Matthew Schenker said:
I've been using the RAS 115 for a while now, and I really like its power, speed, and ease of use. I posted a review of the sander, which you can find by
clicking here. But until today, I was unaware that there are some interesting attachments available for the RAS 115.
In another discussion (
here), Jim Dailey posted this link to the Markserv Web site, where they sell the attachments:
http://www.markserv.com.sg/electric9.htm
I'm a little confused about how these attachments would function on the RAS 115, but they certainly got my attention, as I can imagine a few uses for them.
Although I don't have the Festo BF1E Powerfile...
...I do have the Black & Decker Powerfile, which does the same job. Although my one is about 10 years old, here is a photo of a later version:
Makita also does one, called (in the UK) the 9032 Filing Sander:
All three are essentially narrow belt sanders and all work in a similar way, but the orientation of the motor is different. The B&D and Makita machines have the axis of the drive shaft at 90 degrees to the length of the belt, whilst the BF 1 E has the motor shaft in line with the belt.
At the end of the shaft of the Makita and B&D machines, there is a rubber roller, and an arm is attached to the machine. At the far end of the arm there is a free-wheeling rubber roller. A loop of narrow abrasive is stretched between the two rollers, so that the abrasive moves up one side of the arm, and down the other side. The B&D takes 455mm long belts and the Makita takes 533mm, and the Festo seems to take 520mm belts. In the case of the latter, the drive from the motor shaft is turned 90 degrees like an angle grinder, and the belt is looped round an extension of the 90 degree shaft.
I have found that these narrow belt sanders are very useful for de-rusting ornamental cast-iron gates and for sanding in otherwise inaccessible places like door lock mortises. Sadly, a couple of months ago, as I was 99% of the way through a gate de-rusting session, my B&D Powerfile broke down with a disintegrated armature. I finished the gate by other means, and a replacement narrow belt sander is on the shopping list, but I was undecided whether I should get a replacement B&D machine (about 40 GBP) or the Makita (about 120GBP). At the time, I didn't know about the BF 1 E, so I guess that's another option to ponder, even though it seems to be an extremely rare item. Although the more expensive Makita and Festo machines would be much better built than the plasticky B&D, the belts for the B&D are much easier to obtain, and that is also quite an important factor. Having said that, the BF 1 E appears to be able to be converted into an RAS115 sander, and also can be used as an
angle grinder (at least in Europe), so it's three tools in one.
All three have the option of attaching different arms, and the B&D comes with a cranked arm option and arms in different widths. The Makita's arm rotates, and as far as I know there's no cranked arm available, but there are optional arms in varying widths. The Festo appears to have five arms available (including one with a different end roller diameter), and again the arm rotates.
Forrest
