Conver 12" disc sander to 9"

[Chris Christenberry]

I'm a retired custom furniture builder. One of the "must haves" in a furniture builder's shop is a 12" vertical sanding disc. I now make knives and most knife makers use either a 2x72" belt grinder or a 9" disc sander. The choice of 9" for disc sanders is due to the cost of the paper. Most use 9x12 sheets and cut them to fit 9" sanders. I know the disc can be replaced with a 9", but is there any reason this would be a bad modification to a 12" sander. Should I just sell this sander and buy and 9" for the knife work?

[Jim Becker]

Keep in mind that the speed the tool is designed to run at is tailored to the disc size...so "downsizing" the disk is going to offer a different range of speeds across it. The workpiece supports are also designed for the larger disc. Personally, I'd get a machine that's more ideal for your purpose than try to modify a unit that's designed the way it is functionally. BTW, I've built a lot of furniture and never felt the need for a large disc sander, but I know some folks really like them; some covet the even larger 20" industrial machines for this purpose.

[Chris Christenberry]

Thanks for your thoughts. Believe, me if I could have afforded a 20" and the paper for it, I'd have had one. Extremely useful tool. But that's all history. Hadn't thought about the "rpm" difference. Problem is a dedicated knife maker's 9" disc sander can run upwards of $1,200. Not ready for that kind of cash outlay right now.

[Richard Coers]

Buy a cheap old wood lathe big enough for a 9" faceplate. Probably on old Craftsman tube lathe for $50 or less will get you going. You could even remove the tube ways and just use the headstock and motor.

[Chris Christenberry]

Buy a cheap old wood lathe big enough for a 9" faceplate. Probably on old Craftsman tube lathe for $50 or less will get you going. You could even remove the tube ways and just use the headstock and motor.

Hmmmmmmmm..................would never have even given that a thought. Good idea, thanks.

[roger wiegand]

Can you just stick a 9" disk onto the 12" platter? Though I've used smaller stationary disk sanders, I've never actually wanted one to be smaller!

[Alex Zeller]

Thanks for your thoughts. Believe, me if I could have afforded a 20" and the paper for it, I'd have had one. Extremely useful tool. But that's all history. Hadn't thought about the "rpm" difference. Problem is a dedicated knife maker's 9" disc sander can run upwards of $1,200. Not ready for that kind of cash outlay right now.

I have 2 20" discs for my wood lathe, one for 120 and the other for 180 grit. It has VFD to control the speed and it's a great set up. I did have to make a table for it (I found an old craftsman table saw for free with a cast iron table that I used). Smaller wood lathes aren't usually too hard to find and usually offer some sort of speed control. Maybe one speed is fine for a knife but for wood I'm always adjusting the speed depending on how much material I need to remove.

I used a 8: machined face plate with a 20" aluminum disc bolted to it. I don't know if anyone makes a 9" face plate for a lathe. I'm sure a 6" would work just fine with a 9" aluminum disc mounted to it.