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I am an orthotist looking to start up my own practice, and I'm looking for a decent grinder with a 6" sanding drum - one that will allow me to manufacture my own orthotics, not just adjust them.
I've looked at the Sani-Grinder but a 3" wide sanding drum just won't do. Any ideas? Anyone know how much something like this costs?
Thanks for your reply. I checked out the Carbatec website and it looks like they have pneumatic sanding drums that will fit a standard 8" grinder. Will have to go check them out.
The Carbatec belt sanders work well, although they're slightly slower than the pneumatic drum sanders. You can pick one up for between three and five hundred dollars and they also have dust extractors to suit. The only thing is, they take up a bit more space. Good product though.. I still use one every day.
Thanks for your reply. I think I'm going to try the pneumatic drum sander, coupled with an Abbott & Ashby 8" bench grinder - stick a buffing wheel on one side and a drum sander on the other. Space is an issue, so I think I might stay away from the belt sander for the moment.
Do you know how much the dust extractors go for??
Thanks for your reply. I think I'm going to try the pneumatic drum sander, coupled with an Abbott & Ashby 8" bench grinder - stick a buffing wheel on one side and a drum sander on the other. Space is an issue, so I think I might stay away from the belt sander for the moment.
Do you know how much the dust extractors go for??
I would sound PGCarter out; he put me on the right track. The problem with the buffing on the Abbott & Ashby is the speed. Too fast = melt not polish.
I have used the Abbott & Ashby grinder at another place I have worked at, and it seemed to be ok when grinding PE and PP. 95% of my fabrication involves semi-rigid orthotics, so buffing EVA doesn't have as many complications as buffing thermoplastics.
Why havn't I come across this forum thing before? It's fantastic! Thanks everyone for being so helpful!
David I think the dust extractors go for between $250 and $450, depending on attachments and size, because the units are quite big (free standing). Also, the pneumatic drums are good but I find the belt sander works better than a drum on a bench grinder because it's too hard to get enough clearance space underneath when you're doing an EVA device. The corresponding problem is you need to bend slightly to use the belt sander...
Also, to answer Atlas' problem, a cotton mop on the bench grinder works well (polish cf. melt), despite the speed.
Welcome to pod-arena mate. We need more orthotists here.
you used to be able to get them at Bunnings David... you'll need a thread adaptor and the cotton wheel simply screws on to it. Make sure you don't get the ones that are sewn together. They aren't meant for plastics although they're fine if you need it for finishing metal uprights on KAFOs
Grinder with 6" sanding drum
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