Razor Blade Pad Slick

  

Preparing the blades.

 

This project involves turning 2 used razor blades into a very useful tool called a pad slick.

Pad slicks come in many varieties and are invaluable in their ability to help level pads.

In this project, I will be grinding down razor blades into two different designs. 

 

 

 

The first, and possibly the most important step, is to remove the edge of the blade. 

 

This is done using the silicon-carbide wheel to grind down the edge and the Craytex wheel to de-flash (shown below, respectively).

          

  

Here is a comparison of the blades. The one on the left was ground and de-flashed, the other unchanged.

 

 

 

Using a screwdriver, I remove the aluminum backing off of the blades. 

 

Both blades are now ready to be shaped into pad slicks. 

 

 Shaping the blades.

 

I traced the templates onto the the blades with marker. These designs will both help with leveling smaller pads that are often hard to reach.

Using the silicon-carbide wheel, I begin removing material up to the marker. The blade gets decently hot during this process so I keep a small jar of water to cool it down when needed.

 

 

I set the egg-shape blade aside and begin to work on the narrow one. 

 

 De-flashing and sanding the edges.

 

 

With both blades shaped, I switch to the Craytex wheel to de-flash the edges to remove any burs. 

 

 

 

Finally, I sand the the edges with 600 grit sandpaper to rid of any jagged edges. It is important the edges are smooth for them to function as pad slicks. Any leftover burs can easily tear a pad.

All done! 

Tools used: Bench motor, silicon-carbide wheel, Craytex wheel, sand paper (600), screwdriver, marker

Materials used: Razor blades