Making a disc sander.

Bill Simpson

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I've got an old (not so swell) benchtop circular saw. I used it primarily for when I was building decks and such and some rough trimming, should I need to rip, etc. I was thinking of converting it to a disc sander, What think you of this?

Simple enough to do as I will make a plywood disc and adhere abrasive etc. Can use the miter gauge etc. Dust collection would be a problem but I can rig up some sort of hood.

My question would be the speed of the rascal, I am guessing it is a 3500 rpm motor (direct drive saw so pulleys are not an option.) That would be really spinning for a piece of sandpaper. Most likely burn rather than cut. but I believe it has brushes, in that case I might be able to slow it down with a rheostat. Any thoughts on this plot to self distruct?
 
I don't remember where I've seen it, but someone sells a sanding disk that's made to go on a table saw. I had similar thoughts about the speed when I saw it. I'll let some of the more electrically adept folks answer your question about slowing it down, but it sounds like a good plan to me.
 
There are discs sold for using as sanding discs on a table saw. All you have to do is stick on the disc and cut out the hole. As far as the speed goes, it would probably be easier and cheaper to just change the motor pulley to a smaller one. I had much the same idea for a disc sander also, but then I found a 9" & 6"x48" unit at an auction for $75 and so I gave away the donor saw....

cheers eh?
 
John...
it would probably be easier and cheaper to just change the motor pulley to a smaller one.
This might be so, but, as I said, it is a direct drive motor (no Pulleys)
 
Bill,
If the motor does have brushes, then you can use one of those router speed controls to adjust it down to whatever speed you need. Oughtta work just fine.
 
Jim....
you can use one of those router speed controls
Isn't that a Rheostat?.... not the same as a dimmer switch (I understand) nor a Potentiometer.

I will check tomorrow to see if it does have brushes.
 
Disc Sander

I saw a homemade sander at a cabinet shop that was auctioning off all contents. Instead of being mounted vertically, it was horizontal. It was made with a large wooden disc with a vertical shaft under it, and a motor and V Belt drive. The disc looked to be about 16-18" in diameter. The disc looked to be level with the table, but not sure about that.

I might try that someday. Has anyone else tried it or seen something like that?
 
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