Why is it--

[Kev Williams]

--I own an old Craftsman 5-1/2" air sander,
and Jet sells replacement 5-1/2" backer plates, which I need
(bottom left corner)
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--so Why is it that NO PLACE on earth seems to sell 5-1/2" sanding discs--?

rows and rows and pages and pages of resin sanding discs,
in 4-1/2", 5" and 7", but nary a 5-1/2" anywhere for sale on Amazon...
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Google can't find any either...

Conversely, while I can buy (and I have) a 5" air sander, and I can actually get 5" sanding discs,
can anyone tell me where I can buy a replacement 5" backer? Mine broke (as did the 5-1/2"er)
All I can find is a 4-1/2" or 5-1/2" backer... ??

For the job I'm doing a 5-1/2" disc would be perfect to get finished faster.
(I've been using 7" discs on an angle grinder but grinders are heavy and wear me out in no time, plus 7" backers are too rigid; air sanders are much easier)

--having to settle with using 4-1/2" discs sucks...

[Jim Becker]

Honestly...there's almost zero market for "odd-ball" sizes. No incentive for anyone to produce, inventory and market them. I'd probably buy 6" abrasives for that and either us as-is or trim the edges to the pad once they are stuck.

[Stewart Lang]

5-1/2"?? I didn't even know that size existed?? Just buy yourself a 5" or 6" and your life will become so much easier my friend!

[Kev Williams]

as I noted:
5-1/2" replacement backer plates exist, 5-1/2" sanding discs don't exist-
5" sanders and discs exist, but 5" replacement backer plates don't exist..

FWIW, 5-1/2" is the biggest diameter backer I've seen for these small air sanders.

I can do quite well with using 5" discs, but I don't want to have to spend $20 at HF for a whole new sander when I break the backer just because a $3 replacement doesn't exist...

I suppose I could just buy 5-1/2" backers and sand them down to 5"...

[Bill Dufour]

Why not mount a 5" backer and use it as a 5" sander. I do not see any guarding to get in the way.
Bill D

[Paul F Franklin]

Email Maverick abrasives, they don't list 5 1/2 on their site, but they supposedly will make custom products. They do sell some backing pads as well.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sandpaper.com says "The most common size sanding discs used are 5" and 6" diameter, however we have the ability to supply custom size sanding discs from 1/2" to 42" diameter." LINK (https://www.sandpaper.com/abrasives/sanding-discs/)

I dont know if you have to buy a box full or a pallet of them to get a custom size. Might be worth the cost of a phone call, anyway.

[Kev Williams]

... my HF high speed air sander comes with (more accurately: CAME with) a 5" backer:
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My Craftsman is very much like this one, came with a 5-1/2, many years ago.

I can put any size backer on these I want. And it is without a doubt I absolutely WILL break another backer at some point, probably several times before I'm finished with my project. I've already broken the 2 originals, and at the moment I'm using old sanding discs as backers. They work okay up until the arbor chews a hole thru the old disc and it starts chewing up my fingers.

I checked Maverick's website. Found the resin sanding discs, but no backers. And no search function.
K-Tool has a 4-1/2" backer for sale on Amazon. Went to their website. No search function.

So frustrating. ALL I NEED is either a source for 5-1/2" sanding discs, or 5" backer plates. Can't find either...:(

I may be doing some emailing, thanks for the suggestions :)

>> Frederick, I tried your link. They seem to sell every type of sanding paper and discs under the sun, for woodworking, metal working, automotive use, marine use, hard surface use, granite and marble sanding... but none of them are high speed resin fiber discs...

[Doug Garson]

Why not mount a 5" backer and use it as a 5" sander. I do not see any guarding to get in the way.
Bill D
Just guessing here but I think the answer is in his original post.:cool:

[Frederick Skelly]

Well Kev, I missed the word "resin" in your original post. I went looking for a supplier that made sanding discs in custom sizes. Bummer they didnt have what you needed, but it sounds like you have some other options. Good luck on your project!
Fred