Quick'n'cheap sander for the lathe

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Well, now that there seems to be a lot of pen laminating going on and as I had some time spare in the shed but a severe lack of kits :eek: I thought I'd spend some time building a disk-sander to attach to the lathe. I've mentioned using my linisher for the "celtic knot" type pens before, this is a very cheap and simple but still quite effective one that can be built with a minimium of tools & skill. :) I recommend it as a first non-turning project for beginning turners. ;)

There are only 3 measurements that need to be made before starting: The width of the lathe bed, about 110mm on my Leda. the height from the top of the bed to the centre of the drivespur, about 125mm. (I'll call this "swing-over") The biggest circle you can cut from a piece of your sandpaper. I'll be using 6"(ish) or 155mm round sanding disks instead.

The pics are:

This is the linisher I use... and basically what I'll be building a small version of. Using a sheet of 12mm 5-ply, I cut out pieces to make a box, from front to back:The top of the table, about 300mmx200mm. The two sides of the box, about 270mm x 120mm. I made them a bit taller then the swing-over so they'll hang past each side of the lathe-bed and not quite as long as the top-piece, so it will have an overhang. The two end pieces. These are sized to be as wide as my lathe-bed and as tall as the swing-over minus the thickness of the top. For my li'l lady Leda, this worked out to be 110mm square. :) A square piece that'll be rounded to make the faceplate for the sanding disk. 155mm square in this case. This is the box all glued up, although upside down. I cheated and used my air-gun to staple it, but you could just use screws. I don't recommend nails, but if they're all you have... [shrug] Hopefully it's obvious how this fits to the lathe? This is just to make it even more obvious. :D Now you can see that the "overhanging" sides stop the table from moving off the lathe-bed, while still letting it slide back and forwards along the bed. Making the faceplate. Draw in the diagonals to find the centre and use a compass to mark out the circle. I recommend cutting the circle on a bandsaw, scrollsaw or similar before mounting, but you can leave it square and turn it round later if you want a challenge. Just remember, it is only ply. :rolleyes: (Important: Do NOT use MDF for this faceplate! Trust me, it's dangerous!) Centre the faceplate mount on the disk and screw it all together.

Edit: It has been mentioned in a later post that some people don't have or don't want to use their only faceplate for this. Which is fair enough... an alternative is to make a small round disk that'll fit in your chuck and glue/screw that onto the centre of the disk instead, as a stub tenon. - Just thought I'd add it here for convenience. ;)

[Continued...]

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

[Continued...]

Final Pic: And this is the whole thing set up for use. I haven't put the sandpaper on yet, I'm looking for some more velcro.

Now, before adding the paper, the first thing I recommend doing is removing the box and bringing up the tool-rest, grabbing a scraper and dressing the disk so you know it's perfectly flat. Maybe also touch up the edge and give it a sand, so it won't bite if (when!) you touch it.

What's that? You're still puzzling over my "Looking for more velcro?" :D My sanding disks are velcro backed, so I can glue some hook material to the faceplatek and then have an easy life when it comes to changing the paper. Expensive, but 'tis a price I'm willing to pay. :rolleyes: Otherwise, you'll need to experiment with different glues and replacing the paper can become a chore. I've found rubber cements (Tarzan's Grip type things) or PVA (Aquadhere) are a much better choice than epoxy or CA! :eek: It also helps if you paint the disk with a good gloss enamel to seal it first.

This is a very basic setup, there are many improvements that can be made but I couldn't be bothered. Little things, like clamping the table to the bed more securely, adding a mitre guide to improve accuracy of angles (I just mark a line on the table with a pencil and protractor then eye-ball it. :o ) etc., etc. Still, this works well enough for me and is easily swapped on and off as needed.

Oh... and if you make one of these for yourself? A couple of important details: SET YOUR LATHE TO ITS' LOWEST RPM WHEN USING THIS SANDER! :D Only sand using the LH side of the disk, the same spot as you'd use for turning. The RH side will lift the piece off the table!

PS: before anyone asks, I prefer 80 & 120grit disks, but they take a LOT of timber off in a hurry. Perhaps the first few times you use one of these, it may be a good idea to use 240, 320 or even 400 until you "get the feel" for it. Now, what else have I forgotten to mention... :confused:

[jchappo]

Good one Skew - specially as you did it on the Leda ;)

Now, if I remove that nice shiny wheel off the outboard end of the drive shaft, find me a lefthanded threaded thing, I can have a linisher mounted to the lathe full time.
Need to poke a hole through the middle of the disk to allow morse tapers to be knocked out.
Make the table to slide on the bench so can still get to the bottom pulleys ... Hmm.

John

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've seen that done on other lathes, not too sure about on the Leda; it'll block easy access to the knurled nut for the lower pulley/belt-cover.

Mind you, if you remove the belt-cover first... ;)

[Terry B]

Very nice Skew.
I have thought about doing the same but didn't want to use my only faceplate.
Do you think it would work OK using a bit thicker disk of wood and turning a hollow in it for the chuck to grab rahter than using the faceplate?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Yep. Or even easier, just cut a smaller circle that'll fit inside the jaws and glue/screw that onto the bigger disk as a stub tenon. :)

[Skewpid]

Thanks for that Skewy!:)

Something I will no doubt set up when SWMBO gets that Nova DVR she promissed me a while back:D :D :D

Pitty I didnt read something similar before offloading my previous two lathes to those less fortunate;)


Kudos to you

Rich.

[Hickory]

I like it, :cool: Often thought of doing the same.... I think I saw this in a "hint" page, Maybe Shopsmith(?) :confused: I have a cobbled up lathe deticated to bowl turning that I think will make a good power source for my copy of your design. Now if you could design a good Dust collection hookup so I don't have to think it through. :cool: (Detailed measured drawing will do, nothing fancy :D )

[Cliff Rogers]

What is the problem with using MDF for the face plate? :confused:

I have several MDF face plate jigs, I didn't know it was dangerous. :o

[Captain Chaos]

What is the problem with using MDF for the face plate? :confused:

I have several MDF face plate jigs, I didn't know it was dangerous. :o

G'day Cliff,
I know of a wood turner in Canada who used an MDF faceplate / Jumbo Jaws setup for finishing the underside of bowls. He was finishing off the foot of a bowl of around 10"ø when the faceplate exploded causing very serious injuries to his left arm.
He has partially recovered, but has severe movement restrictions etc to his left arm and wrist / fingers. He still enjoys wood turning, but is limited to what he can do.
I'm not sure if this is what Skew was alluding to or not. Just my two bobs worth.
Regards,
Barry.

[Hickory]

I know of the same fellow. I believe he had made some Extra Large Extended jaws for his chuck and If I remember right he cheated on the screws and too deep countersunk them, then a high speed one came loose and the rest is history. In this case, it is a solid disc and if sufficiant glue and screws are used I see no reason not to use MDF.

I use a block of wood drilled and tapped to fit the spindle threads, glued and screwed to the back of discs of MDF on several special jigs. I plan to make Skew's Sander (almost/sorta like) and use MDF.

There is a fellow on the Tools Forum who made a Strop with leather glued to the disc, in much the same fashion but chucked it up differently.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=38451

I guess we all have our own quirks as to how best do or Re-do an idea....

[Cliff Rogers]

All the jigs that I use are solid disks, not segments.
They are not used at high speed so I should be OK.

[derekcohen]

There is a fellow on the Tools Forum who made a Strop with leather glued to the disc, in much the same fashion but chucked it up differently.

I wonder if he got that from me? I built one like this but I have advocated contact gluing a stretched piece of chamois leather. This is thin and will stay flat. The problem with thick leather is that it is soft and will dub the blade edge. MDF is fine for the face plate. Or, if you have a disk sander, glue the chamois leather to a velco-backed sanding disk (which then can be removed easily). Use Veritas green rouge.

<center> <div><img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Sharpening/beltsander.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> <br /></center>

Regards from Perth

Derek

[macca2]

I have one very similar to Skews. Made from 25mm MDF screwed to a faceplate made by welding 5mm plate to 30x3.5 nut.
Velcro glued onto face place and use velcro type sanding disks.
Also doubles as a sharpener.

Macca

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Basically, I added the "blanket warning" 'cos that project was aimed at beginners. Safety first! There's a world of difference between a basic setup and pushing the envelope.

I tend to move the disk from lathe to lathe, changing the faceplate mount to suit. Of course, they all have different screw patterns... and the more holes in MDF the higher the risk of it fracturing. With ply 'tis not as much of a problem, although still something to keep in mind.

Worse, when MDF does finally decide to let go, it's all at once. Any warning signs are usually subtle and hidden by the headstock and/or paper. Ply will usually fracture along one of the plys and go floppy before it will go bang, generally giving enough advanced warning to kill the lathe before things get too brown pants. :) (Note the abundance of "usually's." ;)

And Cliff, most of my faceplate jigs are made to be used only at low speed... This doesn't mean I haven't disintegrated a set of home-made cole-jaws or three by forgetting to drop the lathe speed! :o

Mind you, I have used solid MDF disks at times of need (ie. no ply conveniently to hand) but one trick I've learnt is to wrap the edge with a couple of layers of duct tape...

[Cliff Rogers]

.... one trick I've learnt is to wrap the edge with a couple of layers of duct tape...
I've heard of that trick being used elsewhere too. :D

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've heard of that trick being used elsewhere too. :D

As I understand it, it stops unwanted explosions there, too. :D

[Stu in Tokyo]

I wonder if he got that from me? I built one like this but I have advocated contact gluing a stretched piece of chamois leather. This is thin and will stay flat. The problem with thick leather is that it is soft and will dub the blade edge. MDF is fine for the face plate. Or, if you have a disk sander, glue the chamois leather to a velco-backed sanding disk (which then can be removed easily). Use Veritas green rouge.

<center> http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Sharpening/beltsander.jpg

</center>

Regards from Perth

Derek

Nope Derek, I did not get it from you, your stop looks good for sure.

I got the idea from a guy in the US who is very helpful and has a ton of this kind of ideas.

I did not find the leather to be too soft, in fact the results speak for themselves, I have razor sharp chisels in no time flat.

Great idea about a sanding disc, I'll have to try that one too!

Cheers!

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I wonder how effective it'd be to use the face of a thickish disk as a sanding plate and wrap some leather around the rim for a strop?

Or would there be too much chance of contaminants in the leather from sanding?

[Stu in Tokyo]

I wonder how effective it'd be to use the face of a thickish disk as a sanding plate and wrap some leather around the rim for a strop?

Or would there be too much chance of contaminants in the leather from sanding?


I'd be more worried about getting rouge on my sanding disk.

I think that would work just fine, as long as your disk was fairly thick and you could leave a bit of space between the sanding disk and the rim strop.

Pics when you do it! :D

[chrisb691]

I have been trying to find a supplier for largish pieces of velcro, so that I could make up the Skew's disk sander up. I was in Carba-Tec yesterday, and spotted round velcro pads, which have a self adhesive backing. They come in several sizes. Whilst not exactly cheap, I bought an 8" dia one ($18), and some abrasive disks to go with it.

I made up the disk today, but didn't have time to make up the table. That can happen next weekend. Makes a BEAUTIFUL job of sharpening the chisels. Nice flat bevel, and no overheating. Course, you can't turn and sharpen at the same time. But I figure with pens, you don't need to sharpen that often anyway. So when I square up, or sand blanks, I can touch up chisels if they need them.

Thanks for the idea Skew!!!!! :cool:

[DJ’s Timber]

Bunnings use to sell the self adhesive velcro as well, don't know if they still do. But from memory I think it was substantially less than $18.