Belt Sander Racer

Last Friday I participated in a belt sander race at Losantiville Kunstwerkhaus in celebration of the Summer Sophomore power tool studio. Had a great time and I will be posting some of the video from the event when I get my hands on it.

We all bought the same harbor Freight belt sander, other than that you were allowed to make any modifications you wanted. I was able to get all my supplies from the local junk yard and thrift store.

I went mostly cosmetic, going for a mini batman tumbler aesthetic. The two guide wheels in the front helped keep it in it's track and the anti wheelie wheel in the back was mainly for show. I originally tried a friction drive but after smoking a bunch of tires just went with the belt was my drive source. I switched the belt down to a 40 grit and coated it in rubberized truck bed liner. I only had an evening (the night before!) effectively to put it all together so if I do another it will definitely be more elaborate.

Thanks to Matt Anthony and the folks over at Losantiville for hosting the event and to Professor Peter Chamberlain for helping bring it all together.

Will post more pictures and some video as I get it.