A Crank Handle for a Shop-Built Thickness Sander

摘要

Part One: Several years ago, I designed a new crank handle to replace the serviceable but ugly one on my shop-built wood thickness sander. The new handle design remained just a few CAD drawings while I pursued my paying job of making custom furniture. Recently, a slack spell in commissions allowed me to revisit the project and, in the meantime, I had acquired a 3D printer. I decided to use it to prototype the handle parts in plastic in order to get a sense of how they would look in real life. Having the printed model in hand (literally) made me realize that I needed to redesign and re-prototype before committing myself to metal.