combination sanders

Hi all:

I've been looking at some of the small combination sanders, you know, one with a small belt and the round flat thing. Could someone kindly explain to me what the flat round sander is for? I understand what the belt is for and I understand what the spindle is for, but I can't figure out what you would use the flat round one for.

thank you all
 
Hi folks,
In my opinion, a disk sander is much more useful than a belt. I have one of the combo ones and rarely use the belt. The disk has a table with miter gauge slot. Also, you can just clamp a stick at any angle you want. The belt part usually has a small, hard to adjust "fence"/stop that might keep the board from flying away, but not much else.

Good luck,
Bob
 
As mentioned, a disc is ideal for controlled sanding up to a line or sanding a curve onto something while maintaining the material at a particular angle. It is also good at adjusting miters when used with a miter gauge. Belts can sand flat faces on a box or other object. Again being most useful with a good table and / or miter gauge. My 4 x 36 belt / 6" disk combo got much more use out of the belt than the disk as you can only use about half of the disk's size. I did, however, build a better table platform for it. A large belt like an edge sander (6 x 80 or so) has been extremely useful to me. My recent 12" disk acquisition has brought the disk sander into a position of usefulness as well.

Here's a good example of using a disk(although not for wood) and PLEASE be aware this disk is turning in the opposite direction of most I have come across. You always sand with the disk direction moving the paper past your material and toward the table. Using one the other way would be like running your bandsaw in reverse with the blade teeth pointing up ;-)
 
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...Do the spindle sanders have different size spindles?

Nearly all brands come with several spindles in an assortment of sizes. The Ridgid has the five you can see in the photo, plus the (relatively small) belt that also oscillates up and down like the spindles. There are a lot of happy hobbyist owners of that sander (including me), but I wouldn't consider it robust enough to be used daily in a pro shop. The sander Chuck showed is more of a pro machine.
 
Thanks folks. I was surprised (and disappointed) to see that the spindle is never in combination with the others, but is more expensive and you have to buy it separately....:rolleyes:...but at least I understand now the disc....
If you have a lathe, you can make your own disk sander. See here, bottom of the page, posting dated 10/10/2008.

The disadvantage is the same as the ShopSmith - using one tool for multiple things means you have to tear one setup down to use the tool with the other setup. So a dedicated disk sander would be better. This approach is cheap, however.

Mike
 
Thanks folks. I was surprised (and disappointed) to see that the spindle is never in combination with the others,

I bought the Ridgid and used it for quite awhile. I am very glad I did as it taught me that, for my purposes, the oscillating belt was more valuable than the spindle. This importance will vary with what you do. I picked up a larger oscillating belt at a killer price so that took care of the belt function. I eventually replaced my smaller disc and the Ridgid belt/spindle with the combo that Ryan shows. I couldn't let all that space in the base go to waste though.

G0529 Cab (17).jpg

For the money, you'd be hard pressed to beat the Ridgid for functionality. It is also only about 40lbs so it is easily stored on a shelf and brought to the bench for use.
 
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I have had a combined disc and belt sander for several years, and never used it. I have recently discovered that the belt combined with a cheap honing guide works great for grinding a bevel on plane irons and chisels. I don't have the burning problems that I did with a grinder.
 
I don't know what in the heck is going on. This is the fourth time I have been typing a "reply to thread" only to have it vanish and kick me back to the last post to the thread. It really ticks me off.

Synopsis of what I wrote. A typical 4 x 36 belt combined with 6 inch disk combination sander has a very acceptable belt sanding mechanism. The 6 " disc setup is quite poor. You want a real stable table. That is not a table fastened to a 3/8 or 1/2 inch rod with a flat spot on the shaft to keep it in position. 95% of the advantages of a disc sander vanish unless the table is very stable.

I have used good 6 inch disk sanders. They are definitely OK. However, a 12 incher is a true delight. A couple years ago I purchased a 12" HF. It was a great addition to my shop. I have used $200 and $300 12 inchers. I did not see that they presented any true advantage.

I have used good 6 inchers very happily for small precision finish sanding. However, if you want to do some aggressive sanding, 12 inches is much better. In my opinion precision sanding up to a straight or convex curved line is best done with a disc sander. I really like my two machines (one was a combination machine until I threw the 6 inch part of it away). The other machine is a HF 12" unit.

I do have a Home Depot disc/spindle sander which I have not used yet. I am really looking forward to that.

It seems to me that I told you something else in the first message; the message that vanished off into Lala Land.

I am going to send this while I still have it. Then I will come back and add a pic of my setup.

Enjoy,

JimB

p.s. The table on the belt sander is a work in progress. A tee track will be added. I have made a cardboard mock-up of a dust collector for the belt sander when it is in the vertical position.

I hope this gives you some constructive thoughts.

Jim
 

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I have the Ridgid and really like it. However it is time to step up to a bigger unit. I really like the looks of the Grizzly a couple of you have but may try the HF 12" disk sander and just use the Ridgid as a spindle sander for the time being.
 
I remember what else I was going to say. With a disk sander you are pretty much stuck with one grit. To change you have to remove the current disk and fasten on a new disk. Each grit will eat up wood faster than you think for that grit. By the same token, each grit will act like it is a finer grit than it is, leaving a smoother surface. Synopsis: A given grit cuts wood away faster than you think and leaves a smoother edge than you think it will.

Enjoy,

JimB

I have two hand belt sanders that I rarely use now. Getting a smaller hand belt sander was not really much, if any, gain over the larger machine. The smaller unit is a Porter Cable. It is a good machine and I recommend it. However, it is heavy. It is as awkward to use in "unusual" positions as the larger belt sander. Or to put it another way, you sure won't use it overhead, up high or on a vertical surface for any length of time.

I said I would recommend the PC. However, I am sorry I purchased it. I don't think I would miss it if it were gone. At least the last few times I used it, the ROS would have worked just as well.

Back to disc sanders: A method of changing disks rapidly would really be an incentive for me. Someone posted a thread about a 12 inch disk sander. He/she put two grits on the disk at the same time. The "donut" part was coarse. The "hole-in-the-donut" part was fine. When you are aggressive, the higher inches per second travel at the periphery is greatly desired. When you are doing finish work, the slower paper travel speed in towards the center is quite satisfactory---probably even preferable.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
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The changing of sand paper on disc sander is a real bummer to me. I wonder why they don't make a quick change disc that you glue the sand paper to. Like a face plate. Than you could have several disc of different grids glued up and ready to go. Just switch "face plates".
 
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