# Homemade disk sander



## Alejanders

I want to tell a story of my disk sander.

First colclusion from all it - if you WANT something - you may DO it.
Second - if you can buy good stuff - buy it, not make. 
Greedy person pays twice.




My first woodworks was handle for a knife (junksteel Indian damascus) and wooden USB thumbdrive.
I have made it with file, sanpaper and small metal saw (that was bought to open coconut). 

That is a knife:






And thumbdrive:





It was not easy, so I decided to use some machine tool. I have no workshop (except balcony 3*6 feet) so looked
for compact or disassemblable stuff.

First "sander" was screw gun with clamp and 125mm (5") sanding disk with box as table.
I have no photo with disk, but there is photo with felt disk.









There was a lot of disadvantages (noise, low accuracy and control etc...) so I decided to make "real disk sander".

Draft:




Writing means: Side view, motor, angle grinder velcro disk, table.

I took 90W 3-phase asyncronic motor (2750 rpm), made control unit for it. You may see main power switch with LED (left), reverse switch (right),
ON/OFF switch (green on top) and start (blue on top).
I used 12 mm (1/2") plywood as bed.
Quick-removable table holds with 4 pins. It allows to change velcro sanpaper very quck.
Also I found turner, who made for me metal sleeves to fit sanding disk on motor's shaft.























Motor is quiet and low powered (about 50W on 1-phase), that is enough for small things like knife handle or thumbdrive.
Main disadvantage was softness and flexibility of sandind disk. Also table had no angle guide (it is senseless for flexible disk).
But soft disk had advantage - it was very comfortable to make curves and I made a lot of things on that sender.
Also I can attach Jacob chuck and use buffing wheels.

Stuff made on that sander:











































I have looked for firm disk, but disks for angle sander was flex or curve. So I decided to make new table and firm disk.
Bellow is a design: table with rotating mechanism, angle guide and disk. I gaved that drawings to turner and he made for me disk, angle guide and table.

I used 15 mm (5/8") plywood and 5 mm (1/5") textolite (micatra) as sander bed.
Same contril unit, plywood disk with velcro.
Now sander much bigger and I cannot store it on windowstill. 
But now it can be called sander. 

Drawings:


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## ossaguy

Wow,you do great work! I like how the table swings away to easily change the paper,very nice design.

Your woodworking projects look really cool,my favorite is the wooden mouse.

Very creative!

Steve


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## glycerine

Very nice!  Are your thumbdrives from kits, or are you just buying them and taking them apart and making a new housing?


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## bnoles

Absolutely amazing!


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## Haynie

Really cool.  Need is the mother of invention.  Great segmenting by the way.


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## bensoelberg

glycerine said:


> Very nice!  Are your thumbdrives from kits, or are you just buying them and taking them apart and making a new housing?



When he first posted his thumbdrives, he wrote  up a mini tutorial.  You can find it on the second page here.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=79866


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## johnnycnc

Nice post, and some great pics...Thank you!

your work looks nice, also.


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## el_d

Very nice work. 

Its inspiring.


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## ctubbs

And here I sit complaining because I work out of half of a two car garage with real tools.  It reminds me of a sign I once saw in a shoe shop, "I complained about having no shoes until I saw a man with no feet."
Alexander your work is outstanding, both your woodwork and the tools you have designed and built to work your wood.  Your segmenting is mind blowing.  I can only wonder what you could do in a full shop.  Keep up the good work and congratulations.
Charles


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## bluwolf

Very well done. Nice job on the sander.


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## Alejanders

glycerine said:


> Very nice!  Are your thumbdrives from kits, or are you just buying them and taking them apart and making a new housing?


I buy thumbdrive and disasseble it. bensoelberg gaved link to my topic about it.
Do you need detailded how-to guide?



Haynie said:


> Really cool.  Need is the mother of invention.  Great segmenting by the way.


I have wrote about it already. There is a link http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=79868 .



ctubbs said:


> And here I sit complaining because I work out of half of a two car garage with real tools.  It reminds me of a sign I once saw in a shoe shop, "I complained about having no shoes until I saw a man with no feet."
> Alexander your work is outstanding, both your woodwork and the tools you have designed and built to work your wood.  Your segmenting is mind blowing.  I can only wonder what you could do in a full shop.  Keep up the good work and congratulations.
> Charles


Ha... Two car garage... You have a lot of place.

There is my "workshop". Sorry for mess.


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