Made a power strop: Market?

[Axehandle]

This is a horse butt stropping wheel. 3/4 thick. Final product would probably be 5/8" though since this thickness really taxes my sewing machine even though it is spec for it. Comes out to 5 1/2" diameter.

It is 6 layers glued and sewed together just like a buffing wheel. This thing is much harder and stiffer than most buffing wheels though. I made a 4 1/2" one too but it just seemed to small. I cut that with a hole saw. THis one I cut with a circle cutter designed for light fabric. I had to outline it and then cut the rest with a utility knife. This has a 1/2" arbor hole which is what most 6" grinders have.

That is the idea. Chuck it into you 6" grinder and use as a power strop. I don't think it will matter that you are using the edge of the leather and it will make a good medium for holding what ever compound you want. This one has some voids in it a la cheap plywood. That would probably be typical as eliminating them would add a prohibitive amount of manufacturing time.

Price will be high. Probably $50. And possibly too high for what it is.

Tell me what you think.

[Timberwolf]

You did an excellent job on it from the looks of it...maybe a little "too" nice, in that IME, sewing the wheel is not necessary..I have made several out of weight lifting belt leather, snagged at flea markets, over the span of about 7years...They are approx. 5.5" diameter and the adhesive I used between the laminations is Titebond..just stacked and placed on a flat surface with a weight placed on them until the glue hardened...I cut them roughly to shape on the bandsaw, then bored a 1/2" hole and mounted it on the motor shaft..I "improvised" a tool rest and used the motor as a lathe to turn the disc true..using an ordinary lathe skew. I turn a "working edge" on the wheel to about 30 degrees, which allows you to power strop long knives without them hitting the motor housing.

I am still using the first one I made and it has not delaminated all this time...It is still "stiff" enough without side reinforcement, but it could be made even stiffer by sandwiching it between plywood "washers"..

[Phil S.]

Your competition is Flexcut, selling a set of two smaller wheels with arbors for $30-35, one flat, the other with a V-shaped edge. Yours looks like a nicer wheel, but I'm not sure if the difference would be worth 3X the cost. Flexcut suggests running them at 600-800 rpm, maybe on a lathe or DP.

[Anji12305]

http://www.mountainwoodcarvers.com/sharpeni1.htm

Power strop already exists for knife makers.

[blackhat]

Any grinder is going to be too fast. An arbor that can mount in a drill press or lathe chuck or a belt driven shaft at a couple to 400 rpm. I like the stitched idea but think it's overkill. How about just selling discs with a 1/4 hole. Buy as many as you need to glue up the thickness wanted and drill whatever hole size desired. Single discs could also be glued to an MDF or ply backing disc.

[Jonathan S]

I made one under Jack's expert tutelage a few years ago. Of course I used hide glue rather than pva. I mounted mine I on a small slow speed motor I found at the restore. Turning it true on the shaft it will live on is important. Remember you want the wheel rotating away from you.

Jonathan

[Axehandle]

Ive seen the flexcuts and thought the ability to mount in the grinder would be better.

The paper "stones" do work. They are pretty big. Like 6" and 8" and they turn them on 3600 rpm grinder and buffer motors. That would be really fast in SFPM. I have used the Razor Sharp system and it works. How many might want to use real leather though?

Interesting ideas in terms of it being "too nice" and the thoughts on how to simplify the manufacturing process to lessen the cost and potentially increase the utility.

Thanks a ton. I will think about it a bit. Keep the ideas coming.

[Timberwolf]

I don't recommend running any polishing wheel faster than about 2500FPM....and slower than that is better....IMO, paper wheels aren't as good as leather, but I do have a couple of them. A fast running leather wheel used with chrome oxide can generate enough heat to affect the temper if you use too much pressure, so a light touch is essential.

For the record, you can do a very efficient job of sharpening with a hard-stitched muslin buff at about 3000FPM, once you learn how to use it correctly..Used incorrectly, you can remove the edge almost instantly..But it does take a lot of practice to avoid dubbing the edge.

For my wood carving blades and my pocket knife, I use my little 4" leather wheel running at 3450rpm on a tapered mandrel.

[Scoony]

They work great for carving chisels, but you have to be careful when they are mounted on a grinder. Wrong direction could cause some serious harm.

I have a leather wheel on a hand crank grinder and use it all the time for carving and lathe chisels.

[Shop Dad]

Worksharp has one. http://www.worksharptools.com/work-sharp...e-kit.html

Doug