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horizontal disk or flat belt sander?
- Thread starter johnnym
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 3,816
I use a disc. But thats all I own so needless to say I am a little biased.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
- Messages
- 5,855
Best tool I ever had for getting things dead on flat and keeping them there was a slow turning horizontal disc sander. I bought a geared motor off Ebay and a disc to fit it and put some index pins in the disc. I made a bunch of discs out of an old desk top I salvaged that had laminate on both sides so it was rock hard and smooth and perfect for sanding discs. I drilled holes in the back of them to match the pins in the disc on the motor and I'd glue different grit paper to them and when I needed to change to a new grit, just lift one off and lay the next one on. The thing only turned about 70 rpm so there was no threat of it slinging a disc. It made my folders smooth a silk and the inside of handles super flat. I've got pictures of the set up, if you want to see em, let me know.
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2006
- Messages
- 606
Michael
Quit teasing - of course we want to see em.
tool porn...?
Quit teasing - of course we want to see em.
tool porn...?
- Joined
- Sep 23, 1999
- Messages
- 5,855
Oops, sorry for the delay guys!!!
Here's some pix of the rig.
The motor I bought was a dc and had to have a controller. The next one I make will be ac! The black line on the edge of the discs is a witness mark to make it easier to line the pins and holes up.
This pic shows how I made the disc for the sander. Since it turns slow, it doesn't have to be dead on center so I used an aluminum plate and round I had on hand.
This pic shows the index pins I put in the aluminum disc and the corresponding holes in the wood discs. I used four pins but two would have been fine. You can also see the countersunk screws I used to connect the aluminum disc to the aluminum round. The round already had a hole center drilled in it the same size as the shaft and all I did was drill a couple set screw holes and tap em and put some allen screws in them to lock the thing in place.
Here's some of the laminate discs. I rough cut them with a band saw and then finished them by sitting them on the aluminum disc and running a bearing guided flush trim router bit around them. They came out perfect!
Here's some of the discs stacked up with sand paper of various grits glued on and ready to go! As you can see, I wrote the grit on the side of the disc to make it easy to grab the right one out of the drawer where I kept them. I used spray 3M adhesive to glue the paper on and when it was ready to come off, I sprayed it with WD40 and let it sit for a few minutes and it just peels right off. Then some more WD40, let it sit and wipe away the excess glue.
This pic shows the frame I made to mount the motor and control unit. Pretty simple deal but sturdy!
Here's some pix of the rig.
The motor I bought was a dc and had to have a controller. The next one I make will be ac! The black line on the edge of the discs is a witness mark to make it easier to line the pins and holes up.
This pic shows how I made the disc for the sander. Since it turns slow, it doesn't have to be dead on center so I used an aluminum plate and round I had on hand.
This pic shows the index pins I put in the aluminum disc and the corresponding holes in the wood discs. I used four pins but two would have been fine. You can also see the countersunk screws I used to connect the aluminum disc to the aluminum round. The round already had a hole center drilled in it the same size as the shaft and all I did was drill a couple set screw holes and tap em and put some allen screws in them to lock the thing in place.
Here's some of the laminate discs. I rough cut them with a band saw and then finished them by sitting them on the aluminum disc and running a bearing guided flush trim router bit around them. They came out perfect!
Here's some of the discs stacked up with sand paper of various grits glued on and ready to go! As you can see, I wrote the grit on the side of the disc to make it easy to grab the right one out of the drawer where I kept them. I used spray 3M adhesive to glue the paper on and when it was ready to come off, I sprayed it with WD40 and let it sit for a few minutes and it just peels right off. Then some more WD40, let it sit and wipe away the excess glue.
This pic shows the frame I made to mount the motor and control unit. Pretty simple deal but sturdy!