Reply To: Impeller fab – if you had your druthers

[geary]

Kirk,
Another way is to thin down an impeller that the diameter is correct for but is too thick ! What I’ve done is to make an arbor using a bolt and large flat washer, It takes a bit of time to fabricate but works great keeping the thickness uniform !

Using a piece of steel round stock or an old bolt about 2-3” long, assuming you have access to a lathe, turn it to the diameter of the bore of the impeller a little less than the thickness you need. I drill and tap a small brass screw to go in midway in the impeller thickness and file it to use as the drive key ! You will have to fit a fender washer against the shoulder on the shaft before you install the screw key, make sure the washer is a bit bigger than the impeller diameter.

install the impeller on the shaft against the washer, then using a drill press with a nice flat piece of wood you can bump the impeller against a piece of course (80grit) sandpaper and thin it down very easily to the exact thickness you need ! Good luck which ever way you chose to go !

Gary