Disc sanders

[Jesse Busenitz]

I did a little searching but didn't come up with a lot, so the question is....What do you use your disc sander for? I have an edge belt sander, but came across two Apex sanders one 16" one 20" not sure what they could do that my edge belt couldn't?

[Steve Peterson]

One use is for segmented turning. There are many steps that require flattening large round sections before gluing them together.

Steve

[Rick Potter]

I have a 48" belt/ 12" disc sander. Rarely use the disc. I use my edge sander the most, followed by my OSS.

What I usually do on the disc is to take a bit off the end of a rail or stile, using a miter gage. It could be done on the other sanders, I just like the disc for that.

[Cary Falk]

I don't like disc sanders much unless they are large like the ones you found. The bottom half of the disc is unusable because it is under the table. The right side wants to lift up the piece. That leaves the left quarter which is not much room if it is a 12" disc or smaller. I have a 6x89 OES and love it. If I did segmented turnings I might see things differently.

[John TenEyck]

I can't remember the last time I used my 12" disc sander. The 6 x 48" belt sander half I use pretty often, but not the disk sander, and I've made segmented bowls, too. Besides having very little usable area the disks wear very quickly compared to a belt so you don't really get much use out of it before you have to replace the disk. If I had a H&L pad on mine maybe I would use it more (though I doubt it), but with the peel and stick ones it's a pain to change them.

John

[Bruce Page]

I have two 12" disk sanders, each with different grits - one belt-disk combo and one stand alone. I can't think of anything a disk could do that an edge sander couldn't except maybe take up less space.

[Bryan Cramer]

They are good for instances where a edge sander would want to grab the part such as small items or sanding the ends of narrow boards. I can more accurately adjust miter free hand on a disk sander than a edge sander because of the sideways force. That is about it though.

[william watts]

Purchased a used Craftsman stationary belt/disc sander to rebuild. The disc was warped and ran out of balance. I removed it and never missed it. I haven't found anything it could do that the 6x48 belt cannot.

[michael langman]

When you think about it, the disc sander has a metal backing that spins with the sandpaper. On the belt sander it does not. So the disc has faster cutting action.
I like the disc sander for sanding metal screws and the edges of wood or metal. It will not tear up the expensive sanding belt.

[Jim Becker]

Disk sanders (and combo disk/belt sanders) are largely for shaping wood, etc. You can do a lot of that with your edge belt sander, but the physical orientation of a disk sander "might" be more convenient for some operations. I do have a combo sander in my shop. It's been a long time since I used it, but I keep it around for "those times" when it's the right tool for the job.

[David Kumm]

i have old Kindt Collins 24" sanders and use them a lot. I would not want one less than 24 as much of the time you are only using half the diameter. I also prefer ones where the table moves up and down. Allows for use of the bottom of the disk and makes putting on a disk easier. Dave

[mreza Salav]

Had an old (and heavy) Rockwell 6x48+12 combo. Didn't like either of the belt and disc sander and never used any. I use my edge sander a lot more, so sold the Rockwell.

[ken masoumi]

Disk sanders (and combo disk/belt sanders) are largely for shaping wood, etc. You can do a lot of that with your edge belt sander, but the physical orientation of a disk sander "might" be more convenient for some operations..
Agreed 100%, I also feel a lot more comfortable using my 12" disc sander than the belt(disc combo) sander probably because I'm left handed or maybe because It was the only sander in the shop for years so I got used to its shortcomings pretty quickly .

[Don Sundberg]

On my old Powermatic 6x48+12 combo, I replaced the disk when I bought it with a 36 grit disk and only use it for the most part for grinding metal. The belt side gets used a lot for everything that needs some shaping.

[Bill Orbine]

For me, the disc sander is a must have! I do a lot of radiuses and curve pieces. I have double side 16". Great for shaping wood. Also what comes in handy is the viable sanding speed/aggressiveness. The outer edge sands quicker than the center. The center is nice for fine tuning and sneaking.

[Jesse Busenitz]

It seems like they have their place, but that place is pretty narrow, so I'm probably going to move on these, as the shop is cluttered enough

[Mike Wilkins]

The best method I have found to clean up miters is the use of a miter trimmer. Looks like some sort of dark age torture device that will trim a sliver of wood leaving a smooth, glass-like surface. Works on 45 and 90 degree cuts.
I had a non-oscillating sander but did not use it enough to justify the shop space, so it got listed on the C'list and sold quickly. Now I wish I had a combo belt/disc machine. Still looking at the list for one to come up.

[Dave Lehnert]

I use my 12" disk sander and belt sander to shape small parts by hand. But in my opinion, most woodworking belt and disk sanders are way too fast. I use a Shopsmith so I am able to turn the speed down very slow.

[glenn bradley]

As Dave observes, I like and use my 1725RPM 12" disc much more than any other disc I have had. the down stroke across edge grain makes it a natural for shaping corners, adding chamfers, etc.