One of the best tools I ever bought is the Oscillating Edge/Belt Spindle Sander (Model # EB4424), at Home Depot for $199. Home Depot SKU is 428230. I used to have a belt sander where the belt laid flat. But on this machine, the sanding belt is at exactly 90 degrees to the bed, making it 1000% better than my former sander.
This picture is a little fuzzy, so go on line to get a better picture..
On the left of the belt, is a "holder" that is held by a "hand bolt". If your on line, you can enlarge that section of the picture and see the bolt perfectly.
I removed that part, and then cut an 18 inch long piece of 90 degree "L" shaped piece of aluminum (the thickness of the L shaped aluminum should be at least 3/16ths of an inch.
I drilled a hole on one end of the "L" and secured it with the same "hand bolt" above,
and secured the other (front) end with a clamp. The L piece is actually set on the sander's bed with a backwards L (e.g. _| ), so a flat side of the aluminum L bar is facing the belt, and the other flat side is flat on the sander bed.
Thus, using the clamp, I would move the L bar back and forth to get the desired distance
between the L bar and the sanding belt (or cylinder).
Example, first I would saw a BSA block to approximately 5/16ths of an inch, but using any of my saws, the end result was perfect on the bottom, but never the newly sawed top.
So using the L bar, I would feed the newly cut piece thru the space between the belt and the L bar, but with the good side sliding along the bar, and thus sanding a perfectly flat top side of the body.
Often, I would take the good piece, install the weights and drill the axle holes, then feed the piece thru the gap until the top was very thin (e.g. 1/128" or less) on top.
Using this bar, I have even been able to leave the car's rear and the portion of the block where the front axle holes reside a little thicker, and make the middle of the block even thinner than 1/4 inch. If you use one of John's X style bodies, that give good enough rigidness (i.e. prevent stress or flex at the transition point of the track).
The nice thing about this Ridgid Sander, is that the belt oscillates up and down while the belt is rotating. If you look at the picture closely, you can also see 5 cylinders under the top bed. The entire Belt section can be pulled out, and one of the sanding cylinders installed on the left side, thus the chosen cylinder also oscillates.
I hope my narrative above is clear enough for you all to get an idea of how my sanding system works.
PM me or phone me if you need more detail.
But this system really makes for nice bodies. E.g., you can buy one of John's "X Factor" bodies (or Ladder type) and thin the body to the point that you can see the body's skeleton thru a semi clear MonoKote top, yet still leave enough "meat" for the axle holes and the weight
-------------------------------------------------------------
I was once asked to show a picture of the fence I use to thin the blocks down to the desired width.
I make several passes, always pushing the block from the rear to the front. If you push from the front, you might see your car's body or the block fly across the room at great speed.
The actual fence can be purchased at any Harware place, like Home Depot, or even better, Ace Hardware.
Note that I clamp the front end of the L fence, AND I only take off about 1/16th" at each pass.
I also make two passes before changing the fence for the next "bite". That basically evens up the cut. I.e. turn the body upside down and make another pass.
Incidentally, you can either use the belt OR one of several Circle sizes to cut.
You can see a vacuum tube on the upper left hand corner of the picture, that hooks into my Vac System (you can barely see the vac input at the very top of the picture on the left hand side.
This picture is a little fuzzy, so go on line to get a better picture..
On the left of the belt, is a "holder" that is held by a "hand bolt". If your on line, you can enlarge that section of the picture and see the bolt perfectly.
I removed that part, and then cut an 18 inch long piece of 90 degree "L" shaped piece of aluminum (the thickness of the L shaped aluminum should be at least 3/16ths of an inch.
I drilled a hole on one end of the "L" and secured it with the same "hand bolt" above,
and secured the other (front) end with a clamp. The L piece is actually set on the sander's bed with a backwards L (e.g. _| ), so a flat side of the aluminum L bar is facing the belt, and the other flat side is flat on the sander bed.
Thus, using the clamp, I would move the L bar back and forth to get the desired distance
between the L bar and the sanding belt (or cylinder).
Example, first I would saw a BSA block to approximately 5/16ths of an inch, but using any of my saws, the end result was perfect on the bottom, but never the newly sawed top.
So using the L bar, I would feed the newly cut piece thru the space between the belt and the L bar, but with the good side sliding along the bar, and thus sanding a perfectly flat top side of the body.
Often, I would take the good piece, install the weights and drill the axle holes, then feed the piece thru the gap until the top was very thin (e.g. 1/128" or less) on top.
Using this bar, I have even been able to leave the car's rear and the portion of the block where the front axle holes reside a little thicker, and make the middle of the block even thinner than 1/4 inch. If you use one of John's X style bodies, that give good enough rigidness (i.e. prevent stress or flex at the transition point of the track).
The nice thing about this Ridgid Sander, is that the belt oscillates up and down while the belt is rotating. If you look at the picture closely, you can also see 5 cylinders under the top bed. The entire Belt section can be pulled out, and one of the sanding cylinders installed on the left side, thus the chosen cylinder also oscillates.
I hope my narrative above is clear enough for you all to get an idea of how my sanding system works.
PM me or phone me if you need more detail.
But this system really makes for nice bodies. E.g., you can buy one of John's "X Factor" bodies (or Ladder type) and thin the body to the point that you can see the body's skeleton thru a semi clear MonoKote top, yet still leave enough "meat" for the axle holes and the weight
-------------------------------------------------------------
I was once asked to show a picture of the fence I use to thin the blocks down to the desired width.
I make several passes, always pushing the block from the rear to the front. If you push from the front, you might see your car's body or the block fly across the room at great speed.
The actual fence can be purchased at any Harware place, like Home Depot, or even better, Ace Hardware.
Note that I clamp the front end of the L fence, AND I only take off about 1/16th" at each pass.
I also make two passes before changing the fence for the next "bite". That basically evens up the cut. I.e. turn the body upside down and make another pass.
Incidentally, you can either use the belt OR one of several Circle sizes to cut.
You can see a vacuum tube on the upper left hand corner of the picture, that hooks into my Vac System (you can barely see the vac input at the very top of the picture on the left hand side.
