Adapting an Air Die grinder to the Lathe

[bstanga]

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi bstanga, thanks for sharing your experiments, that's really interesting.
I do, at a smaller scale, some grinding on the lathe using a Dremel and it works pretty well for sharpening or small difficult milling on hard stuff I cannot turn with the usual tools, but never used it for surface grinding.
I feel that the main difficulty is often the lack of precision in the chucks and common grinding bits we can easily find.
I will try on my side with a small router, but I'm pessimistic with the poor chuck that comes with it.
Let's see ...

[PJs]

Thanks for continuing the illusive search for a good finish, Brian. Nice build but was surprised about the welding on AL...a tough do!

I built a little holder for my Dremel flex shaft on the Mini. Definitely mixed results. A few of your YT viewers hit on the issues I ran into also. Proper wheel choice, a true wheel and the bearings are what I found were the culprits. Also the 1018 is a bit gummy as someone said. The Dremel only has one bearing on the front end, in a plastic housing. Lots of flex and will chatter like a banshee squirrel primarily because of the 1/8" shaft. Your die grinder is in a metal housing but bearing quality is probably low. One thing that did work pretty well were grit impregnated rubberized wheels similar to Cratex...the finish was pretty good on most materials.

I've been on the hunt for something with dual bearings in the front. I looked at Foredom and theirs is quality but single bearing...just out of my price league. Have considered making one but the square cable drive would need some fingering for my meager shop!

Thanks for sharing your build and results. ~PJ

[DIYer]

Thanks bstanga! We've added your Air Grinder Adaptor to our Lathe Accessories category,
as well as to your builder page: bstanga's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Air Grinder Adaptor by bstanga

tags: lathe, die grinder, rotary tool, pneumatic, QCTP, adaptor

[thv]

Hi Bstanga, nice idea (it's always compressed air in the lathe area)
What was the grinder material? which welder has been used?
Thanks

[bstanga]

Hi Bstanga, nice idea (it's always compressed air in the lathe area)
What was the grinder material? which welder has been used?
Thanks

I made a long taper over 12 inches and was having trouble getting a good finish that material was 1" crs 1018, that what started this experiment, the welder is an Everlast Powerpro 205, it will TiG, Stick and Plasma cut. thanks for watching.