friction roller idea - cheap easy replacement

[Gungatim]

OK, this is either a stroke of genius or just plain stupid, you tell me.

Reading all I can on here about friction drives, as I have a nice little Homelite 32cc motor just sitting there begging for something to do. A lot of threads talk about the sand/JB weld coating, and it got me thinking. My Solex 3800 has a drive wheel that is "carborundum" coated. Looks like a sanding sleeve to me... So I says to myself, hey, what about your Ryobi spindle sander in the woodshop? It uses these rubber sanding drums in varying diameters. You slip a sanding sleeve over the rubber drum, then tighten down a nut against the rubber drum which expands it tight onto the shaft, filling the sleeve. I know I have a 1 1/4" diameter drum and some medium grit sleeves, so what ab out using this for a friction drive on the motor?

When it wears out, just unscrew, slip on a new sanding sleeve (like $6 for a 3 pack) and tighten it back down.

Any ideas why this wouldn't work?

I'll try to post a pic of the sander to let any non-woodworkers know what I am talking about.

 

[Gungatim]

pics of Ryobi OSS 500 sander - available for $99

I am sure you can find the replacement drums pretty cheap, or buy the whole machine and re-sell it w/o the drum you need.

 

[Gungatim]

Ok, I thought of one drawback, the motor on that thing is only like 1/3 hp, not sure of the torque, but maybe a gas engine would be too much for it. OTOH, I have smoked some pretty hard oak on that thing and never had the sleeve slip.

 

[SirJakesus]

I think it would work fine unless the sleeve is made with a cardboard backing (like most sandpaper) and quickly disintegrates when wet.
A 32cc motor should have at least 1hp and will work well as a friction drive. A 1.25in scrubber may make it struggle up any hill though.

 

[Egor]

I was digging through the garage today and as I looked around for an Idea, There it was just like you are stating. Mine came from a kit from Harbor Freight Tools, only 7.95 for the whole kit. It looks like this. Have fun, Dave

 

[Esteban]

You can go to a hardware store & buy a small grinding wheel with a 1/4" shaft that fits in a drill, cheaply. Wrap it in a cloth to protect your eyes, & beat the grinding wheel with a hammer. You will get a lot of small fine grit. Mix the fine grit with JB Weld & apply a THIN coat to the friction wheel. Keep the balance of the grit in an old medicine bottle for when you need to coat again. After drying, you may need to slightly back off the roller pressure on the tire. This lasts a lot time & reduces slippage when riding in wet conditions. On a friction drive,,, NEVER over-rev motor to where the drive roller slips on the tire ; always start off by pedalling & SLOWLY accelerate ; always keep an eye on tire pressure & drive roller pressure on tires. Doing these things, you will be much happier with friction drive, & roller & tires last a long time, & you will have a bigger smile !

 

[Dadkins1]

I used a skatboard wheel that was turned down on a lathe to about 1 1/2" It has a black plastic core that is just soft enough to grab the tire and hard enough to not disintigrate - I have about 100 miles on my first one with no signs of wear on the tire or the skatboard wheel.
Now when you ride thru a puddle or moisture you might want to drop the throttle or it is going to rev like crazzzy ! not good in the wet ! Dry AWESOME ! Wet bad !

 

[Mountainman]

rebuilding your friction wheel

that sandpaper plan -- don't think will work for long -- at all...

note -- the roller can always be taken to a welding friend
who can tack a little -- ROUGH WELD -- around the roller
this is what we call on the mountain top -- VERY LONG LASTING -- GOOD ROCKS

with vacuum cleaners (Kirby) that had MUCH use
worn out drive shaft -- do to long time belt wear
this tac weld works GREAT -- super traction !!!

ride that thing

 

[Rgvkid]

My roller, 1.5 peg tacked and smoothed down with an angle grinder and flap disc.

 

[SirJakesus]

My roller, 1.5 peg tacked and smoothed down with an angle grinder and flap disc.

That roller is gonna last longer than the bike. Nice job!