6" Disk Sander

My 6" Disk Sander

I made this disk sander out oI a 1/4 HP motor that I had sitting around and a 2' square sheet oI 5/16"
plywood. (I picked up an whole stack oI 2' squares Ior Iree at a garage sale.)
Step one was to slice the plywood into 8" wide sections. Two were cut down to 16" long and glued
together, with the 8" square cut pieces in between them, to Iorm an 8" x 16" x 7/8" board. (It should have
been 15/16ths thick, but it wasn't.) Lots oI C-clamps, binder clips, and lead weights were used to press
them together.
To this I bolted the motor, a 1/4 HP General Electric motor built in the 4th century BC, with Iour 5/16"
bolts. The heads oI the bolts are recessed into the bottom oI the board. Using a square, I careIully shimmed
the base oI the motor until the motor shaIt was parallel to the wood base.
Next, I cut the remaining 24" x 8" piece oI plywood into three 8" squares and glued them together to Iorm
an 8" square 7/8" thick. This was cut in halI, to Iorm a pair oI 8" x 4" pieces. One oI these became the table,
and the other was cut into the supports.
I careIully measured the height oI the center oI the motor shaIt above the base - it came out to 3-". From
this I subtracted the thickness oI the table (7/8"), to get the required height oI the supports: 2-5/8".
Since this was more than halI oI the 4" width available, the pieces were laid out so:

:99ing a 4" piece in94 94 2-5/8" pieces
This made two identical pieces. To make them even more identical (?) I clamped them together and sanded
the top and bottom surIaces Ilat and even. Then two pieces were then screwed to the table, leaving a "
overhang on each end. I made sure that the screws holding the table to the supports were accessible, as
removing the table is the only way to change the sandpaper!
I put a 1/2" arbor on the motor - this is the metal contraption that Iit on the shaIt and provided a 1/2-20
UNF thread. I think it was originally a piece oI a grinder. I cut two disks oI 1/2" plywood, glued them
together (this probably wasn't necessary), and careIully drilled them 1/2" to Iit on arbor. AIter tightening
the bolt securely, I careIully traced the outline oI the arbor on the table and cut it out. This let me recess the
arbor halIway into the table and put the table on the exact centerline oI the disk.

#ecessed Arb4r
The last step was to screw the table to the base and true the disk with a chisel. As I did, I Iound that the
sander wanted to wander all over the work bench because oI the vibration. To hold it in place, I glued a
layer oI 1" grey open-cell Ioam to the bottom. The Ioam Ilexes enough to absorb the vibration beIore it can
move the sander.
Sandpaper disks to Iit the disk were cut Irom an 8"x11" sheet oI sandpaper using a box cutter, and glued
to the disk with rubber cement. Rubber cement will allow the sandpaper to be pulled oII when it's worn,
whereas a stronger glue would not.
I haven't done this yet, but I plan on reversing the disk and truing the back with a chisel too. This should
not only help reduce the vibration by better balancing the disk, but also provide a second surIace Ior
another sandpaper disk oI a diIIerent grit.
I will probably redesign and rebuild this sander someday. I would preIer an 8" sander without the
protruding arbor.

http://www.gizmology.net/sander.htm