Disc Sander on the Lathe?

[Chris Jenkins]

I'm sure lots of you have seen the 10" discs you can mount on the arbor of your tablesaw and use the tablesaw like a disc sander. I'm not too hot on this idea since it seems that I am always using the tablesaw. I was thinking since I don't use the lathe as much couldn't you achieve the same idea here (given the speed was on the top end)? Since I use my lathe less then my Tablesaw it seemed like a no-brainer. Has anyone seen an accessory for this type of mount?

I know I could just make the whole thing out of wood on the lathe, but I am not sure how long a piece of wood would stay flat compaired to an AL disc. Also how many times you could put glue on the wood for the sanding disc and have it actually stick would be a concern.

Any ideas?

Chris

[Bill Huber]

The disk you put on a table saw are not really to change your table saw to a disk sander. What they are used for is for truing up edges and cleaning joints.

If you notice one side has a taper to it, this is so you can get the wood into the sanding area, between it and the fence.
I have one and have used it 3 or 4 times but with the planer and jointer I don't use it that much any more.

[Jim Becker]

I've seen this done successfully using MDF for the disk and a faceplate to mount it. The disk is varnished or shellacked and then PSA abrasives are used.

[Chris Jenkins]

Jim,

I wonder if using Melamine would work due to it's slick surface?

[Dale Lesak]

mount a piece of BB to the/a face plate. (Rough cut it first) spin it and see how flat it is. If the face is flat jut turn the edge down to the size you need. seal it with shellac, face and edge. you can do the back too.
after it's dry mount your sanding disk. I've had mine for years. I don't know what lathe you have but you can make a flat table that fits on the bed or into the tool holder. One nice thing about it is you can change your sanding speed if you need to

[Chris Jenkins]

What type of adhesive are you using to mount the sandpaper to the disc? I have used contact cement on AL in the past, but this will probably be too strong for Plywood. Or are you using PSA Sandpaper?

[Jeff Hallam]

For what it's worth, you can buy hook-and-loop 12" discs and the hook-and-loop backing that you mount permanently on the MDF or wood disc.

I got mine from Sandpaper.ca

[Mike Golka]

I have a 12" disk of 3/4" MDF mounted on a faceplate and made a table that sits on the lathe bed so the surface is at the center height of the disk. The sanding disks I use are made with adhesive already on the back. This sticks very well to the MDF. I use this setup for making segmented disks for turning and it works very well. Variable speed on the lathe is also a nice feature. If you are realy concerned about the backer disk warping you could gusset it quite easily. Even the aluminium disks on manufactured machines are made with cast gussets. I'm away from home right now but if you are intrested I can post some pics on the weekend. PM me if you need more info.

Mike

[Al Killian]

Go tohttp://www.shopsmith.com/markvsite/disc_snd.htm

[Jim Becker]

I wonder if using Melamine would work due to it's slick surface?

Probably, but believe it or not, I'd be a lot more comfortable with MDF spinning around and around than I would be with particle board...which is the basis for any of the melamine coated product I've seen.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I would go with the MDF, but faced with high pressure laminate, aka Formica. I haven't seen any disk cement in quite a while. Franklin, Tit Bond, and Elmers used to make such an animal. Klingspor sells a can of spray for mounting disks. I cut my own disks from pieces out of their bargin box. Less than a nickel apiece. Either Shop Notes, or Woodsmith recently featured a lathe sanding set up.

[Dale Lesak]

I just get the12" disks from the farm and fleet store. They stick REAL good. The hook and loop sounds like a good Idea if you can get it in the larger size. just gota watch the heat build up tho. it'll make the hooks go south real quick Dale

[Bob Vallaster]

Chris,
The Franklin product Bruce refers to is Sanding Disc Cement.
My homemade setup uses excess material from a friend's last floor refinishing project---the backing materials (paper and cloth) are very heavy duty and the grit just doesn't want to wear out.
Watch your knuckles.

Bob V.