Test driving Nathan's disc

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
I got one of Nathan's 9" discs--- It's a beautiful example of what a skilled craftsman can do.

I've been using variable speed, reversing disc sanders in the shop for quite a few years, so I have a pretty good familiarity with working on a 9" disc.

I put Nathan's disc on one of my variable speed/reversing Leeson motors, with the key he supplied, tightened the set screws, and hit the switch. OMG... it's even more of a work of art to see how beautifully it runs than it was just to admire how pretty and shiny it was when I took it out of the box. It spins SOOOO SMOOTH.... It runs perfectly!!!

Had this small fighter blade that had been ground down close to sharp with a 50X belt. (The clip already being ground and finished, is out of my normal sequence, but it doesn't matter for this post.)

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Slapped some 120X Rhyno on Nathan's disc... I have better control with this disc than any I've ever used.

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I wanted the plunges in this blade to have a little bigger radius--- I used my carbide guide and trued them up.
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Went back to Nathan's disc. I used 1 sheet of 120 and 1 worn 220X ceramic disc- The new disc made pretty short work of this.

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Hand sanding w/320x-

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2 minutes later--- ALL 320X scratch pattern, running at an angle to the length of the blade. It looks a little funky, but it's just the photo, they're all 320X scratches. :)
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Switched to 500x... and 4 minutes later had a dirty 500x foundation finish.

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A good quality 9" disc is a GREAT tool to have... the quality level of Nathan's disc will be life changing. :D :thumbup:
 
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Very nice indeed. I really like the way Nathan relieved the back of the disk with that bevel. How close are you able to get to the plunge with the disk?
 
Great post as usual Nick and a progression I will surely give a try.
Can I ask the reason for beveling the back of the disk?
 
Nick....... a spoon??

:D

I almost sprung for one of those disks, but I haven't any experience using one for this job. Seeing your results and the process, now makes me wish I had sprung.
Nice little blade.

-Peter

-Peter
 
P. McKinley said:
Nick....... a spoon??

:D

I almost sprung for one of those disks, but I haven't any experience using one for this job. Seeing your results and the process, now makes me wish I had sprung.
Nice little blade.

-Peter

-Peter
Click to expand...

Peter, Nate is making more, lol. I didnt know i needed one either, but it is looking more and more like i do.

randy
 
Patrice Lemée;12662324 said:
Great post as usual Nick and a progression I will surely give a try.
Can I ask the reason for beveling the back of the disk?
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Iv seen Tim Hancock clean up his plunge lines by coming in the side of the wheel, pointing the blade towards the motor the cut away allowed him to roll the blade and not hit the side of the disk... there , clear as mud lol
 
wbeatty said:
Iv seen Tim Hancock clean up his plunge lines by coming in the side of the wheel, pointing the blade towards the motor the cut away allowed him to roll the blade and not hit the side of the disk... there , clear as mud lol
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks, I think I got it...wait no I don't. Was that English? ;)

Kidding aside I think I got the gist of it.
 
Another reason for tapering the rear of the disc is to allow slip joint makers to work around the tang to set the rise and fall. Used mine over the weekend and it works great. Makes my aluminum disc look like a soup can lid.
A true masterpiece of precision machine work.

Stan
 
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Patrice Lemée;12662475 said:
Ok, thanks, I think I got it...wait no I don't. Was that English? ;)

Kidding aside I think I got the gist of it.
Click to expand...

Comment est-ce

Iv vu Tim Hancock nettoyer ses lignes plongeantes en venant du côté de la roue, pointant la lame vers le moteur le découpée lui a permis de rouler la lame et non frappé le côté du disque ... là, clair comme


(God bless you Google Translate Registered trademark)
 
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Will- with the super crisp machined surfaces and the way Nathan's disc spins dead-nuts on... you can pin-point exactly where you want to sand with this disc!!! :cool:



Patrice- wbeatty and Stan both gave the top two reasons that I know of. Along with tasks like Stan mentioned, (assuming you can put a work rest up to the disc) you can get into tight spots on stuff like plate guards with fancy profiles. If you watch Tim Hancock's grinding vids that are in the "video sticky" you'll see Tim do just what wbeatty described.

To be brutally honest, I was never very successful doing "Tim's plunge cut clean-up" with my aluminum disc, but Tim uses a steel disc. I played around with the plunge trick yesterday, and I am totally confident that Nathan's disc will not only do it, but do it very well. The reason I didn't mess with it on the blade in this thread, was I had already ground the plunges with about a 3/32" radius and wanted to continue with that grind. Tim's method needs an even tighter plunge.

My good friend Mike Quesenberry has that process down--- so if he happens to come along here, he could give a better explanation than I can.




I want to make sure to point out that my thread here is NOT a bash on the aluminum discs from Rob at Beaumont Metals Works!!! I love Rob and his work is top notch! I have made a living for quite awhile utilizing his grinders and discs in my shop. :thumbup: :cool:

Rather, my point is to try and explain just how spectacular Nathan's work is!!! :eek:

I have spent quite a bit of time with a TIG torch in my hand... and I would be absolutely thrilled to put my name on the weld that Nathan put on this disc--- the top and bottom toe, the face, etc. of Nathan's weld are textbook. The welding alone is proof of how skilled Nathan is.

The machining Nathan did on this disc, is absolutely top shelf craftsmanship!!! I simply wiped the dust off the motor shaft and out of the disc bore, then very lightly tapped the disc on with a small dead blow mallet, and tightened the 2 set screws. I turned it on and had ZERO run-out... it turns as true and smooth as a dream!!! No fiddling, no banging on one side or another with a mallet get it running true... none of that--- and it spins PERFECTLY.




***random-ish thought*** I can already see it... it will be like the folks who think Uncle Al's or Bruce Bump's file guide are "too expensive" We're gonna have guys saying, "Well I can build my own with some plywood, tin foil, bubble-gum, and duct tape for half the price!"

My advice to those guys??? Nathan could charge double his asking price and it would be WELL WORTH IT!!!!! I thought his price was low just based on photos. Now that I have one and know the quality first hand----- Nathan is selling these things cheap.
 
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I wasn't sure at first, what the hell you guys were talking about with the spoon stuff... :confused: :p LMAO

It's not quite what it looks like in my photo...

You'll all have to buy the book if you want more photos of my "spoon." ;) :D
 
Nope, this is one of Nathan's flat discs.

I'd like to get another disc from Nathan, and I might go for a tapered one... but the flat disc will do anything I want it to do. :)
 
Can you smell that? smells like Nathan finishing another batch, Im going to get another to wear like Flavor Flav does
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One of Nathan's discs is up there on my list of things to add to the shop. His 72in radius platens have already changed the way I grind (Get one if you don't already have one) I bought a flat platen from him as well but haven't tried it yet. Nathan has brought such an awesome presence to this forum. He's seriously invaluable.
 
Seriously.
I got a 36" platen and it's one of those tools you just can't wait to use because it's so well made.
Makes my hunting knives look sooooo good. :)
 
Thanks for the info on the beveled back. I will go take a look at Tim's video. All this really makes me want to explore using the disk more and building a better rest than the crappy one I have on now. :(
 
Patrice- You know the biggest reason I post here is to torment you by making you increase your "want to have" tool, doo-dad, giz-whiz, and gizmo list... ;) :D
 
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