matt tennessen
04-26-2011, 8:46 AM
I know it is worth my while to invest some time in learning about electric motors, but with that said...
I found an old 12" disk sander a while back for ridiculously cheap and the motor finally gave out. The repair shop I took it to said it was too old and too shot to bother fixing. So I've got this sander minus a motor and I'm going to just replace the motor but then I see this old issue of shop notes sitting around and now I've got questions. I was going to find a reasonably powered/priced motor and just attach the disk. In shop notes, they used a lower powered 1/2hp, a couple of step pulleys and a link belt.
My two questions are: is there any advantage to having variable speed for a 12" disk? And, if I can use a smaller/cheaper motor by just adding a pulley and a belt (and keep the motor housed away from dust), is there a reason why you wouldn't? I always figured that the belt drive was easier on a motor and the stand that came with sander has room for me to mount it low, so... (Is the real question: how can I be so stupid to not understand this?)
I found an old 12" disk sander a while back for ridiculously cheap and the motor finally gave out. The repair shop I took it to said it was too old and too shot to bother fixing. So I've got this sander minus a motor and I'm going to just replace the motor but then I see this old issue of shop notes sitting around and now I've got questions. I was going to find a reasonably powered/priced motor and just attach the disk. In shop notes, they used a lower powered 1/2hp, a couple of step pulleys and a link belt.
My two questions are: is there any advantage to having variable speed for a 12" disk? And, if I can use a smaller/cheaper motor by just adding a pulley and a belt (and keep the motor housed away from dust), is there a reason why you wouldn't? I always figured that the belt drive was easier on a motor and the stand that came with sander has room for me to mount it low, so... (Is the real question: how can I be so stupid to not understand this?)