Bench motor

[mklotz]

One of your most useful tools is your electric drill. But all it is is a hand-held motor. Like a Dremel, its real utility descends from all the accessories it can power. Nevertheless, there are jobs where bringing the work to the tool is better than bringing the tool to the work. Compare sharpening a chisel using your electric drill to sharpening it on a grinder bolted to your bench.

So, it occurred to me that a motor bolted to the bench would be a really handy tool. Fixed in place, hundreds of accessories and more power than any electric drill could deliver.

So, I bought a reversible motor, bolted it to my workbench with the shaft projecting over the edge, wired it for reversibility and mounted a 3/8" Jacobs chuck to it using an adaptor I made on the lathe...

Equipped with wire brushes, sanding pads and drums, grinding wheels, and polishing buffs it's become one of the most-used tools in the shop. Variable speed would be nice but this was all done in the days before treadmill motors appeared in every junk store. Actually, the 1750 RPM isn't all that bad a compromise for most tasks. The reversibility is especially handy when wire brushing. After some use, the bristles tend to get bent and, as a result, wipe more than impact. Reversing the motor undoes this effect and gets them cutting again. Often, when grinding or sanding, holding the work for one direction of rotation can be awkward while, with reverse rotation, it becomes easy.

The chuck is key operated. With larger wire wheels, the sharp bristles hurt your hand as you attempt to use the relatively short, tiny chuck key. I knocked the rod out of the key, fitted a longer handle over the key body, pinned the key in place with a pin through the handle and the original handle hole in the key and stuck the original key handle on the end of the long handle. The result is a long reach chuck key that keeps your hands clear of scratchy tools held in the chuck...

[olderdan]

Nice one Marv.

[mklotz]

Nice one Marv
I agree those bench motors are so useful, I wish treadmill motors were more available in the UK.
Regulations prohibit the sale of secondhand electrical items from junk yards in case we hurt our little selves.
By the way those screw wiring connectors were always referred to by my father (an electrician) as dog cocks.
One final note I carry a scar on my forehead caused by an unguarded buffing wheel at college, a piece of brass sheet caught in the wheel, went right round and flew up at me, my spectacles took most of the impact so mine is now under a simple shelf.

The safety Nazi problem is as bad, if not worse, in the UK as it is here. I expect that, very soon now, we won't be allowed to tie our own shoe laces, lest we lose our balance and fall on our heads.

Somehow, I expect that the term "dog cocks" will never catch on over here.

Shame on you for bringing sheet metal to a buffing wheel. That's one of the first buffing no-no's I learned. Keep anything with sharp edges away from the wheel.

[DIYer]

Thanks mklotz! We've added your Bench Motor to our Electrical category,
as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Bench Motor by mklotz

tags: chuck, motor

[DIYer]

Thanks mklotz! We've added your Long Reach Chuck Key to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Long Reach Chuck Key by mklotz

tags: chuck key, modification

[DanCom]

A side note. A 5/8" to 1/2" NF arbor attachment can be had at many hardware stores in North America. The arbor is meant for buffing wheels and the like, but the threaded part is compatible with a many a 5/8" chuck.

Dan

[MIGuy]

Great idea! You could easily mount a pulley and drive a variety of tools such as a rock saw.

[Peter Sanders]

Hi Marv

Shame on you for bringing sheet metal to a buffing wheel. That's one of the first buffing no-no's I learned. Keep anything with sharp edges away from the wheel.

Ah yes, but in so many cases, the wire brush can be used for the removal of those sharp edges. :-)

regards

Peter

[mklotz]

Hi Marv


Ah yes, but in so many cases, the wire brush can be used for the removal of those sharp edges. :-)

They make effective hand tools for deburring sheet metal. Many of them, such as this one...

Burr-Bi Sheet Metal Deburring Tools & Set

have built-in hand guards.

[Jon]

Congratulations mklotz - your Bench Motor is the Homemade Tool of the Week!

A conceptually simple tool build, but a very popular one. At 14 Thanks votes so far, it's tied for 2nd place among our most-thanked tool posts (rossbotics's Machine Tool Dial Making Fixture is currently #1).

It's difficult to understand why bench motors aren't more prevalent, especially since they're straightforward to build and obviously extremely useful. We now have 28,713 homemade tools listed, and I believe this is our first bench motor. I poked around a little and did see a handful of mentions of similar builds in machining and gunsmithing forums. I also found a fancy gussied-up commercial version marketed to luthiers.

My best guess is that commercial tool suppliers are simply not economically incentivized to popularize such a tool, because it disintermediates their industry. In considering some of the wording from mklotz's post ("all it is is a hand-held motor", "its real utility descends from", "it occurred to me that"), I can't help but be reminded of Cuban industrial design professor Ernesto Oroza's concept of "technological disobedience", discussed starting at 6:55 in the video from this previous post. Per Oroza's theory, contemporary objects (like a drill or a grinder) have "authority" over us, and the key to invention is to disrespect and surpass that authority.

Homemade tool theory aside, an excellent week here. Some nice selections: another very popular post on Improving Lathe Accuracy by tonyfoale, a Tramming Tool by bobs409, a Collet Holder by olderdan, a Draw Bar and Hand Crank by bobs409, a Chimney Pipe Liner Expander by Frank S, a 1st-post Windshield Wiper Removal Tool by franklynb, as well as a few other nice mklotz tools: Tool Post, Lantern Pin Vise, and Pot Chuck.

mklotz - this is your 8th Homemade Tool of the Week win. Here are all of your previous wins:

Bore Measurement Gauge by mklotz

tags: gauge, dial indicator, measurement

Miniature Indexing Faceplate by mklotz

tags: indexing unit, collet

Pocket Tools by mklotz

tags: magnet, measurement

Bench Block Clamping Setup by mklotz

tags: clamp, V-block

Model Cement Mixer by mklotz

tags: mixer, cement

Sphere Drilling Jig by mklotz

tags: jig, drilling

Countersink Gage by mklotz

tags: measurement

You'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, Giftrocket, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.


Congrats again and nice job