Hi all -
I'm in the process of planning my shop... that is SWMBO has told me
to stop thinking about the tools I want and just go get them. Whee!

Just for a little background, my dad had a pretty full shop he used to
build all the cabinets in a couple of our houses. I of course, being an
unruly teen didn't pay as much attention as I should have, but I did
learn some...

About the only thing he didn't have was a typical belt/disc/spindle
sander, but then he mostly made cabinets. He had a homebuilt "thing"
that had a disc sander on it and all kinds of other odds and ends that
spun...

Anyway...

I understand why you'd want a spindle sander completely. No issues
there.

I also understand (via Norm) how a 4' wide belt sander could come in
handy.

I'm a little unsure about why you'd choose a 12" disc vs a 8" vertical
belt sander. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with either
tool, no? Perhaps sharpening various tools is easier on the belt?

And wouldn't the disc have the advantage that as you moved closer to the
center you're slowing down the RPM's if that's what you need for the
task at hand?

This all arises from looking at the ridgid belt/spindle combo and
wondering why I'd want a *short* horizontal belt sander since it seems
like if I was trying to round over the end of a say 2" wide board, the fact
that it was horizontal would make things difficult as it would
constantly be trying to "pull" the wood sideways.

So... with all that in mind, when would you pick a vertical belt sander
instead of a disc or vice versa? And when would you want a horizontal
sander (that isn't "norm-size")?

Thanks!

-philip

I would recommend spending some time understanding what you want to do with
the shop and machines and carefully selecting equipment to meet that end.

I got a lot of use out of a simple disk sander well before I owned a
stationary belt or spindle sander. The disk does a lot of things well
including light blade dressing you mention. I get the most use from lightly
smoothing miter cut surfaces prior to joining.

The spindle came along last when I started working with more curved surfaces
and sculpting. Now I am considering a hand-held drum for similar purposes.

Again, concentrate your time and starting cash on basics - The best
tablesaw, jointer, surface planer, clamps and key hand tools you can afford
Wise investment here will pay dividends forever.

RonB

On 2005-05-02, RonB wrote:
I would recommend spending some time understanding what you want to do with
the shop and machines and carefully selecting equipment to meet that end.

Ah... now you've got me in a pickle :-) There are *tons* of things I
want to do! Wooden toys for my kid, jewelry boxes for the wife,
bandsaw boxes for friends, bowls (already have a litte lathe), kitchen
island, cabinet for the tv... and the list goes on


I got a lot of use out of a simple disk sander well before I owned a
stationary belt or spindle sander. The disk does a lot of things well
including light blade dressing you mention. I get the most use from lightly
smoothing miter cut surfaces prior to joining.

The spindle came along last when I started working with more curved surfaces
and sculpting. Now I am considering a hand-held drum for similar purposes.

I can see a use for a disc/belt sander as well as a spindle right off
the bat (for the toys at the very least), just having difficulty
understanding the advantage b/n the disc (either horizontal or vertical)
and a disc sander.

Come to think of it... I don't think I've ever seen norm use anything
other than his long belt sander or his spindle sander, but then again
he's usually smoothing table legs or headboards or the like and then it
makes sense.

Again, concentrate your time and starting cash on basics - The best
tablesaw, jointer, surface planer, clamps and key hand tools you can afford
Wise investment here will pay dividends forever.

Agreed... I've got that list pretty well down, just trying to round out
the initial list... like to have all my lists in a row you know

Thanks!

-philip

Since you have a lathe, you already have a disc sander. Dedicate a
faceplate (or make one with a block of wood, side grain, drilled and
tapped for your lathe), attach a piece of 3/4 ply, round it off at
desired size, apply a velcro pad, or finish the ply for self adhesive
discs. Build a box to sit on your lathe ways, clamped or bolted down,
with the end toward the disc open and a dust port in the other end. The
height of the box should match the center of your spindle. Voila! A
very cheap variable speed disc sander.
I'm of the opinion that I already own enough MOTORS, and have to fit my
shop into a single car garage space, so every time I need another power
tool, I try to adapt one I already have.
Now, if I can just figure out how to make a belt sander for my lathe, I
can get rid of that dinosaur powermatic I have around...

On 2005-05-02, wrote:
Since you have a lathe, you already have a disc sander. Dedicate a
faceplate (or make one with a block of wood, side grain, drilled and

I thought about that, but had forgotten since, and in fact have done
that in the past, although for a quick/hack buffing wheel, but I was
wondering if the direction of the force applied would affect the
trueness of the lathe after awhile.

Something similar to how you see recommendations against using your
drill press as a drum sander...

Although I suppose it's really only an issue if I have dull sandpaper
and push like a crazy man...

Although this would be a good way to start and would avoid another
tool... hmmm...

Now, if I can just figure out how to make a belt sander for my lathe, I
can get rid of that dinosaur powermatic I have around...

Couldn't you do the same as you described above? Mount a roller on the
lathe that went vertically up to another roller with all the necessary
bolting/boxing/clamping as well?

-philip

"Philip Hallstrom" wrote in message
...
On 2005-05-02, wrote:
Since you have a lathe, you already have a disc sander. Dedicate a
faceplate (or make one with a block of wood, side grain, drilled and

I thought about that, but had forgotten since, and in fact have done
that in the past, although for a quick/hack buffing wheel, but I was
wondering if the direction of the force applied would affect the
trueness of the lathe after awhile.

Something similar to how you see recommendations against using your
drill press as a drum sander...


No problem with sanding on the lathe, though you might want to consider one
of the commercially available 10" discs bolted to a trued faceplate. Better
adhesion and heat dispersal.

For toys and small stuff, the disc and OSS have to be the choice. I don't
even keep a belt on my belt/disc sander. One goes on when it's needed.
Planes and shaves do the work he does better.

On Mon, 02 May 2005 14:52:42 -0500, Philip Hallstrom
wrote:

On 2005-05-02, wrote:
Since you have a lathe, you already have a disc sander. Dedicate a
faceplate (or make one with a block of wood, side grain, drilled and

I thought about that, but had forgotten since, and in fact have done
that in the past, although for a quick/hack buffing wheel, but I was
wondering if the direction of the force applied would affect the
trueness of the lathe after awhile.

Something similar to how you see recommendations against using your
drill press as a drum sander...

Although I suppose it's really only an issue if I have dull sandpaper
and push like a crazy man...

Although this would be a good way to start and would avoid another
tool... hmmm...

Now, if I can just figure out how to make a belt sander for my lathe, I
can get rid of that dinosaur powermatic I have around...

Couldn't you do the same as you described above? Mount a roller on the
lathe that went vertically up to another roller with all the necessary
bolting/boxing/clamping as well?

-philip

the problem as I see it is that you begin to turn your lathe into a "shopsmith"
like machine... way too many changes to go from say, turning a bowl to sanding a
flat piece of wood, to sanding contours..
I have a Shopsmith, and over the years have added a lathe, belt/disk sander,
grinder/buffer, etc.. t avoid all those setup changes..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

FWIW, I have a belt/disc sander and NEVER use the disc. I'd rather have
another belt sander on it's long edge and also a 1" wide belt sander,
but I've never had a need to use the disc. I wish I had the room and
money for more belt sanders, including a Performax 22 incher. Maybe
some day...

I build furniture and cabinets. No toys or small items.

OTOH, certain WW hobbies probably can make use of a disc sander.

Dave

Philip Hallstrom wrote:
Hi all -
I'm in the process of planning my shop... that is SWMBO has told me
to stop thinking about the tools I want and just go get them. Whee!

Just for a little background, my dad had a pretty full shop he used to
build all the cabinets in a couple of our houses. I of course, being an
unruly teen didn't pay as much attention as I should have, but I did
learn some...

About the only thing he didn't have was a typical belt/disc/spindle
sander, but then he mostly made cabinets. He had a homebuilt "thing"
that had a disc sander on it and all kinds of other odds and ends that
spun...

Anyway...

I understand why you'd want a spindle sander completely. No issues
there.

I also understand (via Norm) how a 4' wide belt sander could come in
handy.

I'm a little unsure about why you'd choose a 12" disc vs a 8" vertical
belt sander. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with either
tool, no? Perhaps sharpening various tools is easier on the belt?

And wouldn't the disc have the advantage that as you moved closer to the
center you're slowing down the RPM's if that's what you need for the
task at hand?

This all arises from looking at the ridgid belt/spindle combo and
wondering why I'd want a *short* horizontal belt sander since it seems
like if I was trying to round over the end of a say 2" wide board, the fact
that it was horizontal would make things difficult as it would
constantly be trying to "pull" the wood sideways.

So... with all that in mind, when would you pick a vertical belt sander
instead of a disc or vice versa? And when would you want a horizontal
sander (that isn't "norm-size")?

Thanks!

-philip

David wrote:
FWIW, I have a belt/disc sander and NEVER use the disc.

I have a 12" disc and never use a belt. G

I think either works great, it's personal preference on my part.

Barry

What sort of stuff do you use it on, Barry?

Dave

B a r r y wrote:

David wrote:

FWIW, I have a belt/disc sander and NEVER use the disc.


I have a 12" disc and never use a belt. G

I think either works great, it's personal preference on my part.

Barry

David wrote:
What sort of stuff do you use it on, Barry?

Usually fine tuning miters and fitting moldings to exact length. The
sander is located in my assembly area. I've also used it to quickly
modify biscuits for weird uses, like insertion into grooves cut with a
router and slot cutter.

In certain situations, I'll cut a molding slightly long and freehand it
to exact fit with the sander.

Someone mentioned sharpening. I don't do any of that on a sander, as I
have a nice grinder, and I like to keep the sparks and glowing metal
bits out of the dust collector.

Barry

Some of the 45º miters I've cut on my CMS don't quite "cut it", so I
touch them up at the belt sander with a accurately set miter gauge.
Different strokes...

I DO use my belt sander for metal, with the appropriate belts. I vacuum
up the mess after shutting down the sander to avoid sparks.

Dave

B a r r y wrote:

David wrote:

What sort of stuff do you use it on, Barry?


Usually fine tuning miters and fitting moldings to exact length. The
sander is located in my assembly area. I've also used it to quickly
modify biscuits for weird uses, like insertion into grooves cut with a
router and slot cutter.

In certain situations, I'll cut a molding slightly long and freehand it
to exact fit with the sander.

Someone mentioned sharpening. I don't do any of that on a sander, as I
have a nice grinder, and I like to keep the sparks and glowing metal
bits out of the dust collector.

Barry

On Mon, 02 May 2005 11:19:35 -0500, Philip Hallstrom
wrote:


I'm a little unsure about why you'd choose a 12" disc vs a 8" vertical
belt sander. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with either
tool, no? Perhaps sharpening various tools is easier on the belt?

And wouldn't the disc have the advantage that as you moved closer to the
center you're slowing down the RPM's if that's what you need for the
task at hand?

This all arises from looking at the ridgid belt/spindle combo and
wondering why I'd want a *short* horizontal belt sander since it seems
like if I was trying to round over the end of a say 2" wide board, the fact
that it was horizontal would make things difficult as it would
constantly be trying to "pull" the wood sideways.


So... with all that in mind, when would you pick a vertical belt sander
instead of a disc or vice versa? And when would you want a horizontal
sander (that isn't "norm-size")?

I've got one of those combination beasts with the 4" belt and 6" disc.
What I've found is that I use the belt sander most often (usually it
gets used for flattening glued-up components, for example- when I make
a short table leg out of two pieces of 4/4 stock, and they shift
slightly when clamping, the belt sander works great for hogging the
excess off.) But the disc sander works very well for doing things
like rounding the corners off of stock. The disc sander has a little
table in front of it (this can be set for use with the belt sander as
well, but it isn't very useful in that capacity) that helps keep the
sanded area perpendicular to the base. It also does not seem to get
clogged nearly as quickly.

As to which one is "better"- who knows? Get one of each, or one of
the combo ones that are all over, and try them out!



Thanks!

-philip

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

I would take a look at the belt/disk sander combos that have a belt
that can be rotated from horizontal to vertical, and locked at any
angle in between. For example, if you would like to sand something at
a specific angle, you can tilt the sander to that angle, and then rest
the work on the table.

I would take a look at the belt/disk sander combos that have a belt
that can be rotated from horizontal to vertical, and locked at any
angle in between. For example, if you would like to sand something at
a specific angle, you can tilt the sander to that angle, and then rest
the work on the table.