clear out View Post
    Bob, Have you used these.
    I can’t remember where I bought them but they work well, about 100mm wide.
    I had two of those wheels given to me about 10 years ago and I agree they are good but I have not been able to find them for sale anywhere since.
    Abrasiflex has 3M wheels but last time I looked they cost a fair bit.
    Instead I have been using the Abrasifelx Bibielle wheels which are similar to Scotchbrite but are only 5 fold.

  9. #9
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    Bob have you looked for unitized finishing wheels or unitized deburring wheels? They come in a range of diameters, widths, grit sizes and prices to polish holes in your shop fund.

    Pete

  10. #10
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by QC Inspector View Post
    Bob have you looked for unitized finishing wheels or unitized deburring wheels? They come in a range of diameters, widths, grit sizes and prices to polish holes in your shop fund.
    I did look at them but the price put me off. Also I wondered about their wear rate and flexibility around curved objects?

  11. #11
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    They are indeed more expensive but they come in different grades of hardness/stiffness. Not sure they come in as soft as what you have but they will last longer. If there is any distributors in your neck of the woods. If there is you could have a talk with them and look at the samples.

  12. #12
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by QC Inspector View Post
    They are indeed more expensive but they come in different grades of hardness/stiffness. Not sure they come in as soft as what you have but they will last longer. If there is any distributors in your neck of the woods. If there is you could have a talk with them and look at the samples.
    The main reason I use the Scotchbrite wheels is because the fold like arrangement that allows individual mops to some places a more solid wheel can't access.

  13. #13
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    I bought a scotch brite wheel on the weekend at the Hong Kong Shop, at least I think it's a scotch brite: it's a grey colour, 8"x1" and much harder than my other scotch brite. It is excellent for removing burs and will smooth out aluminium prior to polishing.

    As I said, I'm assuming it's scotch brite, any info would be great.

  14. #14
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    25 years ago i got this 8" disk from an ironmonger that was closing down. Might have been the last proper ironmonger I ever saw.
    1.jpg
    Its great for refinishing with a matt finish and can take this
    20160326_061926.jpg
    to this
    2.jpg
    Because I only use it to refinish the surface its not really worn much so i don't need another one the same grit. I polish the surface first then a light run over with the fibre mop to add consistent scratches. Its quite hard to get a nice consistent finish even with one solid width of mop.

    I'd like a slightly courser finish though so I tried that red on in the first picture, from aldi I think. It does not give a consistent finish at all, which i put down to the fact its made of segments. its like a mix of different grades of scratches on the finished surface, not decorative enough. The old disk I have is wide and not laminated in any way.

    I've just been sent a link to this lot which looks interesting because there are three grades ( and I'm lazy and could just buy these rather than make them)
    https://www.allendalecrafts.co.uk/po...-6-medium.html

    What i'm not sure of is how fine a finish the four layers give. Bob, do you get a very consistent finish from your mop or can you tell where the edges of the individual disks are? I know you can move the workpiece side to side but if the edges of those disks are giving a different grade of finish to the rest of the mop, it might not look right. On something like a watch you really notice if its not perfect.

  15. #15
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by sossity View Post
    Because I only use it to refinish the surface its not really worn much so i don't need another one the same grit.
    I use mine mainly for light rust removal which wears them quite a bit.

    I polish the surface first then a light run over with the fibre mop to add consistent scratches. Its quite hard to get a nice consistent finish even with one solid width of mop.
    Yeah I agree getting it even is pretty tricky.

    I'd like a slightly courser finish though so I tried that red on in the first picture, from aldi I think. It does not give a consistent finish at all, which i put down to the fact its made of segments. its like a mix of different grades of scratches on the finished surface, not decorative enough. The old disk I have is wide and not laminated in any way.
    Your old dis is a unitised disc and should give the most consistent finish or a flat surface. The wheel like this I used at work was not as even on uneven surfaces as the laminated wheels I have used.

    The red disc looks laminated but at right angles to the rotation so it's unlikely to be the segmentation. It's more likely to be the speed of rotation - are you driving it with some sort of a drill? If so that won't be anywhere near fast enough for a fine finish. On the Abrasiflex website they state these wheels have to run at between 8500 and 17000 rpm for the finer grades. I have a well worn 8" Scotchbrite version of the same thing and it was fine at producing an even finish up until it reached around 5" in diameter " and then it just got worse and worse as I was only driving it at 2800 rpm.

    I've just been sent a link to this lot which looks interesting because there are three grades ( and I'm lazy and could just buy these rather than make them)
    https://www.allendalecrafts.co.uk/po...-6-medium.html
    They look pretty much like the ones I bought.

    What i'm not sure of is how fine a finish the four layers give. Bob, do you get a very consistent finish from your mop or can you tell where the edges of the individual disks are? I know you can move the workpiece side to side but if the edges of those disks are giving a different grade of finish to the rest of the mop, it might not look right. On something like a watch you really notice if its not perfect.
    I haven't done a lot of polishing but so far I cant tell where the edges of the mops are on polished surfaces.

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