I just purchased the Wolf belt sander. It works great after I did a
lot of modification. It’s advertised to fit all popular flex shafts.
I have one 40 year old Pfingst and one new Foredom. Pretty common
machines and I’ve never had problems getting replacement parts for
either as they’re interchangeable.
However the Wolf sander would not accept either machine’s shaft
because the quick release female receptacle was about .008 inch too
small. I had to ream the hole with an abrasive wheel to enlarge the
hole. Now my flex shaft’s end fits nicely and the sander is a big
time saver for doing production work. I think for $179 it should not
require this extra work to get it to work properly. Has anyone else
experienced this problem with the Wolf sander?
I have not have any trouble using either my Fordom or my off-brand
flexshafts with the Wolf belt sander. I have had the sander for
several years, as is the case with both flexshafts. Hmmm. No answers
here.
I have had one of Kate’s “wicked” little Belt Sanders since they came
out and I use mine all the time. As you say it is a big time saver
and I love mine. I have 4 Foredom flexshafts, one old and three
newer. The one dedicated to the Wolf Belt Sander is a 4 year old TX
model and I had no problem hooking it up - the Wolf Belt Sander acts
as the handpiece. instead of putting a handpiece on the end of the
cable I simply plugged the cable end into the Wolf Belt Sander; no
modification required. I, personally, would have called the vendor’s
tech support before making modifications that would void any
warranty.
I have an off brand flex shaft for emergencies and haven’t tried it
with the sander but my main flex shaft is an EE Foredom, not even
made any more, and purchased in 1980. I have had no problem getting
it to connect to the Wolf belt sander and have had in general, great
customer service from Wolf tools. My sander works wonders and I
really actively enjoy using it so no trouble here. Sorry you had
problems.
We’ve shipped thousands of these and have only had 1 come back
because of problems with the quick change collar. When that unit
came back two weeks ago I checked it against the 14 flex shafts I
have in my classroom (4 different manufacturers- ranging from new to
31 years old). I did have a hard time fitting it to the newest
Foredom (and upon inspection the keyed tip of the new Foredom is
slightly different- it has a raise ridge - Looks like a parting line
from a mold) along the key.
I also talked with 3 or 4 folks about hooking up their Sander, and
their issue was that the keyed tip of their flex shafts were not
extended to the proper 3/4", once I talked them through making this
adjustment, the flex shaft fit fine.
Thank you for the heads up with the problem. I will alert my
manufacturer to make sure they are inspecting these carefully. And
it seems it’s time to check the new production units of various flex
shafts to see if we need to adjust our tooling.
If you have any other problems, please contact me. The normal
procedure would be for you to send it back to me and I’d either fix
or replace it, and send it back.
Thank you for your feedback, Scott! We appreciate it very much, as
we want our customers to be more than satisfied with our tools.
We are putting a new gallery page up on the Wolf Tools site- of
pieces done with any of my tools or waxes. If anyone would like to
be included, please email me low rez pics of a few of your pieces
along with your contact
Have a lovely weekend.
Kate Wolf in Portland, Maine hosting wicked good workshops by the
bay. www.katewolfdesigns.com